...The Tragedy of Hamlet In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a great example of what a tragedy really is can be found. Throughout the play we see struggles, betrayals and many deaths. Hamlet definitely fits the genre of a tragedy in various ways. The play gives its audience a heart touching experience that makes the audience feel empathy for the characters. In order to have a true tragedy, there must be a tragic hero, along with a tragic flaw, and a catharsis. Below, one can learn what a tragedy is and how Hamlet fits this genre. In order to call Hamlet a tragedy one must know the meaning of tragedy. The Oxford English dictionary defines a tragedy as a serious play with an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character. Every tragedy should have a tragic hero. The tragic hero is often the protagonist in a play. The great philosopher Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a man of noble stature who is admired by society but flawed. The flaw in the hero is a key component to the play. It is often what makes or breaks the character. Many times the flaw in the character is what causes the turmoil. It is safe to say that every tragedy has a tragic hero and every tragic hero has a flaw. The imperfection in the character enables the audience to see eye to eye with the character. The audience is able to see that everybody has their imperfections. Just as our flaws can sometimes lead us into trouble, we can see how the protagonist has to face the same issues. ...
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...notable for his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. During the mid 1900’s, Campbell studied the heroic ideology throughout the world and time. Campbell realized similarities of the heroic journeys between the different cultures and time periods. Even though all heroic stories are different, they all have common patterns of their journey. He wrote his discovery in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. To summarize the heroic journey, Campbell wrote in his book, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power...
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...The Hero Without A Face Our world has given us a thousand forms of archetypical heros, from Greek mythological characters such as Hercules, to modern day characters such as Superman. All of these heros were given a path that they must follow in order to discover their ultimate destiny and become a hero. Joseph Campbell book, “A Hero With A Thousand Faces” has best explained the important stages that every hero needs to go by in order for fulfill their destiny, “ A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won" (Campbell 1). It is in this storyline that most storytellers need to go by in order to create the most closely related idea of a hero. Even though some heros do not follow these stages and their journey becomes more complex in relation to society, Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, seems to be the most hard to understand. Shakespeare created Hamlet as a hero who corrupts the archetype so much that the basic stages of his heroic journey must be changed in order to recognize him as a hero. Aristotle defined a hero as “a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle”. Aristotle simply states that the hero's downfall is usually cause by his own fault. Usually the hero’s death is seen as a waste of human potential but usually results in greater knowledge and awareness for whoever hears of the hero’s story...
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...The Tragedy of Hamlet A tragedy can be defined as a literary work in which the main character or characters suffer extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavourable circumstances. William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a well known play that falls under the genre of a tragedy because it’s very dramatic, contains numerous murders and has an overall suspenseful atmosphere throughout the play. Hamlet follows the elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy such as the tragic hero, a tragic flaw, and a tragic story. Hamlet is the quintessential tragic hero, he begins with good intentions but by the end he does not survive to see the full outcome of his actions. Hamlet possesses positive traits and demonstrates those traits throughout the play but Hamlet was incapable of defeating his own greatest flaw, his inability to take action which led to the demise of not only himself, but many around him. The third element is the tragic story, which leads up to and results in the death of the hero, the suffering that usually befalls the hero is unusual and disastrous. Hamlet follows all elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy with Hamlet as the tragic hero, his tragic flaw, and the tragic story that results in death. Tragic heroes often begin at a high position of nobility, as Hamlet is the prince of Denmark; he has a lofty position to fall from. When he is first introduced in Act 1 Scene 2, He is a young prince who...
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...distress. Arthur Miller's essay, 'Tragedy and the Common Man', contributes many different ideas on how he perceived tragedy. Trying to fulfil one's lives and personalities is usually how a tragic story happens. Hamlet tries to get revenge on Claudius when he find out what really happened to his father, starting his tragic story. He feels betrayed and is working hard to get his rightful position back. There is always the possibility that Hamlet is going to succeed in his mission. Tragedy is something that happens to everyone that is trying to fulfill themselves as a person, someone that is on a mission to get what they want. Hamlet starts with the plan of trying to get revenge on Claudius when he find out what the complete truth of what happened to his father. This is explained when he says, "As meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge." (Act 1, Scene 5, lines 30-31). He is a tragic hero, in which he goes on this mission of trying to get revenge for himself and his father, and ultimately succeeds, but then dies. He had a plan throughout the play, had many chances to fulfil the plan, but never went through with it. In Arthur Miller's essay, this is explained when he says "The tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing--his sense of personal dignity." (Miller, pg 1). Hamlet was doing all of this just for his father and for himself, to try and fix everything that had happened...
