FREE ESSAY ON THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET

THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET

The Tragedy of Hamlet
Arguably, the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet 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
tht is need 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 display 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 tht it could. Hamlet's death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had many
opportunities to kill Claudius, but didn't 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
oral Destruction
In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king plucks his eyes out, 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 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 of 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 had 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 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 heros 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 party 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 w as 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 have been
avoided. Finally, the audience must have sympathy for the tragic hero, or it w ouldnt
seem so tragic. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero. He was brave, loyal, and
intelligent, but he couldn't move past one thing, which let to his death. HE had a choice
of how he would deal with Claudius, and like other tragic heros he 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