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Common Themes In Hamlet

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Shared Themes Tragedy by definition is a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically involving a great person destined to experience downfall or utter destruction, as through a character flaw or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or an unyielding society. Both Macbeth and Hamlet are tragedies written by William Shakespeare. While both written by Shakespeare, they are two very different plays, but have similar themes. The main character in each play are both heroes with tragic flaws that desire power over everything which leads to many deaths with the help of supernatural encouragement. Macbeth and Hamlet are heroes in their own play and appear to have so much potential for their lives, …show more content…

Hamlet 's flaw was his inability to act. It appears throughout the play that Hamlet stops to think quite a bit before he carries out anything. This leads to nothing being accomplished. Towards the beginning of the play, Hamlet was asked by the Ghost, who claimed to be his father 's spirit, to murder the one who murdered him. "GHOST Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. HAMLET Murder? GHOST Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and unnatural. HAMLET Haste me to know 't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge." (1.5 pg 23) At this point, Hamlet was eager to revenge his father 's death, even though he did not know who was the victim. The Ghost proceeds to tell Hamlet who killed him. "Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother 's hand Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch 'd, Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, Unhousel 'd, disappointed, unaneled, No reckoning made, but sent to my account with all my imperfections on my head."(1.5 pg 25) This revealing of the killer being Hamlet 's uncle leads to Hamlet 's inability to act. Hamlet wrestles with himself on if the Ghost was telling the truth. With the passage of time, more people die since Claudius was not taken care of sooner. Hamlet accidently kills Polonius, who was the king 's counselor, because he thought it was Claudius behind the curtain. The fact that Hamlet must kill Claudius weighs heavily on Hamlet and he contemplates

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