character
Hamlet
The brooding Danish prince paralyzed by the question of how to avenge his father.
Origin
Hamlet's father is murdered by his uncle Claudius, who then marries Hamlet's mother. The ghost demands revenge. Hamlet spends most of the play unable to act, mocking court, feigning madness, and philosophizing. By the time he moves, almost everyone dies.
Modern usage
The archetype of indecision and over-thinking. The Lion King is Hamlet with lions; countless prestige-TV protagonists are Hamlet with phones.
Tags
revenge
indecision
tragedy