Tragic Hero and Hamlet S Life
Hamlet’s Tragic Flaws
It is part of daily living to experience tragedy; whether as an individual or to those around you; tragedy is a part of life. For some, tragedy happens for no apparent reason; one may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. For others, tragedy is the consequence of choices an individual makes. Tragedy is a common genre of writing. It involves a drastic change in fortune that is caused by a horrible mistake by a character. The character has the desire to change the present situation. A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and dies. One of the essential elements of a tragic hero is the tragic flaw – a set of inherent personality traits that inevitably dooms the character to destruction. Hamlet is an example of Shakespeare’s tragic hero. His tragic flaws are his indecisive nature, his inability to act, and his misogyny, mistrusting of women, all of which lead to his demise.
Hamlet’s indecisive nature makes him delay his plan for revenge, which give others opportunities to prepare and eventually strike back on him. He thinks, rather than taking action. When Hamlet meets the ghost of his dead father King Hamlet, the ghost reveals to Hamlet that his Uncle Claudius is “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life, now wears his crown”, but Hamlet is reluctant to believe it. Even though Hamlet promises that he will revenge for his father “O cursed spite/ that ever I was born to set it right”. Yet, Hamlet does not take action after the meeting with ghost; instead, he plans a play “The Mouse Trap,” in order to expose Claudius. Hamlet wants to prove the credibility of the story that the ghost has told him. After the play is performed, Hamlet is certain of the fact that his father was murdered. But he is still unsure about his decision to kill Claudius, as shown in the quotation “To be, or not to be”. When Hamlet hesitates to make his decision, it
It is part of daily living to experience tragedy; whether as an individual or to those around you; tragedy is a part of life. For some, tragedy happens for no apparent reason; one may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. For others, tragedy is the consequence of choices an individual makes. Tragedy is a common genre of writing. It involves a drastic change in fortune that is caused by a horrible mistake by a character. The character has the desire to change the present situation. A tragic hero, therefore, is the character who experiences a conflict and suffers catastrophically as a result of his choices and dies. One of the essential elements of a tragic hero is the tragic flaw – a set of inherent personality traits that inevitably dooms the character to destruction. Hamlet is an example of Shakespeare’s tragic hero. His tragic flaws are his indecisive nature, his inability to act, and his misogyny, mistrusting of women, all of which lead to his demise.
Hamlet’s indecisive nature makes him delay his plan for revenge, which give others opportunities to prepare and eventually strike back on him. He thinks, rather than taking action. When Hamlet meets the ghost of his dead father King Hamlet, the ghost reveals to Hamlet that his Uncle Claudius is “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life, now wears his crown”, but Hamlet is reluctant to believe it. Even though Hamlet promises that he will revenge for his father “O cursed spite/ that ever I was born to set it right”. Yet, Hamlet does not take action after the meeting with ghost; instead, he plans a play “The Mouse Trap,” in order to expose Claudius. Hamlet wants to prove the credibility of the story that the ghost has told him. After the play is performed, Hamlet is certain of the fact that his father was murdered. But he is still unsure about his decision to kill Claudius, as shown in the quotation “To be, or not to be”. When Hamlet hesitates to make his decision, it