Hamlet Death Essay, Research Paper

In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the death of a character becomes a frequent

event. Although many people lose their lives as a result of their own

self-centered wrong-doing, there are others whose death are a result of

manipulation from the royalty. This is the case of Polonius? family. The real

tragedy of Hamlet is not that of Hamlet or his family but of Polonius? family

because their deaths were not the consequence of sinful actions of their own but

rather by their innocent involvement in the schemes of Claudius and Hamlet. The

first character to die in Hamlet is Polonius. Although Polonius often acts in a

deceitful manner when dealing with Hamlet, it is only because he is carrying out

plans devised by the king or queen to discover the nature of Hamlet?s madness.

Being the king?s Lord Chamberlain, it is his duty to obey the king and

queen?s wishes and it is this loyalty that eventually proves to be fatal for

him. An example of how Polonius? innocent involvement with the royalty results

in his death can be found at the beginning of Act III, scene iv, when Hamlet

stabs him while he is hiding behind the arras in Gertude?s room. This shows

how Polonius, a man unaware of the true nature of the situation he is in, is

killed 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

sorry about his father?s death or if he is just acting mournful without

feeling mournful. Claudius uses these lines to lead Laertes into a plan to kill

Hamlet, asking him what will he do to prove his love for his father in ActIV,

scene vii. Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake to show yourself in deed

your father?s son more than in more than words? It can be easily seen how

Laertes, influenced by Claudius in the heat of his anger, could conspire to

murder Hamlet and it is in this attempt that Laertes loses his own life to the

very poison he kills Hamlet with. Once again, a member of Polonius? family

loses their life as a result of a conflict that they are oblivious to, making

Laertes? death a tragedy as well. Contrary to popular belief, the tragedy

associated with Hamlet is not about Hamlet or his family. It is, however , about

the tragic fate of Polonius? family , whose deaths are not the result of any

sins they omit but by their being manipulated by Hamlet and Claudius for reasons

they are unaware of. Although the death of Polonius? family stands out as

being the most tragic, many other characters in the story are killed as well. In

fact, the death of a character in Hamlet almost becomes commonplace near the end

of the play.