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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. Making
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.
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. Making
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.