Essay on Hamlet and Tragedy - 524 Words

Hamlet and Tragedy Hamlet: A Tragedy When you think of William Shakespeare, Hamlet is the first thing most people think of, as his work. Hamlet is also a classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. All good pieces of literature written way back when, are usually tragedies. The most important element is the amount of free will the character has. In every tragedy, the character must display free will. If every action is controlled by a heros destiny, then the heros death cant be avoided, and in a tragedy the sad part is that it could. Hamlets death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had many†¦show more content†¦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. 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 Engla nd, he was taking a big risk and knew they were out to kill him. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry with Claudius and his Mother. Eric Bentley said that a Tragedy is dependent on comedy. Comic relief is used in tragedies to change the atmosphere of the reader, who is constantly focusing on the death and corruption of a tragedy. If a play were full of the death and sorrow, as in tragedies, it would make the reader very depressed and not like the play. Some examples of this in Hamlet, are in the Gravedigger Scene, Talking to the Skull and the Throwing of the book. Towards the end of the play, there are two scenes in the graveyard. One is when Hamlet picks up a skull, and the gravedigger tells him that the skull belonged to Yorick, the old kings jester. Hamlet tells Horatio that he knew Yorick, and then realizes what we all become after we die, dust. He then plays with the idea of life and death, and describes the finality of it. The gravedigger scene is the tragic conclusion of the play. The second scene of comedy in this scene is when the gravediggers argue whether Ophelia should be allowed to beShow MoreRelatedHamlet and The Spanish Tragedy654 Words   |  3 Pagesbetween Hamlet and The Spanish Tragedy demonstrate the influence Kyds play had on Shakespeare. The similarities can be seen throughout the plot lines and context of both plays. While using the plays as different tools, both are used for expediting revenge. Shakespeare, through the impact of Kyds play, established and perfected an ideal plot for a play expressing revengeful traged y. The actions and thoughts that Hamlet shows greatly displays many characteristics from The Spanish Tragedy. 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