The success of HamletIs this Shakespearean tragedy of Hamlet as successful a play as some critics say? Where does success lie? Is the protagonist the main reason for this continued success?J. Dover Wilson, in "What Happens in Hamlet", attributes much of the drama's success to the characterization of the prince: Finally, this mixture of extremely convincing humanity and psychological contradiction is Shakespeare's greatest legacy to men of his own quality. No "role" in the entire repertoire of dramatic literature is so sure to succeed with almost any audience, and yet is open to such a remarkable variety of interpretations. There are as many Hamlets as there are actors who play him; and Bernhardt proved that even a woman can succeed. (101) Could Hamlet's enduring reputation be attributed to the "ultimate form" in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says it in "The Role We Give Shakespeare": It is the way in which the venerable texts whose authenticity have imposed themselves on the human imagination: he said many things in what seems a form ultimate, and it is a source of quotation and universal center of allusion. “A rose by any other name” comes to the mouth as easily as “pride goes before a fall” and seems no less wise. [. . .] The Ophelia-Laertes relationship is strongly felt towards the end of Goethe's Faust, Part I, and the Hamlet-Gertrude-Claudius triangle resonates throughout Chekhov's The Seagull (24-25). This piece is ranked by many as the greatest of all time. writing. Cumberland Clark in "The Supernatural in Hamlet" gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics today: At least six or seven years passed after the writing of A Midsummer Night's Dream before find Shakespeare engaged in Hamlet, the second of the great plays. with a significant supernatural element and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever written. (99) There is no higher ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham, in his essay “Superposed Plays,” argues that no other English tragedy has provoked the literary commentary that this play has produced: “Hamlet is one of the great tragedies. It has attracted more comment than any other written document in English literature, one might guess, respectful and serious commentary on it as a serious play.” (91).