Tragedy In Hamlet
The Tragedy of Hamlet Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William
Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies
the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and
Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by
getting cut with a poison tipped sword. But that is not all that is needed to
consider a play a tragedy, and sometimes a hero doesn't even need to die. Not
every play in which a Hero dies is considered a tragedy. There are more elements
needed to label a play one. Probably the most important element is an amount of
free will. In every tragedy, the characters must displays some. If every action
is controlled by a hero's destiny, then the hero's death can't be avoided, and
in a tragedy the sad part is that it could. Hamlet's death could have been
avoided many times. Hamlet had many opportunities to kill Claudius, but did not
take advantage of them. He also had the option of making his claim public, but
instead he chose not too. A tragic hero doesn't need to be good. For example,
MacBeth was evil, yet he was a tragic hero, because he had free will. He also
had only one flaw, and that was pride. He had many good traits such as bravery,
but his one bad trait made him evil. Also a tragic hero doesn't have to die.
While in all Shakespearean tragedies, the hero dies, in others he may live but
suffer Moral Destruction. In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king
plucks out his eyes, and has to spend his remaining days as a wandering,
sightless beggar, guided at every painful step by his daughter, Antigone. A
misconception about tragedies is that nothing good comes out of them, but it is
actually the opposite. In Romeo and Juliet, although both die, they end the feud
between the Capulets and the Montegues. Also, Romeo and Juliet can be together
in heaven. In Hamlet, although Hamlet dies, it is almost for the best. How could
he have any pleasure during the rest of his life, with his parents and Ophelia
dead. Also, although Hamlet dies, he is able to kill Claudius and get rid of the
evil ruling the throne. Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. The tragic
hero must possess many good traits, as well as one flaw, which eventually leads
to his downfall. A tragic hero must be brave and noble. In Othello, Othello had
one fatal flaw, he was too great. Othello was too brave, too noble, and
especially too proud to allow himself to be led back to Venice in chains. A
tragic hero must not back down from his position. He also has to have free will,
in order to stand up for what he believes in. Finally, the audience must have
some sympathy for the tragic hero. In MacBeth, although MacBeth commits many
murders, one almost feels sorry for him and his fate. Hamlet is the perfect
example of the tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a tragic
hero. He is brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to
England, he was taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he would have been
executed He also is also loyal. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was
so angry at Claudius and his Mother. Another trait was that he was intelligent.
He was able to think up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get more
information about Claudius. But Hamlet like all other tragic hero's had a flaw.
He couldn't get around to doing anything, because he couldn't move on. He was a
full grown adult, yet he still attended school in England, because he couldn't
move on. Also, it took him a long time to stop grieving about his father,
because he didn't want to move past that part of his life. And after he finally
did, Hamlet couldn't get around to killing Claudius. He kept pretending he was
insane even after he was sure that Claudius killed his father. The final example
of Hamlet's inability to get around to do anything was that he was dating
Ophelia for a long time, but never got around to marrying her. The audience was
able to feel sympathy for Hamlet too. He had just lost his father, and his
mother remarried so quickly that according to him they could have used the
leftover food from the funeral in the wedding reception. Also, the audience
could feel that Hamlet loved his parents and this sudden change was hurting him.
In any tragedy there is a tragic hero, and he must possess certain
characteristics in order to be one. He must have many good traits such as
loyalty and bravery, but one bad one such as pride. Also the audience must have
sympathy for the hero. A tragic hero also must have free will or his fate would
be decided for him, and his death could be avoided. Finally, the audience must
have sympathy for the tragic hero, or it wouldn't seem so tragic. Hamlet is a
perfect example of a tragic hero. He was brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he
couldn't move on past one thing, which led to his death. He had a choice of how
he would deal with Claudius, and like other tragic hero's made a decision. Also,
the audience was able to feel sympathy for the position Hamlet was in. These
attributes made Hamlet the perfect example of a tragic hero.
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