Blog #12: Hamlet Character Analysis

The character I have chosen to focus on is Horatio's perspective. The main reason I chose him over the others is because he is Hamlet's faithful friend and only question's his judgment once throughout the entire play. Their friendship, their brotherhood, and how much they will go through to support, defend, and maybe even kill for each other he and Hamlet carry fall under the theme of War as an Affirmation of Masculinity. During my research of him, it is shown he is willing to impale himself with his own sword than live on after Hamlet's death, which represents how much he cares about Hamlet and will always follow through, whether Hamlet's decisions are good or bad. In most stories I have come across there was always a person, good or bad, who had a loyal friend, that follows through like a dog and its master, but later begins to wonder "Am I doing the right thing by listening to this person?" By Horatio's questioning of Hamlet's decision once during the play, he begins to see that the man he thought he knew wasn't what he was thinking in the first place. With social media, you can see say your childhood heroes Tweets or posts, while being blindly loyal, liking and commenting on their status, until you find out the truth that not everything is painted black and white and the fame of the hero and used to be friend comes crashing down. With a friend like Horatio, I am highly curious to see how far he is willing to go for his friend Hamlet and visa-versa.