to find peace within their own life; due to these circumstances, it is difficult to find authenticity with oneself; when they are controlled by the sensation of being accepted by others. Fortune is not justice; it could not reward those who commit impure actions. Fortune controls people; it is justice that gives people rest and reciprocity, only if one gained knowledge of themselve. Iconoclasm was a heavy burden for Hamlet. Fortune controlled their actions; though they had lavish lifestyle they perished in agony; this was a result of the thoughts and the actions, that were committed by Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius. The temptation of wealth spoiled their thoughts, and then the events that they found themselves in. The allure of fortune determined their downfall, as well the rate of velocity. The tragedy that was behind Hamlet; was the fact that the characters could not find peace within themselves; and thus, not think for themselves. Rosencrantz can see that wealth had spoiled Claudius and Gertrude and would be their downfall. They were not in control of their fate:
“ The cess of
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A person’s death is the end result that defines them in tragedy. Death is unavoidable and could be very well considered as the meaning of life. The demand for Tragedy is due to the ambiguous, and curious thoughts about death humanity has; it could be premature, and by the hands of someone else, this has been a thought of by every human that has lived. Tragedy attempts to see through the meaning of death. “The organizing conceptions of Elizabethan tragedy are the order of nature and the wheel of fortune. Nature is a systematic order; though the order is permeated with sin and death as a result of the fall of man.”(Frye,1985,p. 116). A person has the ability to govern their own fate when they are upon The Wheel of Fortune, by their will power, deeds, and their
Death is an eternal mystery and the most controversial subject stemming from human inexperience. Its inescapability and uncertainty can give insights on the core principles and vulnerability of human nature. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet he skilfully makes use of death as a lashing force to explore the depths of his characters along the way illustrating man’s continual dilemma “To be or not to be”?
Hamlet's tragic flaw was that he either considered things too much, or he acted on impulse but out of passion and not reason, which leads to his downfall. Hamlet was an over thinker and a complex philosopher who wanted revenge on his father’s death. Things don’t go as planned as Hamlet’s two opposite flaws change things. One of Hamlet’s flaws, procrastination, is shown in the prayer scene when he has the opportunity to kill Claudius and get revenge on his father’s death, and he doesn’t take it. His second flaw completely opposite from the first, was acting on impulse out of passion making him kill the wrong man, Polonius. Hamlet’s acting out of passion and anger not only killed the wrong man but it was also Ophelia’s father, causing her to commit suicide. Hamlet was a hero trying to do the right thing, but his tragic flaws turn everything around when everyone including himself dies .
Notice how Shakespeare casually brings us through this voyage of death from the naïve spiritual view to the physical view to the sensible view. Notice how death evolves from two characters sharing the view that death is spiritual to two characters debating on the view of death (with one character giving in to the physical approach, to two characters sharing a completely physical approach to death, to Fortinbras? final view of death. Throughout the play, Shakespeare cunningly shows all the possible views of death and concluded with the universally sufficient perspective that death is imminent and we should glorify the dead for their lives lived and simply hope that there is a contented world to come.
A person’s setting can tell you a lot about why they do certain things or behave a certain way. What’s taboo to us is normal to them. Their time and surroundings set the scene. Hamlet by William Shakespeare is set in Denmark during the late medieval time period: a time of dominant monarchies, a time of war. All of which plays into why the characters behave the way they do. They’re power hungry and hold a grudge like no other. Why? Social status, social status was everything throughout this time period, before this time period and very much after this time period. Thus they slaughtered each other and executed their tasks in secrecy, in hopes they would not be subject to the wrath of the one they wronged, to move up the social ladder. Throughout the time of kings and queens people struggled to climb the social ladder, not caring who they hurt in the climb to gain power. The power struggle that remained prominent throughout the ages is the underlying cause of most tragic events in Hamlet.
Shakespeare portrays the protagonist, Hamlet, as someone with a great emotional and physical capacity for self-sacrifice. Burdened with a heroic task of avenging his father’s murder, Hamlet chooses to put on an “antic disposition”. This leads him to willingly transform his identity by altering his values, beliefs and his self-image. Hamlet also chooses to sacrifices true love for Ophelia, his right to freely express himself, and ultimately his life as well. Shakespeare shows how an individual, when burdened by a difficult task, will sacrifice anything including his own life for the purpose of fulfilling that goal.
