Hamlet

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2002

download word file, 6 pages 0.0

Downloaded 33 times

William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language, wrote 37 plays which can be categorized under tragedy, comedy, and history. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics have found an unusual number of themes and literary techniques present in Hamlet. Hamlet concerns the murder of the king of Denmark and the murdered king's son's quest for revenge. Its main character, Hamlet, possesses a tragic flaw which obstructs his desire for revenge and ultimately brings about his death. This tragic flaw makes him a tragic hero, a character who is destroyed because of a major weakness and lack of confidence, as his death at the end could possibly have been avoided were it not for his tragic flaw.

According to critic Harold Bloom the things that make Hamlet a tragic hero do not stem primarily from supposed weaknesses or flaws in Hamlet's character or even mistakes in his judgment or actions, but from the evil and intolerable situation in which he finds himself.

Hamlet has a tragic flaw in his personality and behavior. His flaw is that he is overly concerned with death and tragedy. This flaw or weakness in Hamlet leads him into a world of chaotic surroundings and madness. Hamlet's flaw and his mad personality led to the death of several people, including his mother and the King of Denmark! If Hamlet did not have this fascination with death and tragedy, the deaths of the several people would not have occurred--including his own. Hamlet did not always have this flaw in his personality. The flaw was presented to him by a ghost. The ghost of Hamlet's father told Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius and asked Hamlet to avenge his murder. This is where the flaw is...