Hamlet is not like the other tragic heroes of his period. He stands apart from other Shakespeare's heroes because of his innocence. Perhaps this supposed tragic hero is an ideal hero - one without the tragic flaw. The tragic flaw has been a part of the formula for the tragedy since the Golden age of Greece. The main, and, most often, the only flaw that has been attributed to Hamlet is his delay. This seems to constitute the central part in Hamlet. Critics seem to cling to this detail, as if trying to save the status of Hamlet as a typical Elizabethan tragedy of revenge. By the definition of tragedy, there should exist a flaw in the character of the main hero, who is a great personality that is engaged in a struggle that ends catastrophically (Stratford, 90). If Hamlet had no flaw, what kind of tragic hero is he? No doubt, Hamlet is a tragic drama, for it has many characters that loose their lives. But the play wouldn't lose its tragic tone if Hamlet were an ideal hero instead of tragic one, which is exactly the case. If more people realized this, maybe we wouldn't have that much trouble trying to "decipher" Hamlet's character, just like Elizabethan audience never raised any questions concerning Hamlet's delay. It was only in the last two centuries, that the audience and their perceptions have drastically changed, which causes this confusion concerning the character that was created by Shakespeare for common people, some ignorant ones among them, perhaps.
Hamlet is like a soldier that is thrown into a war where he has to do some things he rather would avoid doing, but under the given circumstances he bites his teeth and carries himself well (Stratford, 128). In this war, the circumstances brought on by Cla...
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...went on in the kingdom in the last two months.
Hamlet is the only Shakespeare's tragic hero who doesn't have a tragic flaw, which makes him an ideal hero, instead of a tragic one. Hamlet, the play, still is the revenge tragedy, for Hamlet never lived to see the full revenge.
Works Cited
1. Hamlet. The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter 6th Edition, editors Bain, Beaty, Hunter, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995.
2. Weitz, Morris. Hamlet and the Philosophy of Literary Criticism. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1964.
3. Hamlet. Stratford-Upon-Avon Study. London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1963.
4. Grebanier, Bernard. The Heart of Hamlet, The Play Shakespeare Wrote. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1960.
5. Hamlet. Editor Harold Bloom.New York: Chelsea House Publishers, a division of Maine Line Book Co., 1990.
Richard Nixon was president during 1969-1974 and was the first president to resign from office. During this time there was a scandal known as the Watergate Scandal. It was about five men who broke into the watergate building and stole secret documents. They were caught, but some people believe Nixon was involved. He may have even tried to cover up the investigation using bribes.
There was a break-in in 1972 at the Watergate Office Complex of the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters and Ronal Reagan was involved. This crime was committed on June 17, 1972 in the very early morning, which will prove that it will be the end for President Nixon. Seven burglars were found inside the Complex and they were arrested inside the DNC, this was a planned out robbery and was linked to to President Nixon’s re-election campaign, the burglars were trying to steal top secret documents and to wiretap the phones. History can't surely say that Nixon took part in this. However, he did take part in covering this up and raising hush money for the burglars, and even trying to stop the FBI from investigating. So in August of 1974, after the conspiracy had become public, President Nixon resigned and was pardoned by Gerald Ford.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print 539-663
On June 17, 1972, five burglars broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee located inside the Watergate Hotel in Washington. Frank Wills, a night security guard, discovered that the break-in was occurring. “Several office doorknob cylinders were covered with masking tape to hold the doors open”(McConnell 11). As soon as Wills made this discovery, he telephoned the police. The five burglars, carrying electronic gear and photographic equipment, were arrested on site at 2:30 A.M. They were suspected of illegal wire tapping. This series of arrests sparked the beginning of what came to be known as the Watergate Scandal. The Watergate Scandal caused several events to occur such as a huge investigation, Nixon winning the reelection, and the first and only U.S. president to resign.
Be that as it may, the Congress played out their role by having a group called The Senate Watergate Committee. They participated in nationally televised hearings and investigated the issue. They helped in catching a bunch of links that were connected to Nixon’s chain of lies and paranoia. A lot of the people that were somehow involved in the whole ordeal were top Nixon administration officials, some being The Plumbers (the men that were involved with putting an end to the leak of classified information Nixon wanted to keep classified) and obviously the burglars played a big role. Congress had to hold several conferences to solve the situation and get answers, putting all their information on the table. After a lot of inquiry on Nixon, Chairman Ervin said the executive privilege didn’t go as far to cover any aides in this case, so anyone else had to cooperate or get arrested. They complied and Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of the tapes. It was Ervin who first said Nixon had to give up the tapes, using subpoenas, but it didn...
Bloom, Harold. "Introduction." Modern Critical Interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 1-10.
President Nixon’s lawyer tried arguing that he had executive privilege and that allowed him to keep the tapes to himself. This is another reflection of a president using his powers for wrong. The Senate committee, Sirica, and Archibald Cox were very determined to get these tapes from Nixon. They knew once they had these tapes they could prosecute Nixon for what he did. Cox was so determined that Nixon ended up firing him because of him constantly demanding to have the tapes. Several Justice Department officials did not approve of this and resigned in protest. These events all happened on one night, October 20, 1973, that is now familiar as the Saturday Night Massacre. After the determination from everyone Nixon became fed up and agreed to surrender some of the tapes. He surrender on some but not all the
Mack, Maynard. “The World of Hamlet.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
...airment where the patient or the aged are greatly affected. In most cases, dementia patients are not catered for and they are traumatized due to loneliness, boredom, and helplessness. This makes the majority of the patients die earlier as compared to when proper care is given to them. In order to reduce their deaths and make the aged to feel comfortable, institutional living for dementia patients is important as it has caregivers that understand their needs and accommodate them accordingly. This is because institutions greatly account for the helplessness, loneliness and boredom that a majority of the dementia patients will be suffering. This occurs through provision of an enabling environment in which the needs of the aged will be catered for. Therefore, institutional living for dementia patients is of great help rather than leaving the aged to live on their own.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Alison Booth, and Kelly J. Mays. Tenth. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. 1024-1129. Print.
Will Hamlet avenge his father’s death? Who killed King Hamlet? Is Hamlet really mad? These are the things that keeps the reader intrigued throughout Hamlet. Throughout Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, is shown to be the tragic hero of the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction. A Greek philosopher, by the name of Aristotle, said that any tragic hero must have a tragic flaw. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero because of the many tragic flaws he has. Hamlet also experiences suffering in the play and he also learns lessons. The tragic hero is an important character; without one, there wouldn’t be a tragic play.
Question: what kind of changes in society in 21 century regarding the male/female identity? What is the ge...
Webster’s dictionary defines tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (such as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that excites pity or terror.” A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences such a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and related actions. The character of Hamlet, therefore, is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s tragic hero.