One source says, “Between acts 1 and 4, Hamlet works against fortune to some extent, not fully understanding it and its power. He questions his own fate, and the fate of others” (Fortune, Fate, Providence). This claim seems to be highly flawed. Throughout the text Hamlet is trying to work against fortune but it appears that he seems to be fighting against it more so. In his life it is more that hamlet is attempting to separate the good and evil. It’s not that he believes in fate it’s that he has a moral dilemma of the act of murder. It is against his Christian beliefs for him to murder anyone no matter how horrible of a man the object of those violent ideas were. Most people do not need to evaluate whether or not they should kill a person but hamlets religious aspect makes it so the idea of killing a person seem horrible because they think that if they murder someone they will be forced to spend an eternity in a hell worse than what he was currently living
Many individual’s lacks the ability to struggle through the hardships of life; thus as a result, many are forced to overlook life’s problems and pretend everything is tolerable, or to escape into a fantasy in hopes of a better life. Within the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare it is argued that truth sets individuals free and along with this truth, people’s illusions are broken. This behavior of disillusionment is clearly evident in the plays main character Hamlet. As the play progresses, Hamlet is bombarded with truth about others that ultimately changes his point of view about life. This new found truth resonates within Hamlet and forces him to come to the conclusion that life is evil, painful and it’s subjected to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Through this insight Hamlet’s life structure collapses, but he is able to, for the first time, judge the world for its true merits and adapt to make sense of the world.
In the beginning of the story, Hamlet’s character was struggling with the sudden marriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, a month after his father is death. For a young man, it’s hard to believe that he understood why his mother quickly married Claudius especially since, Claudius is his uncle. Later he learned that his father’s ghost was sighted. Intuitively, he knew there had to be some kind of “foul play.” At this point, Hamlet is a university student; his morals and way of thinking are defined by books and what was taught to him. This is seen when he speaks about the flaws of men, setting a bad reputation for all, and the man’s flaws causing their “downfall.”(a.1, sc.4, l.)
Ophelia ignored him when he would’ve really needed some one to talk to about his future actions on a personal level; she later committed suicide which made him feel more emotional. Claudius was really the reason for everything happening; he killed his brother, King Hamlet Sr. in a plot to marry Gertrude quickly enough that he could steal the throne from Hamlet and become king. When Hamlet finds this out it causes him to become more emotionally distressed and many people are killed in the end. Although his mother and father were mostly the reason why he became emotional and a vengeful killer, there were other people that play a smaller part in his actions as well.
At the heart of every great tragedy lies the universal struggle between the human inclination to accept fate absolutely and the natural desire to control destiny (Stockton). Like most of his plays, in Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet one of the prevailing themes centers on the question, “Does fate and providence overrule man’s own choices and decisions?” Throughout the work, the main character Hamlet views Fortune in various differing lights as he plots and plans his revenge. This complex interpretation of Fate’s influence is also shared with Horatio, Hamlet’s most treasured friend. Their assessments seem to waver in different situations, or as they experience something in particular. Fate and Fortune, and Providence in all her ambiguity are all sometimes seemingly bound to the actions of man and other times they are inescapable.
In life everyone has responsibilities, and these can either lead to great or not so great things happening. When people make selfish or wrong decisions it can lead to tragic events occurring. In the Shakespearian play of Hamlet tragedies are a constant occurrence. All of the tragedies take place as a consequence of Claudius’ choices. Claudius is more responsible than Hamlet for the tragedies in the play. He is more responsible for a few main reasons. The murder of King Hamlet, his frantic actions, and the manipulation of Laertes are all contributions to the tragic events in Hamlet.
Throughout this process, his relationship with his uncle Claudius and mother Gertrude worsen. Hamlet and Claudius’ tainted relationship successively intensifies through their planned plots to kill one another. The relationship between Hamlet and his mother Gertrude worsen due to her shameful acts, and her disregard towards her son in his times of need. If it had not been for this corruption between the family, Denmark would’ve continued to be ruled by an honourable and truthful family. Instead, the kingdom of Denmark became rife with dishonesty, eventually leading to the death of Hamlet and Claudius, the ultimate
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, revenge intertwines to bring about the deaths of most of the main characters. Hamlet’s course of revenge initiates the first fatality when Polonius gets caught spying on him and Gertrude (III. iv. 24-25). By pursuing revenge, Hamlet killing Polonius paves the way for more lives to be lost. Claudius sees the murder as an opportunity to eliminate Hamlet, because Laertes’s obsession with revenge leaves him vulnerable. Laertes’s and Hamlet’s revenge lead to the deaths of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and finally Hamlet (V. ii. 287-357). The revenge of each character ironically ended their own life. By acting upon revenge and having inimical intentions, the individuals brought fatalities that were unnecessary.
The last of Hamlet's problems stem from his relationships with the people close to him. Hamlet suffers from an Oedipus complex. Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia also causes him grief. All of the problems that Hamlet encounters make him question nobility. These ideas all add to the lack of haste in Hamlet's murder of Claudius.
There are many reasons why Hamlet had his downfall. One being his decision to keeping the murder of his father a secret. Another one being the betrayals of his closest friends. Perhaps if Guildenstern or Rosencrantz had been there for Hamlet, to rely and place trust upon, he might not had to fell so alone. A little sympathy from his girlfriend Ophelia, and even his mother Gertrude would have been nice as well. Unfortunately Ophelia is held back from Hamlet, due to her father. Gertrude marries his uncle Claudius, who is responsible for his fathers death, and is looking to kill him next. And Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are ordered by Claudius to spy on Hamlet, and betray him as a friend.