The ghost is introduced by Shakespeare right at the beginning the main character that is Hamlet is told of the gruesome evil and violent death of the ghost and the sexual aspect of the play was clearly evident when Claudius married Gertrude the ghost tells Hamlet that he has been given the duty to avenge the death of his father Hamlet now tries to find a way to kill Claudius although he doesn’t know how to go about it. He ponders his thoughts expecting to do the deed immediately but instead drags it until the end of the play. In between he accidentally kills Polonious taking him to be the king. This brings about the cause for Laertes revenge. Hamlet sends two of his friends to their deathbed. The whole thing was a ploy to get closer to Claudius. Hamlet started a battle of wits between him and Claudius by acting mad. He wanted to act mad as to isolate him from the rest of the court. But this tactic was a disadvantage as it caused to bring all the attention upon him. Hence in the end all the characters on both sides die except Horatio
According to the requirements of typical revenge tragedies, Hamlet very closely follows the regular convention of Elizabethan tragedies. First he is faced with the fact that he had to revenge his father’s death since there is no fair justice available he must take the law into his own hands. Another point is that when the revenge is finally decided upon Hamlet delays the act till the end.
The plot of the story takes place in three stages. First Hamlet had to prove that what the ghost was saying was true so Hamlet brings the play the mousetrap. Secondly he could have k9ill Claudius but he doesn’t as he thought that killing Claudius while he was praying would send him to heaven. The third delay was that he got side tracked as he accidentally killed Polonious and so caused another obstacle in his path.
Hamlet is purported to be one of the best play to be written by Shakespeare. It is a classis example of a tragedy where the hero suffers and eventually dies in the end. In every tragedy the character must display some amount of freewill. If every action were controlled by fate then the death couldn’t have been avoided. But the sad thing is that in a tragedy it could have been. A tragic hero need not die but if remaining alive he may suffer from moral destruction. It is always a misconception that nothing good comes from tragedies but here hamlets death was almost for the best.
If alive he wouldn’t be able to have any pleasure, as all the people he loved were dead. Ina tragedy the hero must have all good qualities but one flaw that lead to his downfall. Hamlet had all the qualities as well as the tragic flaw that was his delay in taking his action.
Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic hero, he has so many good traits such as bravery, loyalty and intelligence but his flaw of indescisiveness brought him to his downfall. He had a choice of how to deal with Claudius and like other tragic heroes made a decision. The audience was able to feel sympathy for the position he was in. These attributes made Hamlet a great example of a tragic character.
In Aristotle’s opinion, plot is the most important aspect of the tragedy. All other parts such as diction, character, thought all stem from the plot. Shakespeare Hamlet follows this for most part.
Aristotle states that a tragedy should be an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude. It is serious as it centers on the quest to avenge Hamlets fathers’ death. Hamlet is complete in the sense that in the end of act five scenes 2 all the loose ends are tied in the believable and smooth manner. Hamlet is certain magnitude as all the characters are realistic and the audience can relate to them in real life.
Shakespeare has made the plot to convey fear and pity. Pity is aroused in the audience when they see the painful situation Hamlet is placed in and the fear is aroused by the unfailing prevail of evil and superstition throughout the play. Aristotle stresses on the importance of diction. Shakespeare utilizes diction perfectly and everything the character says is appropriate for them to be saying.
It should be assumed that revenge plays parallel the moral expectations of Elizabethan audience. Church, state and the regular moral of people of in that age did not accept revenge in any circumstance no matter what the original deed was. Revenge was considered as a sin and blasphemy endangering the soul of the revenger. The revenger taking the law in his own hands was going against the political authorities of the state. Therefore it should never be thought that Elizabethan people like revenge. They just felt good to see it in plays but it was utterly condemned in society. Hence Shakespeare keeping the needs of all kind of audience in his mind has dealt brilliantly in finding a way to end Hamlets life justly even though he was required to kill Claudius.
A Shakespearian tragedy is one where the hero has to have a high position in society. This is a technique used so that it affects the audience. The fall of the hero would affect the whole society. The audience feels deeply grieved at the death of Hamlet because, if he had been spared a lot of good could have been accomplished.
A sense of wastefulness is undertaken as Hamlet dies as a good man and so it has a greater impact on the audience. At the end all the people on stage have been reconciled with Hamlet and the Claudius had been isolated as the only villain, dying not because of what Hamlet was told by the ghost but as to what the living had told him. Laertes and queen Gertrude die as forgiven people but Claudius dies a villain’s death. Laertes is put on a high moral level. This increases the audience’s sympathy for him. Act fire scene 2 is considered a fitting climax as it ties all the loose ends. Both Hamlet and Leartes have completed the revenge. Fortinbras has been brought in to take over the kingdom. He had also avenged his fathers death but without any revenge so he was rewarded with the kingdom. Shakespeare brought the play to a good end as the kingdom was in good hands.
Hamlet has been constructed in such a marvelous way. The story was about three young men whose fathers had been brutally killed (Hamlet, Leartes and Fortinbras). Hamlet and Leartes took the law into their own hands and so ended in grief. But Fortinbras triumphs, being obedient to the law. This is why Act five scene 2 is considered as a fitting climax.
When compared to other tragedies such as those written by Thomas Kyd and Seneca, the same is the case. The Spanish tragedy written by Thomas Kyd is an excellent example of a revenge tragedy. With this play the Elizabethan Theater revived its first revenge tragedy. Because of the success of this play the dramatic form had to be imitated. Seneca was among the greatest authors of classical tragedies and there was not one educated Elizabethan who was unaware of him and his plays. There were certain stylistic and different strategically thoughts and devices those Elizabethan playwrights, including Shakespeare learned from Seneca.
Looking of the character of Hamlet we can say that his life is a parallel to Jesus’ life as most of the crucial details are evident. Hamlet does appear as martyr or a Christ live figure in act five scene 2 when he chooses to have a honest leader to rule the state and give up his own life to rid the state of an evil and undeserving one.
