The Masks In Hamlet 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.