Arguably, the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is
the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually
dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis
falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison
tipped sword. But that is not all tht is need to consider a play a tragedy, and
sometimes a hero doesn't even need to die. Not every play in which a hero dies
is considered a tragedy. There are more elements needed to label a play one.
Probably the most important element is an amount of free will. In every tragedy,
the characters must display some. If every action is controlled by a hero's
destiny, then the hero's death can't be avoided, and in a tragedy the sad part
is tht it could. Hamlet's death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had
many opportunities to kill Claudius, but didn't take advantage of them. He also
had the option of making his claim public, but instead he chose not too. A
tragic hero doesn't need to be good. For example, MacBeth was evil, yet he was a
tragic hero, because he had free will. He also had only one flaw, and that was
pride. He had many good traits such as bravery, but his one bad trait made him
evil. Also a tragic hero doesn't' have to die. While in all Shakespearean
tragedies, the hero dies, in others he may live but suffer ""oral
Destruction"" In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king plucks
his eyes out, and has to spend his remaining days as a wandering, sightless
beggar, guided at every painful step by his daughter, Antigone. A misconception
about tragedies is that nothing good comes out of them, but it is actually the
opposite. In Romeo and Juliet, although both die, they end the feud between the
Capulets and the Montegues. Also, Romeo and Juliet can be together in heaven. In
Hamlet, although Hamlet dies, it is almost the best. How could he have any
pleasure during the rest of his life, with his parents and Ophelia dead. Also,
although Hamlet dies, he is able to kill Claudius and get rid of the evil ruling
of the throne. Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. The tragic hero must
possess many good traits, as well as one flaw, which eventually leads to his
downfall. A tragic hero must be brave and noble. In Othello, Othello had one
fatal flaw, he was too great. Othello was too brave, too noble, and especially
too proud to allow himself to be led back to Venice in chains. A tragic hero
must not back down from his position. He also had to have free will, in order to
stand up for what he believes in. Finally, the audience must have some sympathy
for the tragic hero. In Macbeth, although MacBeth commits many murders, one
almost feels sorry for him and his fate. Hamlet is the perfect example of the
tragic hero. Hamlet has all the good traits needed to be a tragic hero. He is
brave and daring. One example of this is that when he went to England, he was
taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he would have been executed. He also
is loyal. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry at Claudius
and his mother. Another trait was that he was intelligent. He was able to think
up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get more information about Claudius.
But Hamlet like all other tragic heros had a flaw. He couldn't get around to
doing anything, because he couldn't move on. He was a full grown adult, yet he
still attended school in England, because he couldn't move on. Also, it took him
a long time to stop grieving about his father, because he didn't want to move
past that party of his life. And after he finally did, Hamlet couldn't get
around to killing Claudius. He kept pretending he was insane even after he was
sure that Claudius killed his father. The final example of Hamlet's inability to
get around to do anything was that he w as dating Ophelia for a long time, but
never got around to marrying her. The audience was able to feel sympathy for
Hamlet too. He had just lost his father, and his mother remarried so quickly
that according to him they could have used the leftover food from the funeral in
the wedding reception. Also, the audience could feel that Hamlet loved his
parents and this sudden change was hurting him. In any tragedy, there is a
tragic hero, and he must possess certain characteristics in order to be one. He
must have many good traits such as loyalty and bravery, but one bad one such as
pride. Also the audience must have sympathy for the hero. A tragic hero also
must have free will or his fate would be decided for him. And his death could
have been avoided. Finally, the audience must have sympathy for the tragic hero,
or it w ouldnt seem so tragic. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero. He
was brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he couldn't move past one thing, which
let to his death. HE had a choice of how he would deal with Claudius, and like
other tragic heros he made a decision. Also, the audience was able to feel
sympathy for the position Hamlet was in. These attributes made Hamlet the
perfect example of a tragic hero.