The Critique of the Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: Part Two
Olivia Hunt asked:
Thus, Hamlet wants to revenge for his father’s death. He is intelligent enough to pretend to be mentally ill in order to find out more information about his uncle Claudius. However, Hamlet is not able to avoid the sad outcomes. Hamlet is noble and is not afraid of death:
‘To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep’. (Act III, Scene I)
Thus, Hamlet’s greatest drawback is his indecision that is fully expressed in the remark: ‘to be or not to be’. When he knows all the bitter truth about his father’s death, he still pretends to be mad and cannot make up his mind to kill Claudius. Although he loves Ophelia for a ling time, he does not marry her. Besides, being an adult, he is still a student at school in England. His father’s death and the appearance of father’s ghost do not allow Hamlet forget the past. He does not want to live as the life does not bring him happiness and joy. Hamlet cannot go through the grief and move on:
‘I have of late—but
wherefore I know not–lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory.’ (Act II, Scene II)
Consequently, spectators have sympathy for the tragic hero. The audience sympathizes with Hamlet because he loses his father and his mother marries again after his father’s funeral. Hamlet loves his parents and his father’s sudden death hurts him greatly. This sad event hurts him even more when he finds out all the truth about his father’s death. Consequently, these events do not allow him forget the past and move on. All his actions are done of his own free will. Hamlet could avoid the death. However, the tragedy consists in that a hero has a free will and he takes decisions that lead to a tragedy.
Summarizing, ‘Hamlet’ is the classic example of a tragedy, in which the major elements of a tragedy are present. Hamlet is intelligent, brave and noble. The audience sympathizes with him. Hamlet’s tragedy is both self-inflicted and beyond his control. The major character of the play, Hamlet, has a tragic drawback which leads him to the death. This tragic drawback makes him a tragic hero whose weakness leads him to the sad outcome that could be avoided.
EVP Recordings
Thus, Hamlet wants to revenge for his father’s death. He is intelligent enough to pretend to be mentally ill in order to find out more information about his uncle Claudius. However, Hamlet is not able to avoid the sad outcomes. Hamlet is noble and is not afraid of death:
‘To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep’. (Act III, Scene I)
Thus, Hamlet’s greatest drawback is his indecision that is fully expressed in the remark: ‘to be or not to be’. When he knows all the bitter truth about his father’s death, he still pretends to be mad and cannot make up his mind to kill Claudius. Although he loves Ophelia for a ling time, he does not marry her. Besides, being an adult, he is still a student at school in England. His father’s death and the appearance of father’s ghost do not allow Hamlet forget the past. He does not want to live as the life does not bring him happiness and joy. Hamlet cannot go through the grief and move on:
‘I have of late—but
wherefore I know not–lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory.’ (Act II, Scene II)
Consequently, spectators have sympathy for the tragic hero. The audience sympathizes with Hamlet because he loses his father and his mother marries again after his father’s funeral. Hamlet loves his parents and his father’s sudden death hurts him greatly. This sad event hurts him even more when he finds out all the truth about his father’s death. Consequently, these events do not allow him forget the past and move on. All his actions are done of his own free will. Hamlet could avoid the death. However, the tragedy consists in that a hero has a free will and he takes decisions that lead to a tragedy.
Summarizing, ‘Hamlet’ is the classic example of a tragedy, in which the major elements of a tragedy are present. Hamlet is intelligent, brave and noble. The audience sympathizes with him. Hamlet’s tragedy is both self-inflicted and beyond his control. The major character of the play, Hamlet, has a tragic drawback which leads him to the death. This tragic drawback makes him a tragic hero whose weakness leads him to the sad outcome that could be avoided.
EVP Recordings
