Hamlet Act 5: My Alternate Ending

_{When dealing with the ending of a story there should be a lasting impact that helps to emphasize the overarching theme of the story. Shakespeare Act 5 follows Aristotle’s theory that is will end in a catastrophe, and that the protagonist will be worst off now than they were at the beginning. At the end of Act 5 of Hamlet, Claudius and Laertes plan to kill Hamlet fails and in return everyone dies, including Hamlet. This makes Hamlet’s plot of revenge embarrassing. My alternative ending is that Hamlet lives, and ultimately watches the others die, including Horatio. My ending is better because, it allows Hamlet a chance to see what comes out of revenge.}

                _{Furthermore, the reason Hamlet ended in a collection of deaths was merely because the play was written to be a tragedy. According to Aristotle, “a dramatic tragedy ends with a catastrophe; in which the protagonist is worse off than they are at the beginning of the narrative,” this confirms why Shakespeare ended Hamlet in a series of deaths alongside the death of the protagonist, both to create a catastrophe and show that Hamlet is worse off at the end. Shakespeare chose a series of deaths because this was a dramatic example of Aristotle’s theory; this supported the idea that a tragedy has to be dramatic as well a catastrophic.}

                _{My alternative ending for the play Hamlet, is for the protagonist to live after the end of Act 5, and for Horatio to die as well. If Hamlet were to live, he would see everything that his attempted acts of revenge did. I think that if Hamlet lived to witness all the death he caused he would suffer more, following Aristotle’s theory that, “a dramatic tragedy ends with a catastrophe; in which the protagonist is worse off than they are at the beginning of the narrative.” Hamlet would live to wallow in his guilt as well as feel embarrassed at the fact that his plot could have happened in Act 3, if he had not hesitated. This is also emphasized by Horatio’s death because he was Hamlet’s best friend who throughout the entire story only served to help Hamlet.}

                _{My ending to the tragedy, Hamlet, is better because it just as Shakespeare’s ending aligns with Aristotle’s theory of Act 5, but my ending highlights the concept of living with the consequences of your actions, specifically acts of revenge. My ending leaves Hamlet alone, without a kingdom to call his own, full of regret, remorse and guilt. I think that my ending is far more tragic than Shakespeare’s because death, while still tragic has no consequence to the ones who are already dead.}