The personality traits of insanity and intellectuality also contribute greatly to the death of Hamlet. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his procrastination. Without a doubt, Hamlet portrays procrastination and indecisiveness multiple times in the play. The ghost of Hamlet’s father visits him in the beginning of the play informing Hamlet that he was murdered by his own brother, Claudius: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears the crown”(I.v.44,45). Furthermore, Shakespeare exhibits how Hamlet chose to devise a plan of acting mad, rather than avenging his father’s death immediately, progressing to his demise.
Hamlet also demonstrates his flaw when he says “That would be scanned,”(Shakespeare III.iii.76) which basically means that he wants think more about the situation at hand, before following it through. His nature to over-think matters is considered a tragic flaw, because his decision to put off the murder of Claudius, leads to the death of many characters in the play, including him. Not only does Hamlet miss his opportunity when he scum’s to his flaw, but he also displays another tragic flaw, which is to procrastinate. Ophelia’s character flaw that is displayed is her emotional weakness. Ultimately Ophelia’s flaw is the reason for her own death, which is what makes it so tragic.
We find out that it was Claudius who killed King Hamlet and stole his crown and his wife. He killed the King by pouring the poisonous “juice of cursed hebona” into his ear. The poison would have invaded his body as “swift as a quicksilver it courses through the natural gates and alleys of the body”. In a sense, the poison used by Claudius to kill the King can be interpreted in a way that it spreads throughout the entire country of Denmark, therefore causing it to “rot”. The image of rotting along with the sense of released odour permeating far and wide symbolises the infectious mass of sin.
Downfall: Macbeth’s Malevolent Ambition William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a dark tale of murder, rape, deception, and the supernatural, and it very much reflects the state of England at the time. With the death of Elizabeth I, her distant Scottish cousin James took the throne, and many other relatives of the former queen were quite angry with the fact that James got the throne and not them. There was a huge conspiracy where many relatives planned to seize the throne, but the plot was foiled and the conspirators were tortured and then executed in a brutal fashion. Many historians believe the play was written because King James was Scottish and there were not many stories of Scotland, but the deeper reason is that he wanted to show the evils and dangers in having such large ambitions, such as regicides like the relatives of King James. Now in the play, Macbeth starts off as a loyal, courageous, stereotypical, drone like war hero but once a group of witches put this idea in his mind that he could become king, he starts spiraling downhill.
The struggle to act upon his father’s murder is a key factor in Hamlet’s disillusionment with the world. The Elizabethan period was a time that demanded revenge and this is even true in our present time to some extent. An eye for an eye approach was considered socially correct which Hamlet initially suggests ‘May sweep to my revenge’. Since Claudius has become the new king, he is considered a false king and imposter to the throne by Hamlet and this leads to the collapse of the natural hierachy that was in place. He states ‘tis an unweeded garden’ alluding to the fact that a false king leads to corruption which finally leads to the collapse of the hierarchy.
Conflict influences everyone in how they act and what decisions they make. Macbeth (by Shakespeare) and Ladyhawke (by unknown) are perfect examples of this. Both stories have people in them, Macbeth in Macbeth and Philippe in Ladyhawke, that face conflicts that will affect how they act and the decisions they make. Conflict influences the decisions and actions of both Macbeth, a tragic hero, and Philippe, a hero. In Macbeth, Macbeth was a tragic hero because he had a flaw in his personality that ultimately caused him to perish.
“To be or not to be, that is the question; whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer...” (Shakespeare Act 3, Scene 1). This quotation proves Hamlet becomes inferior to others and the environment through his madness, causing him to express himself explicitly towards others. Hamlet’s madness not only causes his loved ones lives but it allows his “end” to come because he accepts every challenge from his opponent. Hamlet’s madness not only affects him but Ophelia, who is mentally torn apart by Hamlet. Ophelia was once flawless, but since her encounter with Hamlet she has fallen into the same madness and wants to kill herself.
It seems that Hamlet does not want to extract revenge and he regrets promising the ghost that he will do so, “O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right! (I.v.28). Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius throughout the course of the play. Hamlet considers killing Claudius while he is confessing his sins. Hamlet then does what he is good at and reconsiders his actions.
“How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead.” (III, iv, 27). Polonius is murdered by Hamlet through the arras separating the room and the halls. Hamlet at first believes that he killed the king – then proceeding to further tear down his mother’s wrongdoings. “A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother.” (III, iv, 32-33).
iii 106 - 140] then meddling and subversive, as he sets spies on his own son, and finally irredeemably and ultimately fatally corrupt and subversive, as he schemes and plots around Hamlet. His death - physical corruption - is a precursor, signifying to the audience the ultimate fate of all those characters exhibiting signs of corruption. Polonius seems to be the most obviously corrupt character, but the centre of evil of the play's plot and of the kingdom is Claudius, as he kills King Hamlet. When Marcellus states, 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.' [Act I, Sc.