Hamlet - The "Real" Tragedy
...led by a member of the royalty during the execution of one of their schemes. This makes Polonius’ death a tragedy. The next member of Polonius’ family to die is his daughter Ophelia. Ophelia’s death is tragic because of her complete innocence in the situation. Some may argue that Polonius deserves his fate because of his deceitfulness in dealing with Hamlet while he is mad, but Ophelia is entirely manipulated and used by Hamlet and the king for their own selfish reasons. An example of how Ophelia is used by Hamlet takes place in Act II, scene I, when Hamlet uses her to convince his family he is mad. Ophelia explains to Polonius how Hamlet has scared her, causing Polonius to draw the conclusion that Hamlet has an "antic disposition". Although this is the subject to interpretation and many believe that this is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia before he becomes engaged in his plan to kill Claudius, the fact that he scares her and does not try to alleviate these fears points to the conclusion that he is simply using her to help word of his madness spread throughout the kingdom via Polonius. In Act III, scene iv, Hamlet kills Polonius while he is hiding behind the arras in the Queen’s room. This event causes Ophelia to become insane and leads to her eventual death in a river near the castle in Act IV, scene vii. It can be seen how the combined scheming of Hamlet’s scheme which brings about the death of Polonius which leads to Ophelia’s death. The passing of Ophelia is a tragedy because she does nothing deserving of death, she is merely used for other people’s personal gain. The last member of Polonius’ family to die is Laertes, Ophelia’s brother and Polonius’s son. Laertes’ death is tragic because, although he kills Hamlet, he is avenging his father’s death, an act, with reference to the moral climate of the 1600s, that would have been condoned by the people who saw the play. The difference between Hamlet and Laertes is that Laertes does not use others to attain his goals and his revenge is in part due to the pressure put on him by Claudius. This makes Laertes’ murder of Hamlet excusable and his death a tragedy. An example of how Claudius uses Laertes to try and murder Hamlet is seen in Act IV, scene vii. Claudius and Laertes are discussing Hamlet when Claudius says: Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart? He is asking Laertes whether he is really so...