"Oh, what a noble mind is here overthrown." They are the words spoken by Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet that highlight the condition of the protagonist himself. Hamlet is a multi-faceted character: as prince of Denmark he is noble, courageous, valiant and intelligent. Shakespeare presents us with a character who has high moral standards and a sense of spiritual sensitivity. His loathing of evil and his contempt for the hypocrisy of the court are illustrated through his attempt to avenge his father's death. Hamlet is an extremely complex character and certainly contains a dichotomy. Hamlet's courage and nobility are sometimes overshadowed by his procrastination and oscillation from action to inertia. Hamlet is unable to act decisively and this is his hamartia. However, because we admire Hamlet's moral sensitivity, we tend to accept his behavior. He gains our sympathy and by the end of the play Hamlet emerges as one of Shakespeare's greatest noble heroes; even if tragic. When we are first introduced to the dejected prince in Act 1, Sc. (i), he is not present, yet the dark mood and eerie atmosphere set the tone for the entire play. Everyone around him seems to be moving on with their lives after Old Hamlet's "most unnatural" death. Gertrude - Hamlet's mother (and queen) married Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. Everyone's newfound happiness eludes Hamlet, whose grief is evident through "his inky cloak" and "usual robes of solemn black." It is evident that the anomalous murder of his father had a greater impact on Hamlet than it had on his mother. He praises his father, saying "so excellent a king that he was for this Hyperion a satyr" and expresses his disapproval by means of paper......because corruption motivates his action, however it is his key plot deception and the hypocrisy of the court, rejected by Hamlet, thus becomes one of his characteristics, as illustrated by his anti-disposition. Yet, the charm lies precisely in this, because despite his deception, Hamlet impresses us as an extremely intelligent, courageous and valiant hero, but above all as a loyal son. He never acts without working out the consequences and it is tragic that Hamlet dies even after all his contemplation. The audience's ability to connect with Hamlet's emotions, combined with his supremacy over evil, make him one of the greatest noble and tragic heroes in English literature. In fact, Horace says it best, when he clarifies the nobility of the Danish prince and showcases the tragedy of his death, saying, “Now breaks a noble heart. Goodnight, sweet prince.”