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Josie Ann Duran

Mr. Corynn Smith

American Literature 11th

9 October 2017

HAMLET

Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,

Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,

Or that the Everlasting had not fixed

His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God!

How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!

(Act I, Secene II, Page 5)

A Tragic Hero, Media and Hamlet

Through history there have been tragic heroes, people who from the highest point of their careers have quickly come crashing down. An example of one is the self taught actor, Heath Ledger, who became immortalized after his iconic portrayal of the Justice League villain, the Joker. Through his distinct acting and his upbeat personality, fans around the world came to idealize Ledger. However, behind that charismatic personality, there was a man filled with apprehension. Due to his anxiety and insomnia, Ledger developed a incorrigible prescribed medicine addiction. This addiction was presumably caused by his need to feel serene. He was not prudent about his future and this resulted in his tragic death. Nonetheless, all his movie characters and his way of being should not be forgotten because of said drug problem. Heath Ledger was and continues to be an emblematic actor. Heath Ledger, an iconic and idolized actor, quickly rose to fame because of his great acting skills but just as easily descended into a life of stress which led media to a 24-hour news cycle about his tragic and unexpected death.

Heath Ledger was born on April 4, 1979, to mother Sally Ledger Bell and father Kim Ledger. Early in life, Ledger found an interest in becoming a stage performer. He performed the lead role in his school's production of Peter Pan. Ledger found emotional release in acting and continued looking for roles in school plays. In 1999, he was fully exposed to an international audience with his breakout 10 Things I Hate About You. Soon after, Mel Gibson cast him as his son Gabriel Martin in The Patriot. He worked steadily on small films until 2005, when he was cast to play the lead role in the controversial Brokeback Mountain. Because of this movie, he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance “making him, at age 26, the ninth youngest nominee for a Best Actor Oscar” (Biography.com Editors). On January 22, 2008, Ledger was found dead in his bed by his housekeeper and his masseuse at his apartment. Soon after Ledger's death reached the news, erroneous reports began to surface, claiming that the apartment he was in belonged to Mary-Kate Olsen and that both had been casually dating in the months before his death, both of which were not true. Three months before, Ledger had told The New York Times that he was taking Ambien along with other medicines, for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety. He discussed the difficulty that he was having with portraying The Joker in Batman sequel The Dark Knight. It is believed that the star's death was caused by an accidental overdose of the sleep aid, combined with various other prescribed drugs found in his system. The critically acclaimed actor quickly fell, either being accused of having a drug problem or of getting too involved in his Batman character.

Heath Ledger a world renowned actor, who received a Golden Globe nomination as well as an Academy Award nomination, and who had many loving fans around the world, was pronounced dead. This event came as a shock not only to those who knew him personally but also to those who knew him through films. According to New York Magazine author, Chris Norris, “Ledger’s sad and surreal death was being written in real time, on a 24-hour news cycle, with digital cameras and RSS feeds. Television-news crews, online videographers, and cell-phone ‘citizen journalists’ were participating in a dreamlike spectacle…” Many around the world praised him, his acting, and his charisma, which is why everyone was so invested in his strange case. Fans wished to understand the reason behind his tragic fall, and it was only through the media that they were able to do so. The same author explained that as if it wasn’t bad enough, “in Ledger’s apartment: Nearly 300 strangers on Broome Street, filming the removal of a body bag. One hundred more outside an Upper East Side funeral home, a scrum of cameras around a wooden box… ” Tabloids and magazines were writing every detail about his death, even if it meant invading his family's privacy during a moment of pain. Heath Ledger was a great actor and an even greater person. Nonetheless it was well known that he truly disliked being the center of attention, which is why the media should have respected his sentiments, even during his death. Yet, without these media coverages maybe Heath Ledger, a modern tragic hero, might not have been as well known as he is today.

Hamlet, the protagonist of William Shakespeare’s play titled the same way and actor Heath Ledger were both tragic heroes that despite being very different, shared similarities that caused their downfall. Tragic heroes can not only be found in the real life also in literary pieces, as is the case in the classical play. In the play, Hamlet doesn’t feel that life is worth fighting for and although Ledger was not depressed, he did suffer from various mental illnesses. The protagonists uneasiness is expressed in the famous excerpt “To be, or not to be? That is the question—/ Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/ And, by opposing, end them?” in Act 3, Scene 1, Page 3. In this excerpt from the play, Shakespeare shows that Hamlet is depressed, and does this through a monologue. In this soliloquy, Hamlet wonders if it's better to be dead that to be alive. He doesn't feel like it's worth fighting against the troubles that life threw his way. While heath ledger was not depressed, whenever he had to deal with difficult things life throws your way, he simply quit. However he was anxious and sleep deprived because of this reason. Additionally it is possible to connect how both men's mental illnesses deeply affected them, and eventually ended up killing them. Had it not been for his insomnia an anxiety, Ledger would probably be alive today. Throughout the play, it is evidence that although Hamlet’s and Ledgers troubles were different, they were affected similarly and were brought down by this.

Heath Ledger, quickly rose to fame because of his great acting skills but just as easily descended into a life of stress which led news media to portray him as a negative character. His tragic death caused the media to a 24-hour news cycle about his tragic and unexpected death. In his plays Shakespeare includes multiple tragic elements, which can be compared to Ledger's life. For example, both were affected by their troubles which eventually led them to their downfall. This can be seen in Hamlet soliloquy, where he expresses his distress comparable to that of the character. It could be said that negative publicity interest of people and affected their subjects.

