Spring Final Exam #3 In Hamlet by William Shakespeare is the play that most people think about when taking about tragedies. Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, kills Hamlet’s father King Hamlet, and marries Hamlet’s mother, Queen Getrude. Hamlet the wants revenge on now Kind Claudius for murdering his father by poison. This leads to Claudius poisoning his wife on accident, when trying to poison Hamlet. Polonius wants to poison Hamlet by slashing him with his poisoned covered sword. He does this, and the Hamlet kills Polonius. Hamlet now dying from the poisonous sword he got cut with, switches his focus on killing the King. He does this by forcing him to drink the wine that he initially poisoned to kill Hamlet but instead ended up killing him …show more content…
A tragedy in a play is created by a series of misfortunes, and unfortunate events, such as a death. The point of a tragedy in a play, novel, book, movie, or any form of literature is to bring out certain aspects, traits, flaws, or characteristics of the character most affected by the tragedy. These types of stories or plays attract the reader’s attention because they keep the readers interest in the ever changing characteristics of the characters, the possibility for revenge, or interest in seeing how it turns into a tragedy. A tragedy in a play usually leads to one death, usually more. It sometimes begins with a character wanting revenge, or just because they are greedy. The tragedy occurs with a downfall of a character. Without the main characters downfall, there would be no reason for there to be any sympathy towards them. In Shakespearean tragedies, the protagonist is the main character who has a downfall, and a flaw that ultimately lead to their demise. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good …show more content…
The real question is why is Hamlet considered one of the best, if not the best tragic story of all time? There are a few reasons why this is such a great tragic story. First we need to know what a tragedy is and why is there one in this story. A character, in this case Hamlet, needs to have a tragic flaw, many characters point out Hamlet’s flaw. Second he needs a reason for his flaw to show. In Hamlet’s case, it was the death of his father, and his mother remarrying, his uncle Claudius. The reason for his flaw to show is because he wants revenge on Claudius for murdering his father with poison. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is “a tragedy is defined as an imitation of an event that is serious, complete, and possesses magnitude.” Hamlet has an undeniable series of serious and unfortunate events which leads him to possess a great anger, thirst and hunger to get revenge for his father by killing his uncle. Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to Hamlet and tells Hamlet to avenge him by killing the man that killed him, King
Aristotle states that "For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality. Now character determines men's qualities, but it is by their actions that they are happy or the reverse. Dramatic action, therefore, is not with a view to the representation of character: character comes in as subsidiary to the actions. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of a tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all.
and horror in the audience, and usually die, and in doing so, re-establish. order in the society. Hamlet follows this to a "T". Death of a Salesman does not fall within these set guidelines but is still considered tragic. for reasons, though different, somewhat parallel those of Hamlet. & nbsp; Hamlet, a rich young price of high moral estate suddenly has his joyous life ripped away from him when his father, Hamlet Sr., suddenly passes away. Though originally thought to be of natural causes, it is later revealed to him through his father's ghost, that dear old dad was. murdered by his step-father, and also his uncle, Claudius.
The Tragedy of Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare about a young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In the beginning of the play, young Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, who tells Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, killed him. Meanwhile Hamlets mother, Gertrude, has gotten married to said uncle. Now it is Hamlet’s job to kill his Uncle-father to avenge his dead father, a task that may prove to daunting for Hamlet. In Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, the author uses diction and syntax to make Hamlet portray himself as mentally insane when in reality, he is sane thorough the duration of the play, tricking the other characters into giving up their darkest secrets.
James Liang, seasoned Volkswagen engineer, pleaded guilty to charges of “conspiracy to commit fraud against U.S. regulators and customers and to violate the Clean Air Act”. He faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 dollars. In order to design a clean diesel engine, James and other Volkswagen employees developed and implemented a software device that would detect and cheat the U.S. emissions test. Under the façade of a software update, Volkswagen engineers also improved the accuracy of the emission beating setting of purchased vehicles in order to avoid warranty costs. I will morally analyze James Liang’s actions using Immanuel Kant’s theory of duty ethics and rule utilitarianism.
Hamlet's tragic flaw was that he either considered things too much, or he acted on impulse but out of passion and not reason, which leads to his downfall. Hamlet was an over thinker and a complex philosopher who wanted revenge on his father’s death. Things don’t go as planned as Hamlet’s two opposite flaws change things. One of Hamlet’s flaws, procrastination, is shown in the prayer scene when he has the opportunity to kill Claudius and get revenge on his father’s death, and he doesn’t take it. His second flaw completely opposite from the first, was acting on impulse out of passion making him kill the wrong man, Polonius. Hamlet’s acting out of passion and anger not only killed the wrong man but it was also Ophelia’s father, causing her to commit suicide. Hamlet was a hero trying to do the right thing, but his tragic flaws turn everything around when everyone including himself dies .
Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous work of tragedy. Throughout the play the title character, Hamlet, tends to seek revenge for his father’s death. Shakespeare achieved his work in Hamlet through his brilliant depiction of the hero’s struggle with two opposing forces that hunt Hamlet throughout the play: moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. When Hamlet sets his mind to revenge his fathers’ death, he is faced with many challenges that delay him from committing murder to his uncle Claudius, who killed Hamlets’ father, the former king. During this delay, he harms others with his actions by acting irrationally, threatening Gertrude, his mother, and by killing Polonius which led into the madness and death of Ophelia. Hamlet ends up deceiving everyone around him, and also himself, by putting on a mask of insanity. In spite of the fact that Hamlet attempts to act morally in order to kill his uncle, he delays his revenge of his fathers’ death, harming others by his irritating actions. Despite Hamlets’ decisive character, he comes to a point where he realizes his tragic limits.
Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary work that describes the downfall of an honorable, main character who is involved on historically or socially significant events. The main character, or tragic hero, has a tragic fault, the quality that leads to his or her own destruction. In reading Aristotle’s point of view, a tragedy play is when the main character(s) are under enormous pressure and are incapable to see the dignities in human life, which Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy is based on Oedipus the King. Shakespeare had a different view of tragedy. In fact, Shakespeare believed tragedy is when the hero is simply and solely destroyed. Golden (1984) argued the structure of Shakespearean tragedy would be that individual characters revolved around some pain and misery.
William Shakespeare is known for his dark, romantic theatrical productions, and an example of Shakespeare’s world renowned work is the play Hamlet. In this play there are a variety of characters that contribute to the play’s plot and tones. For example, Polonius, Osric, and the Gravedigger include comedic relief to certain tones in the plot whereas Claudius, Laertes, and Fortinbras provide a sense of dark, sinister deceit within the plot. The main character, Hamlet, contributes to the play in a distinct way because he is portrayed in two different ways. The first way he is portrayed he is seen as the heir to the throne who is full of sorrow for his father’s death and distaste for his mother’s quick remarriage. Yet, Hamlet takes it upon himself
Hamlet is a bitter tragedy of revenge and deceit. Unbeknownst to Hamlet, his father, the king of Denmark, is murdered by his own brother, Claudius — who then marries the queen and assumes the throne. Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost, who compels him to enact revenge upon his uncle — but spare his mother. Hamlet finally decides to stage a play in which there is a poisoning scene, meant to stir his uncle into panic. Hamlet’s plan is successful, but he, in a fit of rage, accidentally...
Before I can answer your question, you must first understand the difference between the meaning of tragedy today and what is meant by tragedy in drama. Whereas a tragedy in life may be considered something such as a death or accident, in drama a tragedy in drama is much more. In a tragedy, although the hero may be in conflict with an opposing force, the cause of his downfall falls ultimately on himself. This is usually because of a character defect – a “tragic flaw” which causes him to act in a way which ends up bringing about his own misfortune, suffering and ultimately death. “Hamlet” is very much a tragedy, but it is also different, being a revenge tragedy where the hero is driven by the need for revenge, not unlike a modern day horror movie. Prince Hamlet is a tragedy of character where it is himself that brings his downfall, not fate.
William Shakespeare's “Hamlet” is one of the most tragic plays ever written. It is about a young prince trying to keep his word to his dead father by avenging his death. Hamlet procrastinates when avenging his father’s death, which is his tragic flaw. Hamlet appears to be a coward as well as depressed. He finds himself questioning his own ambitious motives, such as revenge and hatred toward his murderous uncle.
It can be argued upon in the case of Hamlet because not just one large flaw lead to his downfall, and what one feels is his true flaw can vary by opinion and interpretation. While there are the popular opinions of his tragic flaw being that he is indecisive regarding taking action against Claudius or too driven toward his ambitions (such as for the throne), Hamlet’s true fatal flaw is his understanding and use of the power of language and words. It is identification with and immense knowledge of language that bring his own tragic ending and the tragic ending of those around him. The idea of Hamlet’s connections to words is a main theme in the play, and throughout the novel the importance of language to Hamlet is emphasized in different ways (example of him reciting and writing play, word words excerpt, etc.). It is this connection he has that leads to his all-too-literary analysis of
Hamlet’s tragic flaw was shown to him in a dream by the ghost of his father. His father tells him that he was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. In this scene, the tragic flaw was transferred and manifested itself in Hamlet’s actions. His obsession with revenge and death is all he can think about. He needs to act quickly and decisively but finds himself procrastinating about what to do. In Act III, Hamlet holds the knife over the head of his uncle, Claudius, but cannot strike the fatal blow. Instead, he writes a play about the same scenario to study the reaction of Claudius as to a clue of his guilt. After he decides Claudius is guilty of murdering his father, he still relents from taking his revenge. He says, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thought of love May sweep to my revenge.
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.