MLA Literary Essay: Who is Responsible for the Tragedies in Hamlet

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. The murder of King Hamlet can be seen as where it all began. The selfish decision Claudius makes to murder Hamlet’s father makes him liable for all the other tragedies that occur. The death of King Hamlet causes Hamlet to act out of character, which makes him do things he would not normally do. This leads to the deaths of Polonius and Ophelia. “Thou wreched, rash, intruding fool farewell./I took thee for thy better: Take thy fortune:/ Thou find’st to be too busy is some danger (3.4, 32 - 35) When Polonius gets caught spying on Hamlet talking to his mother, Hamlet takes a sword and stabs through the curtain and kills Polonius in hopes that it was Claudius. Hamlet would never have knowingly killed Polonius. On account of the death of Polonius, this causes Ophelia to act crazy because she misses her father. “Well good dild you! They say the owl was a baker's/ daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not/ what we may be. God be at your table!” (4.5, 40 - 42). Ophelia talking crazy was just the beginning of it all. The absurdity of Ophelia’s actions and talking lead to the eventual demise of her character, leading to her death(suicide). “One we do... ... middle of paper ... ... the room the Queen would not have drank the cup and died. All of the evil plotting Claudius did to try to kill Hamlet did not work to well and just lead to greater tragedies in the play. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the blame for all the tragedies can be put on Claudius. His evil nature created downfall for many of the characters in the play. The murder of the King, the decisions Claudius makes, and how he manipulates Laertes all lead to tragic events occurring. Claudius’s actions directly impacted and contributed to the tragedies. In a tragic event there is always one person that is going to be more liable and it just happens to be Claudius. We can learn to take responsibility for our actions. Whether they end in good of tragic events. One’s actions can lead to tragic consequences. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.