The Tragedy Of Hamlet
 
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 deaths 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 Gertrude'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 subject to interpretation, many believe
that this is simply Hamlet taking one last look at Ophelia
before he becomes engaged in his plan to kill Claudius.
When Hamlet tries to frighten Ophelia and does not try to
alleviate these fears, points to the conclusion that he is
simply using her to help spread the word of his madness
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 and
Claudius results in her death. Claudius' scheme brings
about 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 as a pawn for other people's
personal gains.
 
The last member of Polonius' family to die is Laertes,
Ophelia's brother and Polonius' 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, lines 108 to 110.
 
Claudius and Laertes are discussing Hamlet when Claudius
says:
 
"Laertes, was your father, dear to you? Or are you like the
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 he will do to
prove his love for his father in Act IV, scene vii, lines
124 to 126.
 
"Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake To show
yourself in deed your father's son More than in 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 his/her life as a result
of a conflict of which they are not a participant, 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 commit but by their being
manipulated by Hamlet and Claudius for reasons that are
unknown to them.