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...A Hero’s Journey: Hamlet and Simba What images come to mind as you reflect on your childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the warmest of memories. Yet for many mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept of their feet, and lions roar to their loyal place in the animal kingdom. There is no doubt that today’s entertainment has most of its touch using classical influences. Walt Disney has produced animated films that have captured the heart and imagination of audiences of all ages around the world through the magic of storytelling and imagery. Many of us appreciate the imagination and magic that Disney puts into its animations with out knowing they are based off of classical and traditional storylines that have been around for many years. For example the Disney movie The Lion King that is based off of the classical Shakespeare play Hamlet. The Lion King is possibly the most well known movie of the Disney collection that portrays a strong moral to its viewers. The journey that is taken by the characters in this movie is one from innocence to experience through confronting challenging situations. Just how Disney uses magic and imagination to capture its audience William Shakespeare also captured the hearts of people everywhere through the representation of emotions and feeling in his plays. Hamlet is without a question one of the most famous play in English literature. Through Hamlet Shakespeare shows a brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle...
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...Story of Hamlet in Hamlet Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet has one outstanding character, namely the protagonist Hamlet. His character is so complex that this essay will scarcely present an adequate portrayal of his character. John Russell Brown in “Soliloquies and Other Wordplay Let the Audience Share Some of Hamlet’s Thoughts” explains the interplay of dialogue, soliloquies and narrative in Hamlet’s role: By any reckoning Hamlet is one of the most complex of Shakespeare’s characters, and a series of soliloquies is only one of the means which encourage the audience to enter imaginatively into his very personal and frightening predicament. The play’s narrative is handled so that a prolonged two-way chase is sustained between him and the king, during which the audience knows more than either one of them and so thinks ahead and anticipates events. In interplay with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Polonius, and perhaps with Claudius, Gertrude and Ophelia, Hamlet has asides to draw attention to what dialogue cannot express(55-56). Marchette Chute describes the opening scene of the drama: “For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. [. . .] The hour comes, and the ghost walks” (35). Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet. There...
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...Character Analysis Hamlet Hamlet is an enigma. No matter how many ways critics examine him, no absolute truth emerges. Hamlet breathes with the multiple dimensions of a living human being, and everyone understands him in a personal way. Hamlet's challenge to Guildenstern rings true for everyone who seeks to know him: "You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." None of us ever really does. The conundrum that is Hamlet stems from the fact that every time we look at him, he is different. In understanding literary characters, just as in understanding real people, our perceptions depend on what we bring to the investigation. Hamlet is so complete a character that, like an old friend or relative, our relationship to him changes each time we visit him, and he never ceases to surprise us. Therein lies the secret to the enduring love affair audiences have with him. They never tire of the intrigue. The paradox of Hamlet's nature draws people to the character. He is at once the consummate iconoclast, in self-imposed exile from Elsinore Society, while, at the same time, he is the adulated champion of Denmark — the people's hero. He has no friends left, but Horatio loves him unconditionally. He is angry, dejected, depressed, and brooding; he is manic, elated, enthusiastic, and energetic. He is dark and suicidal, a man who loathes himself and his fate. Yet, at the same time, he is an existential thinker who accepts that he must deal with life on its own terms, that he must choose to meet...
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...different forms. Shakespeare definitely knew when he wrote about Hamlet, Prince of Denmark that he would be writing about a tremendous hero. Many people would not agree that Hamlet could be seen as a hero. Throughout the play he does prove to be a hero. The beginning of such bravery is seen when his father appears to him as a ghost. In a conversation between the ghost and Hamlet, Hamlet says, Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!—So, gentlemen, / With all my love I do commend me to you; / And what so poor a man as Hamlet is / May do t’express his love and friending to you, / God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together, / And still your fingers on your lips, I pray / The time is out of joint. Oh, cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right! / Nay, come, let’s go together.” (1.5.191-199). The ghost has confessed to Hamlet that he was murdered in this scene. This information is the reason why Hamlet must seek out revenge against the treacherous events that has been seen in Denmark. This is the beginning of where his heroism comes into play. In this exact scene he started to take on the responsibility that is set out for him. He accepts the authority that the ghost of his father has set upon him. In these lines “And still your fingers on your lips, I pray / The time is out of joint. Oh, cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right” (1.5.196-198). He listens to the spirit with will and loyalty. Hamlet was born to set Denmark back into the kingdom it was supposed...
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...Immortalized in History: Defining a Hero Throughout eras, tales of accomplishment and triumph emerge. From Julius Caesar, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King Jr, pioneers that take a stand for their ideals inspire generations that define them as heroic. One may ask,”What defines a hero?” Dictionary.com defines the word hero as: “a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal, or noted for courageous acts and nobility of character.” The great Bard Shakespeare created two of the most controversial heroes in literature in The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, and The Tragedy of Macbeth. These are controversial due to their modus operandi, as...
