Hamlet in His Modern Guises

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The analysis centers on Hamlet's character as a modern hero shaped by grief, self-consciousness, guilt, and wit. Welsh contextualizes Hamlet within the family dynamics and mourning themes present in contemporary revenge tragedies, arguing that revenge stems from mourning rather than being a mere goal. He highlights the complexity of a son's mourning for his father, suggesting insincerity may lurk beneath. This exploration connects Hamlet's enduring status as a cultural icon to the late eighteenth-century rejection of past generational thinking as a barrier to progress.