This way we can understand his conflicts, his struggles, and flaws. Usually the hero's own actions and obsessions bring him to his tragic end. (Bradley 2) v The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent— v The calamities of tragedy proceed mainly from actions, and those, the actions of men. v Shakespeare's tragic heroes are responsible for the catastrophe of their falls. (Lewin 51) Who is the tragic hero in Julius Caesar?
At the opening of the play, Hamlet’s dejected for his father's death and the quick remarriage of his mother and King Claudius motives his attempt to find out the truth, and furthermore, his dead father informs him about his murder as a ghost, which determinants him to revenge (Edwards 52). Hamlet’s madness, hesitation to action, demand for visual proof, and final revenge are conventions of a dramatic form called revenge tragedy. All through the play, from searching the killing to justifying the truth, and finally revenge, Hamlet is bent on avenging his father’s death. Claudius is in alignment to come to his aid of revenge, which is the principal theme all through the play. The play, focused in Denmark, explains how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for killing the historic King Hamlet, Claudius's own male sibling and Prince Hamlet's dad, and then marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet.
of “Hamlet: A Modern Perspective.” The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. N. P.: Folger Shakespeare Lib., 1992. Shakespeare, William.
Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al.
Revenge is defined as the action of causing hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains the central idea of revenge. In this story, the father is murdered, the mother marries the murderer, and the son is left to the duty of revenge (Barzilai 87). It is Hamlet’s duty to follow his father’s commands and get his revenge on his uncle, but multiple problems occur and lead to his death along with many others. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet has returned from Wittenberg to honor the death of his father, King Hamlet, and the ghost of his dead father suddenly confronts him.
Hamlet was about to kill his uncle, King Claudius while he was praying but then at the last second he decided not to. Hamlet decided that because Claudius killed his father while he was sleeping, sending his soul to purgatory, this wouldn’t be good enough revenge to kill his uncle while praying, sending his soul to heaven. “Now might I do it pat, now he is a-praying. And now ill do’t. And so he does to heaven; And so am I revenged” (Hamlet Act 3 Scene, Pg.
Hamlet being a logical thinker undergoes major moral dilemma as he struggles to make accurate choices. From the internal conflict that the playwright expresses to us it is evident that it can kill someone, firstly mentally then physically. The idea of tragedy is explored in great detail through conflict where the playwright’s main message is brought across to the audience; Shakespeare stresses to his audience the point that conflict be it internal or external it can bring upon the downfall of great people and in turn have them suffer a tragic fate. It is Shakespeare’s aim to show us the complexity of man and that moral decisions are not easily made. Source Cited http://www.enotes.com/hamlet-text
In today’s society, William Shakespeare’s tragedy plays fascinate readers by highlighting characters’ flaws that lead them to their downfall. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare demonstrates the characters’ flaws make individuals victims of their own. According to Aristotle, “Men were full of self-control and were, therefore, responsible for their own actions. It was the tragic heroes’ own actions, then, that brought about the chaos and tragic events” (“Aristotle’s Poetics”). To display the characters’ flaws, Shakespeare uses three main characters: Hamlet, Ophelia, and Claudius.
Alan Kaufman, Neil Ortenberg, and Barney Rosset. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 2004. Print Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. The Outlaw Bible of American Literature.
Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1992.