Hamlet, the play's protagonist is a curious and complex character. Some may call him the tragic hero of the story but I do not think I could classify him as so. To me, Hamlet is a regular man, engrossed with overwhelming grief of his father's death and made to endure the transition of his uncle becoming his new step-father. I see him as a man with superior moral standards as compared to the other characters and court of the Danish kingdom. Aside from his ethical stand points, I do see him as a depressive suicide, constantly questioning "To be, or not to be", to live or not. Thrown in with his mental state of mind, he has to deal with the ghost of his father and his revenge plots against the new king, which I would interpret starts to teeter him off the edge between sane and not sane. I cannot say that I can blame him for his actions, considering his surmounting circumstances, but I do not believe it is purely the situations he has been dealt that are all to blame for his madness. It is in my opinion that he has been toying with the idea of death for some time and that the events that occur only add to those thoughts.

Also what is interesting about Hamlet's character is his constant questioning and his inability to act. The fact that even though he appears mad, perhaps because of his antic dispostion, he is still able to apply his moral standards and his conscience is still present. Although he may not be the tragic hero we all so hope him to be, he definitely wins over the audience, in that even though he does commit wrongs, the audience still justifies them and wishes the best for Hamlet. Although Hamlet does appear to be suicidal and downright mad, the pathos present and provided by Hamlet leaves a lingering hope for a better life even through all the dysfunctional aspects.