Works Cited

Norris, Chris. “Untitled Heath Ledger Project.” NYMag.com, New York Media LLC., 18 Feb.

2008, nymag.com/news/features/44217/.

Dailymail.com, Ashley Collman For. “Heath Ledger turned the apartment where he died into a

Joker shrine - complete with clown statues, old comic books and recordings of the

villain's voice.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 25 Oct. 2016,

Chen, Joyce. “Heath Ledger's Tragic Death 'Was Totally His Fault,' Dad Says.” Us Weekly, Us

Weekly, 27 July 2016,

# data[].attributes.body
Character is noble and admirable, who falls from a position of prominence to disaster or even death. That character usually is a person of dignified or heroic stature whose downfall may result from outside forces or from a weakness within the character.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Heath Ledger was an Academy Award-winning, Australian actor best known for his roles in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight. He died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008.

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A tragic hero is a great and virtuous character who is destined to make a judgment error that leads to their own destruction.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
More than eight years after Heath Ledger's death, his father is speaking out and saying that the actor's tragic 2008 passing was entirely his own doing.

"It was totally his fault," Kim Ledger told the Daily Mail Australia. "It was no one else's. He reached for [the pills]. He put them in his system. You can't blame anyone else in that situation. That's hard to accept because I loved him so much and was so proud of him."

PHOTOS: Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time

Kim added that the night before Heath's January death, the late Oscar-winning star's sister Kate actually warned Heath about the lethal combination of pills that led to his accidental overdose.

"His sister was on the phone with him the night before telling him not to take the prescription medications with the sleeping tablets," the elder Ledger continued. "He said, 'Katie, Katie, I'm fine now. I know what I'm doing.' [Heath] would have had no idea."

PHOTOS: Celebrities Who Have Been to Rehab

Heath was later found to have died from "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," according to the toxicology report that was released following an autopsy.

Since the Dark Knight actor's death, Kim has been working to raise awareness about prescription medication misuse, especially in the Ledgers' native Australia. A United Nations 2014 World Drug Report revealed that Australians are among the world's biggest recreational drug users.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars We've Lost

"Heath mixed a couple of drugs together with sleeping tablets and he's gone forever," Kim said. "That's something we [himself, wife Sally and Kate] just have to deal with."

"He was a young guy that traveled all the time for work," Heath's father said. "Even as a 2-year-old, he hardly ever slept. He was trying to work and travel and do everything in a short space of time."

The actor is survived by his 10-year-old daughter Matilda, whom he shared with girlfriend Michelle Williams.

Christina Garibaldi and Ian Drew discussed on all the latest during Us Weekly's Facebook Live News Update. Check it out!

Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Heath Ledger's Tragic Death 'Was Totally His Fault,' Dad Says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More than eight years after Heath Ledger 's death, his father is speaking out and saying that the actor's tragic 2008 passing was entirely his own doing. "It was totally his fault," Kim Ledger told the Daily Mail Australia . "It was no one else's. He reached for [the pills].

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1) If it involves a brutal death or injury of some kind, it is likely to get higher ratings
2) Getting information on stories is easy
3) Stories are responsible for making people cynical about the world
4) Turns perpetrators into celebrities

# data[].attributes.body
Heath Ledger took on the  role of the infamous Joker, using innovative, yet unusual ways of getting in character. The self taught actor, became immortalized after his iconic portrayal of the Justice League villain. Through his distinct movie and his upbeat personality, fans around the world came to idealize Ledger. However behind that boyish grin and charismatic person, there was a man sick with apprehension. Due to his anxiety and insomnia, Ledger developed a incorrigible prescribed medicine addiction. This addiction was presumably cause by his need to feel serene. He was not prudent about his future and this resulted in his tragic death. Nonetheless, all his characters and his way of being should not be forgotten because of said drug problem. Heath Ledger was and continues to be an emblematic actor.

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A person of great ability who comes to a tragic end because of a fault within his or her character

Ledger's tragic flaws:
Prescription drug abuse and combined drug intoxication

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Incorrigible: Not able to be corrected; beyond control
Serene: Calm and peaceful
Prudent: Wise in practical matters, carefully providing for the future

Idealize: To think of as perfect
Innovative: Marked by a new or unusual way of doing things

Apprehension: Fear or anxiety

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Peripeteia: When a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce
Anagnorisis: Is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined for good or bad fortune
Hamartia: A mistake or error/ not knowing enough
Mimesis: Tragedy imitating life
Stasimon: A choral ode in which the chorus may comment on or react to the preceding episode

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"If you are just safe about the choices you make, you don't grow."

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"If you are just safe about the choices you make, you don't grow."

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- Heath Ledger

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NBC's Natalie Morales from The Today Show provides a timeline of Heath Ledger's last day, which ultimately led to his tragic death. It is still inconclusive about how he died.

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1) Ledger rose to fame after his famous role in Broke Back Mountain and as thew Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight.
2) Battling insomnia while also being deprived from time with daughter worsened his drug problem.
3) His death due to prescribe medicine overdose brought awarness to this pressing issue

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Tribute to Ledger

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"I Am Heath Ledger" Official Documentary Trailer

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Heath Ledger. A born director. A fearless actor. An unforgettable artist. Remember his legacy. I Am Heath Ledger premiered May 17th, 2017 on Spike. #SpikeTV #IAmHeathLedger Subscribe for more I Am Heath Ledger! https://goo.gl/kkFXCT Spike original documentary series "I Am" is an inside look at the lives of extraordinary individuals as told by their inner-circles.

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I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.

# data[].attributes.subject
I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.

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- Heath Ledger