Essay, Research Paper: Tragedy In Hamlet

The tragedy in Hamlet lies in the fact that Hamlet, the hero was human and was violently wronged and was justified in seeking revenge. Hamlet the play is a tragedy, and Hamlet the character is the tragic hero of the play. Hamlet, like all tragic heroes, brings out feelings of pity and fear from the reader. The reader pities Hamley because his father died by murder, and because Hamley becomes mad as he learns that his uncle was the murderer. The audience fears him because he transforms a points into a monster, crazed and impassioned, waiting for the perfect moment to take revenge. Obviously, Hamlet is neither completely good or evil. He is, instead only human. Hamlet is a tragic human, mad at points, and completely sane at others. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is completely sane. He is still mourning his father+s death, and he is very angry at his funcle and his mother for marrying so soon, but he is not crazy. When Hamlet first learns from the ghost that his father was murdered by his uncle, he becomes furious and is anxious for revenge, but at this point he is still sane. His first sign of insanity occurs when he harasses Ophelia. Later, because after killing Polonius, he does not think twice about what he has done, and has no remorse. And when Claudius questions Hamlet about the location of the dead body, he does not refust to tell, but rather jokes and riddles, saying Polonius is +At supper...no where he eats but where he is eaten: and he is +In Heaven.+ By the end of the play, some people might believe that Hamley has surely proven his madness and evil nature, since he has directly and indirectly killed Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ophelia, and Claudius. However, even though he has shown apparent transformation from saneness to insanity by the time he finally takes revenge and kills Claudius, Hamley tru -uates between the two states of mind during the play. At the start, Hamlet could have let his boiling temper loose and destroyed Claudius, but he first needed to be reassured that Claudius unquestionably was responsible for his father+s death. Hamlet seems to be far from crazy, and certainly not evil. Even after Claudius+ guilt is visible and plain to see (as a result of the Mousetrap), Hamlet cannot kill Claudius while he prays because he knows tha if he does, Claudius will go straight to Heaven and will not have to pay for his crimes, as Hamlet+s father did. By hesitating, and showing that he is still able to make rational decisions, Hamlet once again shows that his mind is not completely insane. However, Hamlet shows at the same time that he has become evil, saying that by waiting to kill Claudius, the new King will be damned. Hamlet even concedes that his own behavior is quite crazy, when he writes the orders for Rosencrantz+ and Guildenstern+s executions. By the end of the play, Hamlet has acted in madness, saneness, and both at the same time. He has killed, refused to kill, carefully planed out actions, and acted on impulse. Hamlet is the ultimate example of a true human being. Hamlet is one of us, indecisive. His mad and evil behavior, temporary as it was, is typical of the human, today. His revenge needed to be aimed at an opponent equal to him and in cunning. Hamlet was carried on in an atmosphere of gloom and terror.