The early life of Chester Bennington can be seen as the ultimate rise of what would lead him to his deadly demise. Chester was born on March 20th, 1976 in Phoenix. His mother was a nurse and his father was a sex-abuse detective. He began his march into tragedy after a severe divorce between his parents. This divorce led to a tumble into drugs and alcohol for young Chester who was an addict at the young age of 12. This snowballed as his career took off through the alternative rock band Linkin Park. During a tour for the band he seen to have been heavily drinking for the majority of the tour. After the tour he was quoted as saying, “I just don't want to be that person anymore”. Furthermore, it wasn’t until late 2011 when he told the world that he was sexually abused at the age of 7 by an older friend of his which continued for over 6 years. This abuse lead him to write poetry and songs to cope with the pain and fear. He even contemplated suicide multiple times over this six year period. Even through this pain, he kept a positive and upbeat mindset that was seen by the media and fans who enjoyed his music. Using this line of thinking, Bennington went on to becoming one of the most talented voices in rock as the lead singer of Linkin Park. He lived his life trying to put good into the world a let each listener of his music lose themselves allowing them to forget about the hard times they might be going through. This mentality was only able to take him so far though, leading to his death on July 20th, 2017. News of his dear friend Chris Cornell committing suicide just one month earlier hung like a shadow over Chester every day. He delved back into drug and alcohol abuse leading to his passing on July 20th from an overdose. His wife was able to wrap up the world's feelings through her statements, “we had a fairytale life and now it has turned into some sick Shakespearean tragedy...How do I pick up my shattered soul?” (Fox News, July 20th). These exact words were the glaring headline of a Fox News article just days after the tragedy, taking little time to spread the news as quickly as they could. Chesters life was a rollercoaster of difficult times coupled with substance abuse ultimately leading to his untimely suicide. 

                Much like Chester’s difficult life, Ophelia from the Shakespearean play Hamlet has a rough experience trying to help and save Hamlet from madness leading to her own fall from grace. Ophelia was a victim of her own consciousness and her need to try and save Hamlet from madness. Through her consciousness she never saw herself as free much like Chester was never truly free of his addictions. Ophelia was a slave to her loyalty to others as represented in Act 1 Scene 3 Page 5 of Hamlet, “I shall obey my lord”, when her father forbid her from seeing Hamlet. Furthermore, she was never truly able to show her feelings to either her father or Hamlet, this is something Hamlet touches on during one of his rants, "God has given you one face and you make yourselves another." (Act 3, Scene 1, Page 6). In comparison, Chester needed to show one face to the media and fans, a confident suave image, a man who was in control of the situation and the life he led. Yet, this representation is exactly what led to both of these characters horrible suicides. Even more telling, is the fact that Chester was said to have committed suicide due to the suicide of his close friend Chris Cornell which had crushed him. This would have just exemplified the fact that he was a victim to the things he couldn’t control much like Ophelia's inability to control her own life. Chester was unable to control his decision to take drugs while Ophelia descends into madness over her inability to control her feelings. The lack of control seen in both character could only be further explored in their inability to control the media’s reaction to their deaths. For example, different media outlets paid tribute to Chester’s death through varying headlines like Extra’s headline, “Disturbing Details About Chester Bennington’s Suicide”. This clickbaity title can be compared with New York Times much more toned down and respectful, “The Playlist: Linkin Park Pays Tribute to Chester Bennington”. Through these two headlines it is clear that Extra’s goal was to try and create doubt and conspiracy around his death in order to get more traction while New York Times took a much more subtle approach to covering his passing. As seen through textual evidence, inability to control feelings, other people's actions, and ability to show oneself led to the suicide of both Ophelia from Hamlet and Chester Bennington which, was only then dramatized by certain media outlets.  

                Tragedy often plays well in the media as a way to get traction towards a topic which was already a staple in the plays written by Shakespeare. In these plays, Shakespeare often includes multiple tragic and literary elements throughout his plays in order to captivate the audience. This builds a more dynamic role between characters and the viewers/readers. One incredible example of this could be seen in Ophelia’s soliloquy in Act 4 Scene 5 Pages 2 through 4, where she sings in madness about how she was deceived by Hamlet and cannot get over her love for him, “My brain is broken, tangles as the vines I run through, I still want Hamlet by my side holding me like he once did”. This part of the soliloquy perfectly highlights Ophelia’s fatal flaw of personal loyalty and inability to be free from others. Through this we can see that no matter what she would be loyal to Hamlet and she would never be able to be free of his grasp. This mirrors Chester’s flaw of inability to be free of drugs, alcohol addiction, and thoughts haunting him around whether he should even continue to live. Through Shakespearean elements found in Hamlet, it is clear what Ophelia’s fatal flaw is and the parallels it shares to Chester’s flaw.