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Hamlet's Tragic Flaws

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The literary definition of a tragic hero is a person that thinks they have to save the day, but their flaw ends up getting them killed, which sets up most of the plays Shakespeare wrote . Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is no exception it is about Hamlet trying to avenge his father’s death. When he figures out Claudius, the new king, killed him Hamlet was furious. Hamlet went on trying to kill Claudius to avenge his father’s death. In doing so leaving a huge mess in his wake. Although Shakespeare’s tragic play Hamlet was based on Hamlet and his hesitation, it could also be about Claudius, Laertes, and Polonius and their flaws that lead to a lot of people meeting their death. For starters, Claudius had many tragic flaws, they were lustfulness, arrogance, and jealousy which cause a lot of people to meet their death. For instance in act I,v 42 when the Ghost said to Hamlet, “Ay, that incestueous, that adulterate beast.” This lustfulness of Claudius …show more content…

In IV, vii,117 “The drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard, cries ‘cuckold’ to my father, broods the ‘harlot’ even here between the chaste unsmirched brow of my true mother.” This quote shows that Laertes is super emotional, and he acts a lot without thinking. He stormed in on Claudius and he was very upset, even though he didn’t know what was going on. Then, in IV, vii, 96 Claudius is buttering Laertes up, saying that not even French fencers could match up to him, also saying that there would be no way Hamlet could even begin to match up with Laertes’ skill at fencing. This shows that Laertes is arrogant, and he can be manipulated. Claudius is buttering him up and getting him to fight Hamlet. Laertes may not even be that good, but because he is so arrogant he thinks he is unbeatable. Laertes is led to his death because he is super emotional, arrogant, and can easily be manipulated. Those are the reasons he meets his death while fighting

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781 Words | 4 Pages

After the death of his father, Laertes becomes consumed with anger and willing to do whatever it takes to avenge his father's death. He bargains with Claudius, hoping to use his loyalty to gain the power to take revenge. Laertes falls into depression as he realizes the consequences of his actions, ultimately leading to his tragic end. Laertes' story shows how grief can drive individuals to extremes as they seek justice for their loss. "Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet; Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, Nor thine on me."

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As shown, Laertes is taking his father’s death in a much more decisive stance than Prince Hamlet. Laertes goes straight to the issue and immediately demands vengeance on Claudius, whom he thinks is responsible for Polonius' murder. Laertes is ablaze with motivation and action, and says that he will throw "conscience and grace to the profoundest pit"(IV, v, 130). Unlike Laertes, Prince Hamlet doesn’t take any action when he was first informed about his father's death, which in comparison shows how both Prince Hamlet's and Laertes's personalities are in contrast with each

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Laertes does not mourn at all” (Levin 222). Laertes even goes to another level when he says he would “cut [Hamlet’s] throat it’h’ church” (Shakespeare 4.7. 3271). This displays an absolute opposite to what Hamlet says earlier in the play when he dismisses the chance to kill Claudius because Claudius was kneeling in prayer. Laertes revenge, like Hamlet’s, ultimately leads to his

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He blames everything on Claudius because he is the one that killed Hamlet’s father and now his mother. This give Hamlet peace about all of the events that have lead to this moment. We should learn from this that revenge in haste can be chaotic and unsuccessful. Revenge may not always be the answer, but if that is what you choose, then it needs to be well thought out and tested for flaws. I think that Laertes got the revenge that he wanted and even though it resulted in his own death as well, he got some closure that he needed.

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Initially, Laertes returns to Denmark to avenge the murder of his father. He shares his plan to punish Hamlet for his role in his father’s death in the lines, “It warms the very sickness in my heart that I live and tell him to his teeth, ‘Thus didst thou.' ” (IV, vii, 52-54) There is irony in him using the phrase “It warms my heart” to describe the sickness of it. Laertes admits he finds joy at the thought of killing Hamlet, but his diction/word choice suggests that he is disgusted with himself. The contradiction in the quote indicates his internal conflict about whether or not to take action.

