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The role of male figures in hamlet
Hamlet's tragic flaw death and tragedy
Hamlet's tragic flaw death and tragedy
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The first source that I have found on Shakespeare's play Hamlet is a website called Spark Notes. This non credible source off of the free web provides a summary of information on Shakespeare's play Hamlet. This website does not provide detailed information, it gives a very basic overview of the play. If you were to read the information on Spark Notes with out reading Hamlet, you wouldn't be able to receive most of the details that are in the play. The second source that I have found is an article from the library database's literature research center called, 'Hamlets Ordeals.'
The source from the library's database is more appropriate for a college research paper then the source from the free web due to the sources credibility and the
Originally titled The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, this tragedy has been reproduced more times than any other play written by William Shakespeare (en.wikipedia.org 1 of 9). Prince Hamlet also has the lengthiest appearance of any character in all of Shakespeare's plays (en.wikpedia.org 6 of 9). In the play, Prince Hamlet is caught between balancing his need to avenge his father's death, dealing with the disgust he felt for Gertrude and Claudius' love affair, and maintaining the relationship he has with Ophelia without exposing his plans to kill his uncle Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a classic tragedy style play set in Denmark during the middle ages. The story depicts a young prince Hamlet, who returns home to Denmark in order to attend his father’s funeral, where he is shockingly surprised at what he finds out. His mother, Gertrude, has already been remarried to a man named Claudius and he has been named king despite Hamlet’s right to the throne. Hamlet’s father comes to him as a ghost and confirms his suspicions in regards to King Hamlet being poisoned by Claudius. Prince Hamlet is asked to avenge his father and set everything straight so the King can pass on peacefully, but the Prince is unsure if the ghost is genuine. In order to set things straight, Hamlet puts on a play he calls, The Mousetrap, in order to sniff out some answers and ultimately lead him to aspire to kill Claudius. As a result, Hamlet gets Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ophelia, and Laertes all killed in the process of his quest. In the final part of the play, Hamlet kills Laertes with his own poisonous sword, and then kills Claudius, shortly before he himself dies of poison.
Even the most responsible people allow the aura of emptiness affect their decisions. Shakespeare expands this idea throughout the play of “Hamlet”. Many people believe that the depression that follows from emptiness does not change any individual’s choices, but even the hero Hamlet a “Prince to continue his strange behavior…because he himself has committed murder” falls victim to the dangers of loss (Werder). Karl Werder writes “The Heart of Hamlet’s Mystery” in order to further explain why losing a relationship with something important can change the decisions of an individual. Hamlet transforms from a hero into a confused wanderer that tries to find what he needs to do in order to patch the relationship that he lost when Claudius murders his father. Many characters fall to the dangers of losing a special relationship such as Claudius who commits fratricide, Ophelia that commits suicide, and Laertes who causes his own death, all caused from the same feeling of emptiness inside them and reworks them into a different person. Many people feel that other factors alter individuals’ decisions, but emptiness affects an individual’s choices for the worse.
Horatio just glanced over to acknowledge that he understood but Marcellus was so scared at the time he didn’t even notice. The Guards and Horatio go get Prince Hamlet, son of the late King Hamlet of Denmark and take him to the top of the castle to see for himself but the Prince was delusional and vulnerable. He came anyway and when the ghost appeared in the thick fog it almost seemed real to Horatio whom played a strong role of playing shocked and scared but he knew that it was not the old king, but Hamlet didn’t know that and in his state of denial of the recent events in his life he is sucked into believing that it is true and his father has come back to help him. Marcellus and Horatio try and come up with a rational explanation but Marcellus could not think of one and leaves Horatio with knowledge that they believe. Was it true? Did this really happen? The night before last Horatio was in the castle and walked passed King Claudius’s chamber and overheard him confessing his sins to god and overheard the whole story on how and whom killed King Hamlet.
In order to understand Hamlet, we must understand his frustration. This frustration is most clear in his famous monologue, famously beginning with the line "Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I."
