Comparative Analysis of the Concept of Shakespearean Tragedies
Aslam Sipra2014, Advances in Language and Literary Studies
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Abstract
In this article, the analysis of Shakespearean tragedies is presented. It reveals that Shakespeare's plays are full of conflicting thoughts, and expression is so convincing that it is not possible to plan a system of philosophy out of them. Each character, from the king to the clown, from the most highly intellectual to the simpleton, judges life from his own point of view and says something that is so deep and appropriate at the playwright's versatility of genius. So is the case with the conception of tragedy.
Key takeaways
- Prof. Thondrick (1908) says that Shakespeare uses elements of tragedy according to Aristotle's definition of tragedy.
- Shakespeare in his earlier tragedies was, undoubtedly, influenced by Seneca but not in his major tragedies as Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear but it is said that there would be no Elizabethan tragedy if there were no Seneca because Shakespearean themes are revenge, blood and thunder, rant and bombast madness, supernaturalism and sensationalism like that of Senecan plays.
- All the heroes of Shakespearean tragedy fulfill this demand of tragic hero.
- Shakespeare oftenly uses subplot as an explanation of main theme as in hamlet play within play and in King Lear subplot universalizes the ingratitude and intensifies the tragic effect.
- Shakespeare maintains a unity of tone and effect in his tragedies.
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