LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:6 June 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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How Does Hamlet Synthesise the Aristotelian, Nietzschean,
and Hegelian Ideas of Tragedy?

Dilruba. K., M.A. in English Literature

Abstract

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark surpasses all other works of Shakespeare.

Almost every line in this play is a mine of precious wisdom, and the hero Hamlet outstrips all the imaginations of the readers, who feel deeply interested in him despite his inaction. By portraying a true reflection of the contradictory sides of the human mind through a passive character like Hamlet, Shakespeare successfully shows the difference between a great soul and a great character. The suffering of Hamlet from the tragic and melancholy recognition of our finite human condition draws all humanity to fight with him to establish the truth and to secure liberty.

An attempt to understand The Tragedy of Hamlet in the light of the theories of great philosophers like Aristotle, Nietzsche, and Hegel will surely reveal the unnoticed vastness and vividness of Shakespeare’s most mature play. The more-than-life experience of Hamlet can provide new definitions for our undefined lives and redirecting us from a monotonous way of knowing life. The ‘neither this and nor that-ness’ of Hamlet, the ‘to be or not to be’ of a mortal being is to be approached from all possible angles of knowledge to resolve the eternal confusions regarding human existence.

How Does Hamlet Synthesise the Aristotelian Ideas of Tragedy?

The classic theories regarding the requirements for a perfect tragedy explained in Aristotle’s insightful Poetics are not out of date as a criterion to measure the perfection of a tragedy even after centuries of their formulation. Even though a considerably few works from the ancient Greek culture to the modern era of absurd plays conform to the essential nature of tragedy as per the standards of Aristotle, orchestrating all available tragedies into the conditions of Poetics is still found to be relevant. It is well known that rarely any play, except Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, can be perfectly fit inside the boundaries of or can be extended to the precision that Aristotle’s thought put forward. Still, there arises no question regarding the need of analysing the great playwright Shakespeare’s tragedies in the light of Aristotle’s theories, as this process is the most reliable method which allows a probably unified code to identify tragedies.

Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark essentially satisfies, as many plays do, most of the requisites of Aristotelian theory, though it fails to fulfill some requirements in some sense. The Aristotelian guide to the best tragedy defines tragedy as (1), “the imitation of an action, (2) that is serious, has magnitude, and is complete in itself; (3) in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind introduced separately in a different part of the work; (4) in a dramatic as distinct from a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, whereby to provide an outlet for such emotions” (Aristotle et al. 12). In this sense Hamlet, without any doubt, can be considered as an Aristotelian tragedy. It is an imitation of the life of a historical figure, rearranged and presented in a dramatic narrative form, and it deals with a serious theme of revenge of a young man for the murder of his father, and the play gives a complete picture of the incidents in the life of Hamlet to the audience.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dilruba. K., M.A. in English Literature
Assistant Professor on Contract
Sullamussalam Arabic College
Areekode 673639
Malappuram Dist., Kerala
dilrubathanveer@gmail.com
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