Tragedies are an inherent part of human culture and drama. They are centered around sadness and death - misfortune and the falling of great characters. Ultimately tragedies were designed to be, and still are (over two and a half millennia after they were created) cathartic. Catharsis means “purification” in Greek, and it is precisely this which is at the center of the tragic power contained in this genre of drama. Catharsis allows us to release emotions, not just in traditional ways but as a group audience. Tragedies, though they show purposefully depressing subject matter, bring us together as a group - we identify with the main character because we have gone through the same things they are experiencing on stage. This is the great mirror
It was my observation after reading Hamlet, that the play and its main character are not typical examples of tragedy and contain a questionable "tragic flaw" in the tragic hero. I chose this topic because Hamlet is a tragedy, but one that is very different from classical tragedies such as Medea. I also found quite a lot of controversial debate over the play and its leading character. While reading through my notes, I found that, according to Aristotle, "the tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor evil but a mixture of both; and also that the tragic effect will be stronger if the hero is better than we are in the sense that he is of higher than ordinary moral worth. Such a man is exhibited as suffering a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act, to which he is led by his hamartia ("error of judgment") or his tragic flaw." It is important that this be clear, because I plan to demonstrate how Shakespeare makes Hamlet an atypical tragedy to begin with, and how controversial an issue Hamlet's tragic flaw is.
What does this word represent? Does it express held up emotions, aim to hurt one’s feelings, or is it simply a way to poke fun of friends and then laugh along together? In Hamlet, the young Denmark prince uses sarcasm as a way to express his feelings about the death of his father in both bitter and humorous manners. When Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, asked him, “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?” (I.ii.66), Hamlet bitterly replied, “Not so my lord.
Shakespeare 's dramatic and compelling play Hamlet has been contorted into many different ways. There have been many takes on Shakespeare 's intent for the play Hamlet. Out of the three movie adaptations Gibson, Hawke, and Branagh; I believe that Branagh 's adaptation reflects Shakespeare 's true intent. This shows when The Mouse Trap, Ophelia goes mad, and when the play comes to its end.
Hamlet's problem is not exact; it cannot be pinpointed. In fact, Hamlet has numerous problems that contribute to his dilemma. The first of these problems is the appearance of King Hamlet's ghost to his son, Hamlet. Hamlet's morality adds a great deal to his delay in murdering the current king, Claudius. One of Hamlet's biggest drawbacks is that he tends to think things out too much. Hamlet does not act on instinct; however, he makes certain that every action is premeditated. Hamlet suffers a great deal from melancholy; this in turn causes him to constantly second guess himself. The Ghost is the main cause of Hamlet's melancholy. Also, Hamlet's melancholy helps to clear up certain aspects of the play. These are just a few of the problems that Hamlet encounters throughout his ordeal.
In 350 B.C.E., a great philosopher wrote out what he thought was the definition of a tragedy. As translated by S.H. Butcher, Aristotle wrote; “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Melody. (http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html)” Later in history, William Shakespeare wrote tragedies that epitomized Aristotle’s outline of a tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one such tragedy.
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.
Romans 12:19, from the NIV Bible, states “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19). This verse emphasizes that one should not take revenge into his own hands, but rather let God handle it. God’s wrath will eventually catch up with those who do wrong, and it is not one’s place to seek revenge. By seeking revenge, it makes them the villain as well as the victim. Shakespeare highlights the victim becoming the villain in the revenge tragedy, Hamlet. During the course of the play, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet as the victim at first, but later becomes the villain when he murders his uncle to seek revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet’s Christian values kept him from seeking revenge all throughout the play until the very end. Some critics say Hamlet did not act on revenge because he was a coward; however, Hamlet did not act because he thought the ghost might be the devil, he wanted to make sure he had a reason to get revenge, and he knew the Bible says it is wrong to kill.
Hamlet's famous soliloquy (Hamlet, act III, scene 1) shows his depth and ability in thinking, and shows Shakespeare's ability to manipulate language. Throughout the play, Hamlet stops to think before acting on anything. The more he thinks, the less he does. Therefore, thinking led him to doubt, which led to inaction. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all." Hamlet's "tragic flaw" is his inability to act on impulse.
Disillusionment. Depression. Despair. These are the burning emotions churning in young Hamlet's soul as he attempts to come to terms with his father's death and his mother's incestuous, illicit marriage. While Hamlet tries to pick up the pieces of his shattered idealism, he consciously embarks on a quest to seek the truth hidden in Elsinore; this, in stark contrast to Claudius' fervent attempts to obscure the truth of murder. Deception versus truth; illusion versus reality.