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...Hamlet is an enigma. No matter how many ways critics examine him, no absolute truth emerges. Hamlet breathes with the multiple dimensions of a living human being, and everyone understands him in a personal way. Hamlet's challenge to Guildenstern rings true for everyone who seeks to know him: "You would pluck out the heart of my mystery." None of us ever really does. The conundrum that is Hamlet stems from the fact that every time we look at him, he is different. In understanding literary characters, just as in understanding real people, our perceptions depend on what we bring to the investigation. Hamlet is so complete a character that, like an old friend or relative, our relationship to him changes each time we visit him, and he never ceases to surprise us. Therein lies the secret to the enduring love affair audiences have with him. They never tire of the intrigue. The paradox of Hamlet's nature draws people to the character. He is at once the consummate iconoclast, in self-imposed exile from Elsinore Society, while, at the same time, he is the adulated champion of Denmark — the people's hero. He has no friends left, but Horatio loves him unconditionally. He is angry, dejected, depressed, and brooding; he is manic, elated, enthusiastic, and energetic. He is dark and suicidal, a man who loathes himself and his fate. Yet, at the same time, he is an existential thinker who accepts that he must deal with life on its own terms, that he must choose to meet it head on. "We defy augury...
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...According to Aristotle, tragedy “depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods. The tragic hero's powerful wish to achieve some goal inevitably encounters limits, usually those of human frailty (flaws in reason, hubris, society), the gods (through oracles, prophets, fate), or nature” (Reeves 175). Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw and/or make some mistake (hamartia). The hero does not necessarily have to die at the end, but he/she must undergo a change in fortune. In addition, the tragic hero “may achieve some revelation or recognition (anagnorisis--"knowing again" or "knowing back" or "knowing throughout" ) about human fate, destiny, and the will of the gods” (Reeves 175). Aristotle quite nicely terms this sort of recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate" (Reeves 176). Both Oedipus and Hamlet both have qualities of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed; only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back...
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...Hamlet as a Tragic Hero William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language, wrote a total of 37 plays in his lifetime, all of which can be categorized under tragedy, comedy, or history. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare's most popular and greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics and academic commentators have found an unusual number of themes and literary techniques present in Hamlet. Hamlet concerns the murder of the king of Denmark and the murdered king's son's quest for revenge. Its main character, Hamlet, possesses a tragic flaw which obstructs his desire for revenge and ultimately brings about his death. This tragic flaw makes him a tragic hero, a character who is destroyed because of a major weakness, as his death at the end could possibly have been avoided were it not for his tragic flaw. Hamlet's flaw of irresolution, the uncertainty on how to act or proceed, is shown when Hamlet sees a play and the passion the actors had, after Hamlet's third soliloquy, in Hamlet's fourth soliloquy, and in Hamlet's indecisive pursuit in avenging his father's death. First, Hamlet's flaw of irresolution is shown when he sees a play and the passion one particular actor had. A group of players has arrived and Hamlet arranges a personal viewing of The Murder of Gonzago with a small portion of his own lines inserted. Hamlet then observes one portion...
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...Shakespearean tragedies? "Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." (F. Scott Fitzgerald) I also think this quote applies very well to William Shakespeare's works, for he has created such beautiful pieces of literature in the form of tragedies. There are several elements of Shakespearean tragedy. For example, Tragic hero, Tragic(Fatal) flaw, Internal and external conflict, Comic relief, The supernatural, The abnormality, Revenge, and Death etc. I am going to take a look at some of the elements of Shakespearean tragedy used in very famous plays, 'Hamlet' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. First of all, a 'Tragic flaw', by definition, is a personality trait that leads to the downfall of the protagonist. Hamlet is well aware of his fatal flaw from the beginning, he constantly questions himself on why he continues to delay the fulfillment of his duty. Hamlet finally acts to kill Claudius only after realizing that he is poisoned. But by putting off, his tragic flaw, leads to multiple death such as Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern and himself, too. Second, Use of 'supernatural' elements is one of common characteristics of the Elizabethan drama. In Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet's father who tells his son to avenge his death is introduced as a supernatural. Supernatural powers contribute to the fate of the protagonist. However, this is not solely responsible for the downfall of the hero, it still lies in the actions of the hero. These actions are the outcome...
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...To Be Or Not To Be: Aristotle’s Tragic Hero Aristotle defined a tragic hero as one that possesses certain characteristics, including a fatal weakness or mistake in judgment (hamartia), a reversal of fortune (peripeteia), a revelation that the misfortune the character experiences has come about due to his own behavior (anagnorisis), enormous pride (hubris), and an ultimate outcome of fate that is greater than deserved. In the 1601 play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the titular character serves as a quintessential example of the tragic hero, embodying every trait that Aristotle outlined in his famous definition. Hamlet’s hamartia is rooted in his excessive introspection and deliberation. As we see in multiple instances throughout the play, Hamlet’s contemplative nature leads to a delay in his actions -- he becomes trapped in his own thoughts, resulting in his disillusionment and detachment from reality alongside a single-minded obsession for avenging the death of his father. For example, when presented with the perfect opportunity to slay Claudius and achieve...
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