Hamlet Tragic Hero Research Paper

The Tragic Hero and the Inevitable Misfortune that Follows Them

The tragic flaw ultimately brings about the downfall of the tragic hero, although this flaw is usually the hero’s greatest strength. In the play, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, the character Oedipus is seen as the tragic hero with many tragic flaws that lead to misfortune for him and the people around him. In the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character Hamlet is seen as the tragic hero whose many tragic flaws brings about the misfortune of multiple characters, including himself. In both texts, the tragic heroes are led to their demise due to the decisions and actions they make throughout their lives. The tragic flaw of making and performing impulsive and ignorant decisions

When Hamlet discovered that his uncle Claudius was the murderer of his father, he recklessly pursued revenge by promising to strike his uncle dead whenever he had the chance. During a heated conversation with his mother Gertrude in her bedchambers, a noise sounds behind the arras in the room. Thinking it was Claudius, Hamlet struck his rapier through the arras, killing Polonius. Hamlet quickly asks Gertrude, “…is it the king?” (Shakespeare, 3.4.26) This shows Hamlet blindly chasing the revenge of his father against Claudius and how it led to the tragedy of Polonius’ death. In addition, as Laertes recklessly pursued his revenge against Hamlet for murdering his father, he challenges Hamlet to a duel. Laertes ends up striking Hamlet with a poison-tipped rapier but also being struck by Hamlet with the poison-tipped rapier. Before his death, Laertes reveals Claudius’ wrongs to Hamlet and Hamlet strikes Claudius before ironically pouring poison down his throat. Hamlet exacts his revenge by viciously stating, “then, venom, to thy work,” (5.2.315). He then kills Claudius by pouring poison down his throat and stating, “drink off this poison” (5.2.319). In the end, Hamlet getting the truth and revenge from Laertes and Claudius led to nothing but death and tragedy. This ultimately proves how Hamlet hated Claudius for killing his father, but his revenge against Claudius led him to become Claudius, a murderer who caused the deaths of