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1154 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the play Hamlet continues to act insane and even dies with the act continuing. Even after Hamlet gathers all the evidence that proves Claudius is the murder, Hamlet continues to behave in a strange way. When he mistakenly murders Polonius he does not react as a sane person would. This act enrages Laertes, who then wants to avenge his father’s death. Driven to madness by the murder of his father, Laertes, with the help of Claudius conspires to kill Hamlet.

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This affects Claudius's behavior in the play because it reveals that he is worried that Laertes will blame him for his father's death and not listen to anyone

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538 Words | 3 Pages

Prince Hamlet is introduced as a reflective, slow-to-act character. While he stays true to this characterization for almost the entire play, he does undergo a transformation by the end of the play. By the end, Hamlet decides that he would no longer deprive himself of the revenge he long desires against Claudius, he finally kills him. Ironically, the dread command from his father to the act of revenge, the very reason that justifies the revenge has worked in Hamlet as a way that makes him incapable of any decisive act of will, since decisions for him seem to require a unitary, undivided psyche. Contrast Laertes who does not hesitate for a moment when seeking vengeance on his father's murderer.

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This illustrates how deeply the loss of his family affected Laertes and how he seeks violence to fulfill his emotional needs. Furthermore, Claudius entices Laertes to murder Hamlet to prove himself as his father’s son. Laertes replies, “To cut his throat i' the church” (IV. vii.127). This quote reveals Laertes' fury and madness, as he is willing to sin to kill his father’s murderer, mirroring Hamlet. Laertes’ conscience is blinded by his fevered emotions and Claudius’ manipulation.

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Similarly, Laertes is known for being a good fighter, a man of action, and having the ability to lead. During the play, Laertes states, “To cut his throat i’th’ church”(4.7.98). Laertes here claims he would go as far as kill Hamlet in the church, something almost unheard of for the

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His willingness to conspire with Claudius and deceive Hamlet into thinking that it is a fair fight. Eager to get his revenge, Laertes “[dips] a knife in” the poison so that nothing “can save [Hamlet] from death,” demonstrating the damaging consequences of acting on desires for revenge through deception (IV, vii, 159). In the end, Laertes does end up wounding and therefore killing Hamlet, however, “Laertes, as he himself admits, ‘is justly killed by [his] own treachery’ (5.2.297),” by also getting stabbed by the same poisoned blade

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Lastly, Laertes is a character in Shakespeare’s play that is used as a character foil for Hamlet, meaning his character traits contrast noticeably with Hamlets. Laertes is a very decisive character who immediately acts on his desires, even if they are not necessarily logical or well thought out. He makes the choice to go to France to continue university without a second thought whereas Hamlet wanted to return to university but was persuaded to stay. Once Laertes hear’s of Hamlet murdering Polonius, he promptly returns to Denmark and knows undeniably that he wants revenge. He immediately begins to form a plan with Claudius to murder Hamlet, with no doubts whatsoever about his choices.

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“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Man has fell short of God’s glory due to all complications that are within. As defined, a tragic hero is an individual that makes or produces a mishap that would lead to that characters fall. In the play, Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, the protagonist which is Hamlet, the son of the late King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude is represented in the novel as a tragic hero. Usually in a production, frequent peculiarities of a tragic hero consist of them accepting their destruction or downfall, having an ultimate weakness and also they must acquire a tragic flaw.

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960 Words | 4 Pages

Laertes was noble because he died for his cause, avenging his father’s death and defending his father’s honor, but he would not have been had he not sought revenge. Towards the end of the play, Laertes returns from France upon hearing that his father died, but he misses the funeral because of its haste. Furious, Laertes leads a mob into the Castle, Elsinore and, upon finding King Claudius, questions “How came he dead? I’ll not be juggled with” before proclaiming “Let come

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943 Words | 4 Pages

A tragic hero is a multifaceted, admirable character with a tragic flaw that turns his life from glory into suffering. Hamlet is an example. ‘Born’ personality, shifting mentality, and inevitable fate leads to its tragedy which eventually triggers audience’s pity. Unlike other tragedies where tragic heros discover the truths by their own actions at the end of the story, realizing that the reversal was brought by their own actions. Hamlet begins differently by knowing the truth from things happening to him.

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