Open Prompt Eight

2003. According to critic Northrop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning.” Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the eponymous character has a crisis of identity that leads to his own tragic downfall. However, in the process of fulfilling his own role as a tragic character he also drags down those around him. This leads to the suffering and deaths of many of the members of the court of Elsinore. Hamlet's lack of identity leads directly to the suffering of those around him, showing that not knowing your identity results in tragedy.

Throughout the play, Hamlet fails to be aware of who he is. He is caught between his own morals and the desires of his deceased father, who wants Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet's identity crisis leaves him indecisive and confused in situations where he needs to act. For example, instead of immediately acting and killing Claudius, he must wait until he knows the king is guilty -- and even once he knows that, Hamlet still waits for the "right" time to kill the king. While he is caught in his state of indecision, the situation around Hamlet continues to escalate and worsen until the majority of the court of Elsinore is dead.

Hamlet's indecision leads to the downfall of those around him. He acts as if he were mad in an effort to gain information about Claudius' guilt, but this apparent madness is a cause for concern for the rest of the court. As he attempts to determine Claudius' guilt, the rest of Elsinore is trying to figure out what's wrong with Hamlet. These attempts lead to the suffering for all involved. Polonius uses Ophelia to spy on Hamlet, which leads to the destruction of Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship. This hurts Hamlet, who was hoping to have an ally, but it also hurts Ophelia, who is confused and naturally upset by Hamlet's actions. Polonius also spies on Hamlet with Gertrude's help, which leads to his own death. His death, in turn, drives Ophelia mad, and she commits suicide. If Hamlet had acted immediately instead of pretending to be mad, no one would have tried to determine the cause of his madness and the deaths of Ophelia and Polonius could have been avoided.

The rest of the court is also affected by Hamlet's tragedy. While he is avoiding action, Laertes and Claudius come up with a scheme to kill him. However, things go terribly wrong with the plan and Gertrude is killed, something that none of the characters wanted to happen. Had Hamlet acted immediately instead of getting caught up in his identity crisis, his mother would not have died. After her death, Hamlet is finally able to take action -- he kills Laertes and Claudius in a matter of minutes, but it is too late. The tragedy of Gertrude's death has already occurred.

Throughout Hamlet, the prince of Denmark struggles to deal with an identity crisis. As he attempts to choose a path, he becomes unable to make decisions. This lack of decision-making ability leads to the suffering and deaths of Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet himself. Had Hamlet been able to act decisively, he would not have allowed the situation in Elsinore to escalate so quickly. Hamlet's lack of identity and subsequent inability to make decisions results in the suffering of many people and shows that a lack of identity will lead to a tragic outcome.