Hamlet Archetypes - Hostetler

Modern day written works, as well as cinematic productions, are full of the quintessential characters a story needs to hold the interest of an audience. These archetypical characters were pioneered by authors and playwrights of Ancient Greek times, only to be expanded upon following the first millennium of Jesus Christ. The historically famous writers of this era, including Machiavelli, Chaucer, and Shakespeare, gave characters complex internal conflict rather than simply good or evil. It is no surprise that Shakespeare's Hamlet conveys some of the best backbones of character archetypes that are still taught to this day.

William Shakespeare broke new ground in the creation of dramatic roles. The protagonist and title character of the play, Hamlet, is the perfect example of the archetypical 'Tragic Hero' turned greedy when vengeance takes over. With uncanny likeness to the Shakespearean character Macbaeth, this hero archetype tells of a good person of high influence who is influenced by evil or supernatural means to kill another, whether it be for revenge or greed. Another archetype that Hamlet experiences is 'The Fall'. This describes a once joyful soul who goes through a series of internal distress and conflict, influencing an action of evil, typically murder. Once this act is committed, the character goes insane and is typically sought out by enemies and killed. A modern day example of a character that follows suit is Johnny from The Shining.

Almost every character in Hamlet can fall under a general character archetype. One of the most prominent examples of this is in King Claudius. Like most antagonists, King Claudius is the archetypical 'Villain' of the story. A villain's sole purpose amidst the timeline of the story plot is to ultimately destroy the hero, who in this case is Hamlet. While it's obvious in most stories who the villain is, many conceal a character who is archetypically 'Ambitious'. As displayed by the actions of King Claudius, an ambitious character is one that believes that they are invincible, and will do almost anything to secure power over others. An example that is similar to King Claudius, in terms of being the antagonist, is Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.

The rest of the roles in Hamlet represent vital character archetypes Shakespeare used for more plays and modern authors and directors use for assigning character personalities. A character archetype brought about in Hamlet is 'The Friend'. This character has the role of staying alongside the protagonist and risking their image and status to stand up for their friend. While Harotio fills this role in the play similar to Banquo in Macbeth, he also can reliable be called the 'Wise Man', for keeping the protagonist in check, or offers advice that they know is more beneficial than the original thought or proposal. An more recent example of a loyal companion in literature is Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Another character in Hamlet, Ophelia, is created to fill the role of 'Innocence'. It is easiest to find innocent characters in fairy tales, for they are characters who tend to be more pure in mind as well as naive. Typically princesses, innocent characters await saving by a their own Prince Charming. The play also presents the archetype of 'Traitor' in the character Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. A traitor is a character in the story that is relentlessly selfish, doing whatever they can to help themselves stay safe. This usually comes about by aligning with the evil characters of the story, but can involve jumping back and for between good and evil, like Gertrude did. Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series is a great example of what the traitor archetype is in literature. Finally, Laertes, the  brother of Ophelia, presents the archetypical character of doppelgänger. The duty of this archetype is to present an equal, but opposite force of the hero. While they seek the same vengeance for evil acts against them personally, the doppelgänger tends to act more on impulse than logic, and rarely ends well for them. An accurate example of the archetype would be the boy at school from Edgar Allan Poe's William Wilson.

In conclusion, Shakespeare created and implemented many revolutionary character archetypes into his plays and other works. Hamlet does a good job of including a wide variety of archetypical characters that are still taught and praised today. From the standard hero and villain, to the beloved companion and traitor, Hamlet sets the basic understanding and guidelines for what's successful use of these archetypes looks like.