Why Is 'Hamlet' a Tragedy: Argumentative Essay

A tragedy enhances the destruction of characters leading to their downfall and often has an unhappy ending that can cause a form of loss. Every person experiences loss with varying degrees of severity. The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy written between the years 1599 and 1602. It revealed many themes, including this primary and crucial one, the theme of loss which is seen throughout the entire play. The story has the element of loss from the beginning until the end. In other words, this also helps recognize that these events are put in a connecting chain of incidents, each affecting and leading to one another. The author, Shakespeare, demonstrates the theme of loss most clearly through the events in Hamlet’s life, the loss of royal members to Denmark, and eventually the loss of morals and sanity of the characters.

Loss is inevitable for Hamlet throughout the events of the play. Hamlet first experiences a severe loss with his father’s death which leaves him depressed and feeling empty. Old Hamlet’s death left Hamlet feeling lifeless, not knowing what to do, when he is asked why King Hamlet’s death impacted him so harshly, he explains his grief as: “’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected ‘havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly”(Shakespeare I.ii.77-83). He explains that neither his dark black clothes, deary sighs, wailing, nor any other forms of grief can really exhibit his woe. This shows how king Hamlet’s death caused Hamlet extreme suffering and emotional instability as the person he admired and looked up to is now dead. Furthermore, Hamlet also loses his identity as he leaves his life and studies in Wittenberg and solely focuses on avenging his father’s death by allowing that to overtake him. His obsessiveness over getting revenge creates his internal madness, as he then decides that he will no longer waste his time on nonviolent thoughts after he talks to the captain: “My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!” (IV.iv.65). Here Hamlet clearly has devoted himself now to only attain revenge, forgetting all about his life in Wittenberg and finishing his studies. Additionally, This is influenced by his finding out that Fortinbras is risking his and many lives to fight for a worthless piece of land, therefore Hamlet concludes that he will not be wasting his time with nonbloody thoughts anymore as his life’s purpose now is to kill king Claudius. Hamlet encounters additional loss through Ophelia’s death as he is in agony by yet another loved one’s death. When Hamlet finds out about Ophelia’s death he says: “Forty thousand brothers / Could not, with all their quantity of love, / Make up my sum” (V.i.247-249) proving his immense love for Ophelia. In this hyperbole, Hamlet is saying his love is greater than forty thousand times Laertes’s love. The loss of a beloved one is difficult if that person passes away suddenly leaving a true lover alone.

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Moreover, the loss of a royal member can significantly disturb the country. In Hamlet, Denmark did not just lose one royal member but many! Serious distress occurred when both king Claudius and queen Gertrude died, as she was dying she informed Hamlet the drink was poisoned: “O my dear Hamlet! The drink, … I am poisoned.” (V.ii.305). Hamlet then kills Claudius by stabbing him with the poisoned sword and making him swallow the poisoned drink: “Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, drink off this poison…. follow my mother.” (V.ii. 320-322). Hamlet did avenge his father by killing Claudius at last however it was at the country’s stake. As Denmark lost its king and queen, there was no longer a ruler to rule the country. Subsequently, after Hamlet’s death, the kingdom is left without an heir either, as there is no one left to protect the country. Before he dies, Hamlet tells Horatio that the kingdom is to be given to Fortinbras: “I do prophesy the election lights on Fortinbras. He has my dying voice.”(V.ii.354-355). Considering Fortinbras is willing to fight and risk lives over a worthless piece of land in Poland to attain honor, Hamlet decided to give him the land. Since Denmark lost two kings, a queen, and a prince, it no longer has someone to rule, alas it shall be given to another country to rule and protect it. The country also lost multiple noblemen such as Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. Laertes is slain by Hamlet with his own poisoned sword during their fight. However, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were killed when Hamlet altered the letter of his execution to them being murdered as soon as they arrive in England, as they betrayed him by working for the king and queen to try to spy on him. Hamlet says: “they are not near my conscience”(V.ii.62). As he is basically suggesting that Claudius was going to kill them after he is done using them. The kingdom lost men who may have been able to defend and help protect the country. Lastly, Denmark lost tremendously throughout the play, therefore, impacting many individuals' lives.

Losing sanity can happen to anyone who has a certain capacity for bearing traumatizing events. This capacity can vary from one person to another. After knowing that his uncle Claudius is his father’s murderer, Hamlet decides to act mad, however, he was truly going crazy from within. Hamlet’s lack of self-control was the first step toward his self-destruction. The mental and psychological state he allowed himself to immerse into led to further tragic events that could have been easily avoided. As mentioned above, Hamlet’s loss of his father caused him immense suffering throughout the whole play, thus costing him his sanity even if he didn’t acknowledge that. He becomes depressed after his father's death to the point where he considers committing suicide: “To be, or not to be: that is the question… Be all my sins remembered”(III.i.57-70). In Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, he contemplates suicide and wonders about the value of life. He saw no value and reason to stay alive and deal with what seemed to be endless pain. However, it is shown in the play that Hamlet values his religion, therefore, concludes not to commit suicide as it is against his religion. Nonetheless, seeing him wonder about the worth of living despite his morals really conveys how his sanity has been compromised as his madness and melancholy are creating a terrible effect on him. Furthermore, Ophelia also loses her sanity and goes mad after her father‘s death, singing: “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone, / At his head a grass-green turf, / At his heels a stone. / Oh, ho!”(IV.v.26). After losing her father Ophelia’s mental state was destroyed to the point where the madness made her drown herself as she was holding some flowers. Her madness is also influenced by the way she is rejected by Hamlet when he says: “Get thee to a nunnery, go . Farewell”(III.i.138). Hamlet’s insults towards Ophelia were upsetting and confusing as he used to treat her admirably prior. Moreover, the fact that her past lover that has brutally rejected her is also her father’s murderer completely jeopardised her sanity, eventually leading her to sing sorrowful songs and drown in a river. Both Hamlet and Ophelia were extremely influenced by their father's deaths, leading them to become destructive to themselves by losing their sanity. Others are strong enough to not let negative life circumstances affect them to the extent of losing the stability and rationality of the mind, but For Hamlet and Ophelia, it is clear that their weakness eventually reached the level of a bad mental state that led their sanity into disappearing.

Finally, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is known to be one of the most powerful literary works, while also being the longest play Shakespeare has ever written. It is not a surprising fact because the themes that are illustrated in the story are showcased in a strong vivid way. To prove that, the theme of loss was portrayed greatly throughout the play. Through Hamlet’s quest for revenge during the play, Hamlet lost his father, his identity, and as well as his lover Ophelia. Secondly, Denmark’s loss of royal members forces it to be taken over by a Norwegian prince, Fortinbras, as there is no one left to rule the kingdom. Lastly, because Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s trauma leads to them losing their morals and sanity. Loss often causes suffering and pain, and in Hamlet, it was also the cause of the downfall of many characters. In a tragedy, as tragic heroes suffer because of their peripeteia, experiencing a sort of loss to themselves or to others leads to the feeling of catharsis in the audience.