The Tragedy of Hamlet

                    Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In
                    all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis
                    falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison tipped sword. But that is not all that is needed
                    to consider a play a tragedy, and sometimes a hero doesn't even need to die.

                    Not every play in which a Hero dies is considered a tragedy. There are more elements needed to label a play one.
                    Probably the most important element is an amount of free will. In every tragedy, the characters must displays some. If
                    every action is controlled by a hero's destiny, then the hero's death can't be avoided, and in a tragedy the sad part is that
                    it could. Hamlet's death could have been avoided many times. Hamlet had many opportunities to kill Claudius, but did not
                    take advantage of them. He also had the option of making his claim public, but instead he chose not too. A tragic hero
                    doesn't need to be good. For example, MacBeth was evil, yet he was a tragic hero, because he had free will. He also had
                    only one flaw, and that was pride. He had many good traits such as bravery, but his one bad trait made him evil. Also a
                    tragic hero doesn't have to die. While in all Shakespearean tragedies, the hero dies, in others he may live but suffer
                    "Moral Destruction". 

                    In Oedipus Rex, the proud yet morally blind king plucks out his eyes, and has to spend his remaining days as a
                    wandering, sightless beggar, guided at every painful step by his daughter, Antigone. A misconception about tragedies is
                    that nothing good comes out of them, but it is actually the opposite. In Romeo and Juliet, although both die, they end the
                    feud between the Capulets and the Montegues. Also, Romeo and Juliet can be together in heaven. In Hamlet, although
                    Hamlet dies, it is almost for the best. How could he have any pleasure during the rest of his life, with his parents and
                    Ophelia dead. Also, although Hamlet dies, he is able to kill Claudius and get rid of the evil ruling the throne.

                    Every tragic play must have a tragic hero. 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. In Othello, Othello had one fatal flaw, he was too
                    great. Othello was too brave, too noble, and especially too proud to allow himself to be led back to Venice in chains. A
                    tragic hero must not back down from his position. He also has to have free will, in order to stand up for what he believes
                    in. Finally, the audience must have some sympathy for the tragic hero. In MacBeth, although MacBeth commits many
                    murders, one almost feels sorry for him and his fate. 

                    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 England, he was taking a big risk. If his plan didn't work, he
                    would have been executed He also is also loyal. His loyalty to his father, was the reason he was so angry at Claudius and
                    his Mother. Another trait was that he was intelligent. He was able to think up the idea of faking insanity, in order to get
                    more information about Claudius. But Hamlet like all other tragic hero's had a flaw. He couldn't get around to doing
                    anything, because he couldn't move on. He was a full grown adult, yet he still attended school in England, because he
                    couldn't move on. Also, it took him a long time to stop grieving about his father, because he didn't want to move past that
                    part of his life. And after he finally did, Hamlet couldn't get around to killing Claudius. He kept pretending he was insane
                    even after he was sure that Claudius killed his father. The final example of Hamlet's inability to get around to do anything
                    was that he was dating Ophelia for a long time, but never got around to marrying her. The audience was able to feel
                    sympathy for Hamlet too. He had just lost his father, and his mother remarried so quickly that according to him they could
                    have used the leftover food from the funeral in the wedding reception. Also, the audience could feel that Hamlet loved his
                    parents and this sudden change was hurting him.

                    In any tragedy there is a tragic hero, and he must possess certain characteristics in order to be one. He must have many
                    good traits such as loyalty and bravery, but one bad one such as pride. Also the audience must have sympathy for the
                    hero. A tragic hero also must have free will or his fate would be decided for him, and his death could be avoided. Finally,
                    the audience must have sympathy for the tragic hero, or it wouldn't seem so tragic. Hamlet is a perfect example of a tragic
                    hero. He was brave, loyal, and intelligent, but he couldn't move on past one thing, which led to his death. He had a choice
                    of how he would deal with Claudius, and like other tragic hero's made a decision. Also, the audience was able to feel
                    sympathy for the position Hamlet was in. These attributes made Hamlet the perfect example of a tragic hero.
