Why Hamlet Should Be Considered Great Literature

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The theme of Hamlet is something every person can relate to, which is revenge. Revenge is a feeling that people contract when something bad has happened to them. In Hamlet, this reoccurring theme of revenge is something that is very common between most of the characters in the play. Hamlet seeks revenge for his father’s death by killing Claudius. An example of this is in the conversation between his father and Hamlet in Act one, Scene five, when his father states, “Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.” Hamlet replies with “Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift, as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge” (I.v.33-37). Some other examples of revenge that are mentioned in Hamlet are when Laertes tries to revenge his father, Polonius, by killing Hamlet, and, Fortinbras seeking revenge on the entire land of Denmark to revenge his father’s death. As you can tell, it is very important to be able to relate to your audience. It is also very important when creating a great piece of literature and I can agree that in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, it possesses the key factor.

To add on, another factor that Aristotle mentions is music. Although you can’t experience this factors by just reading the play, music is very important in the audio aspect when the play is being performed in front of a live audience. When watching the reenactment of the ancient play, you can truly feel what the characters are going through just by the music. Also, music adds intensity to thrilling moments during the play. It also acts as the pulse of the audience and make the blood rush at certain fighting scenes.

The last point of Aristotle’s six factors in determining a great tragedy is spectacle. This is another factor that can only be experienced during a live performance of Hamlet. When it comes to the spectacle, the costumes that are given to the characters show how rich and what period of time they were from to really get the crowd to feel that they are part of the story. props and scenery are part of the visual experience as well.

To add on, Hamlet also contains the two important roles that every great tragedy should have. That is the characteristics of the protagonist and the antagonist. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, of course portrays the role of the protagonist. Hamlet gets this role because most of the drama and action revolves around him, and I consider him the “tragic hero” of the play. When it comes to the role of the antagonist, I think Claudius deserves to get it. Now, I feel that it should be Claudius because he kills Hamlet's father and take Hamlet’s mom. Also, Claudius attempted to murder Hamlet on several occasions like in the final scene of the play when he poisons the cup and attempts to have Hamlet drink it (V.ii.48-56).

To conclude, the entire play of hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, is truly a great piece of literature. I feel that Hamlet is considered amazing literature because Shakespeare excels in every section of Aristotle six characteristics of a great tragedy. In addition, this play captures the essence of human emotion and relays pity and fear to those who read or watch it. Hamlet not only possesses all six of Aristotle’s points to a great tragedy, but excels in each of them. Whether it is characters, dialogue, plot, theme, music and spectacle, hamlet is one of the greats. Therefore, Hamlet will live in famously as one of the greatest works of literature.

Work Cited

Aristotle. “Poetics”. 350 B.C.E. Translated by S. H. Butcher, 2001. Accessed December 1, 2017 http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.2.2.html

Oxford English Dictionary. “plot”. Third edition, March 2003. Accessed Dec. 1, 2017.http://www.oed.com.libproxy.ocean.edu:2048/view/Entry/124108?rskey=tPyhII& result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet”. Eighth edition, Sept. 1984. Accessed Dec. 1, 2017. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html