The Tragedy Of Hamlet
In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent event. Although many people lose their lives as a result of their own self-centered wrong-doing, there are others whose deaths are a result of manipulation from the royalty. This is the case of Polonius' family. The real tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family but of Polonius' family because their deaths were not the consequence of sinful actions of their own but rather by their innocent involvement in the schemes of Claudius and Hamlet.The first character to die in Hamlet is Polonius. Although Polonius often acts in a deceitful manner when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he is carrying out plans devised by the king or queen to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness. Being the king's Lord Chamberlain, it is his duty to obey the king and queen's wishes and it is this loyalty that eventually proves to be fatal for him. An example of how Polonius' innocent involvement with the royalty results in his death can be found at the beginning of Act III, scene iv, when Hamlet stabs him while he is hiding behind the arras in Gertrude's room. This shows how Polonius, a man unaware of the true nature of the situation he
He is asking Laertes whether he is really sorry about his father's death or if he is just acting mournful without feeling mournful. Claudius uses these lines to lead Laertes into a plan to kill Hamlet, asking him what he will do to prove his love for his father in Act IV, scene vii, lines 124 to 126. is in, is killed by a member of the royalty during the execution of one of their schemes. This makes Polonius' death a tragedy. The next member of Polonius' family to die is his daughter Ophelia. Ophelia's death is tragic because of her complete innocence in the situation. Some may argue that Polonius deserves his fate because of his deceitfulness in dealing with Hamlet while he is mad, but Ophelia is entirely manipulated and used by Hamlet and the king for their own selfish reasons. An example of how Ophelia is used by Hamlet takes place in Act II, scene i, when Hamlet uses her to convince his family he is mad. Ophelia explains to Polonius how Hamlet has scared her, causing Polonius to draw the conclusion that Hamlet has an "antic disposition". Although this is subject to interpretation and many believe that this is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia before he becomes engaged in his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that he scares her and does not try to alleviate these fears points to the conclusion that he is simpl
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hamlet Claudius, Act IV, Polonius Hamlet, Claudius Laertes, Act III, Hamlet Hamlet, Ophelia Ophelia's, William Shakespeare, Lord Chamberlain, Ophelia's Polonius', polonius' family, iv scene vii, murder hamlet, hamlet claudius, claudius laertes, scene vii, iv scene, act iv, hamlet hamlet, death tragedy, act iv scene, act iii scene, manipulated hamlet, iii scene iv, scene vii lines,
Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
