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How Does Shakespeare Present Hamartia In Hamlet

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Catharsis and hamartia are two key concepts at the forefront of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The use of catharsis and hamartia in this play bring a sense of depth and life to the characters making the play more interesting and enjoyable. Catharsis is brought into this play through the audience sympathizing with Hamlet. Throughout the play an emotional bond is built between the audience and Hamlet which sets the stage for an emotional release.
From the very beginning the audience is made to feel sympathy for Hamlet as he is seen wearing his mourning clothes and expresses his pain over his father’s death.
“Nay, it is. I know not “seems.”/'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 …show more content…

Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his inability to take action. Rather than killing Claudius right away he first puts on a play believing he needs proof first and that the play will give him that proof. “I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,/Even with the very comment of thy soul/Observe mine uncle. If his occulted guilt/Do not itself unkennel in one speech,/It is a damnèd ghost that we have seen/And my imaginations are as foul” (3.2.83-88). Then when he is provided with the perfect opportunity to kill Claudius doesn’t go through with it claiming that he didn’t want to send him to heaven. Had he not hesitated to act Claudius would not have been alive to manipulate Laertes into killing him and He himself possibly wouldn’t have murdered Polonius. Claudius and Polonius were also victims of their own hamartias. Claudius’s tragic flaw was in his desire for power and control which was what led him to kill his brother and orchestrate the death of his nephew. Polonius flaw was similar to Claudius he needed to be in control of people. He needed to know what everyone was up to and needed to be in control of

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