Final answer:
The student's question pertains to the depth of character in Shakespeare's Hamlet compared to characters in other revenge tragedies like The Spanish Tragedy and The Atheist's Tragedy. Hamlet's complex moral struggle, highlighted by T.S. Eliot, offers a multi-dimensional perspective that contrasts with the one-dimensional nature of revenge-driven protagonists.
Step-by-step explanation:
The essence of classic tragedy, as T.S. Eliot suggests in his critique of Hamlet, lies in the complexity of its characters and their moral dilemmas, which is central to Shakespeare's work. As opposed to the characters of Theronimo in The Spanish Tragedy and Charlemont in The Atheist's Tragedy, Shakespeare’s Hamlet displays a depth that stems from his moral ambiguity and his struggle with action, contributing to the arena of tragic literature. The question deals with this depth of characterisation which makes Hamlet a multi-dimensional figure, enduring in literary study.
In exploring Hamlet's personage, Eliot identifies Shakespeare's struggle to amalgamate the 'guilt of a mother' theme with the intransigent material inherited from the earlier revenge tales. Eliot's perspective is rooted in an understanding that Shakespeare redefined the revenge-tragedy blueprint, evidenced by Hamlet's complexity compared to the one-dimensional nature of characters motivated solely by revenge. This level of character intricacy aligns with Aristotle's concept of hamartia, where a character's downfall is due to an error in judgment rather than outright malevolence or virtue, eliciting a mixture of pity and fear from audiences.
Moreover, Shakespeare's innovative use of madness as both feigned and real reveals Hamlet's inner turmoil, surpassing a mere tool for revenge. This portrayal aligns with the cycle of intense emotions a person of sensibility knows, which further demonstrates the character's depth compared to his contemporaries.