Shakespeare's tragic vision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Shakespeare's tragic vision - Essay Example Ben Jon son, a contemporary Play Wright said about Shakespeare that, "He was not of an age but for all times" who with his dramatic genius has established and underlying reputation for himself which he lived. Shakespeare's age was a period of ignorance and superstition. Despite the advancement of science and learning, the majority of the people still believed in witchcraft and charms omens of all sorts' .The frequent appearance of the supernatural can be seen like ghost in Julius Caesar and Hamlet, witches in Macbeth. Medical science was still rudimentary, and all sorts of fantastic lures were prescribed. Hamlet is considered as a tragedy has all the typical features of a Shakespearean tragedy. A Shakespearean tragedy is essentially the tale of one man- the hero .Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, frank, noble hearted man. That is why he is popular with the people, and Ophelia and Fortinbras praise him so highly. The suffering of the tragic hero is also exceptional; he suffers so terribly the hearts of the readers filled with pity and sympathy. Hamlet has all the chief Characteristics of a typical Elizabethans Revenge ply. The Revenge motif is strong in it. Hamlet's father is murdered in a most foul manner. It is an unnatural crime, for the criminal is the real brother of the murdered King. His queen has been unfaithful to her husband during his life time and soon after his death she marries the murderer. Thus there is murder, adultery, and incestuous marriage. In the manner of revenge play, it is the ghost of Hamlet's father who reveals to the young prince the horrible truth about his father's death, and lays upon him the duty of revenge. The supernatural motif has been fully exploited, eg. The ghost speaks only to the prince. In Hamlet there is much of fighting, bloodshed and violence. First Hamlet kills Polonius hidden behind the curtain. Not only had that he dug his body down exclaiming: This man will set me packing; I will lug the guts into the neighboring room . The revenge motif has been fully exploited, and thrills and sensations, for which the "grounding" longed, have been provided in ample measure. It is not merely an object of horror, but also the representation of the hidden, mysterious forces that lurk around us. It is an instrument of justice to punish the evil doer. Hamlet is one of the greatest tragedies of the world. As Goggling is points out, Hamlet, "is not to be regarded as a tragedy of revenge, but as a universal figure; he is every man. In his suffering, melancholy, hesitations in his inaction at a crucial moment in his life he typifies some one or the other phase of human nature". Hamlet is a tortured soul and it is through his soliloquies that the dreamiest has laid bare his soul before us. Without the soliloquies the drama would be more husks without a Kernel. One can say that Hamlet is Soul's tragedy and raise above a crude Melodrama or Revenge play. According to Samuel Johnson on Hamlet, "The play of Hamlet is opened, without impropriety, by two sentinels; Iago bellows at Brabantio's window, without injury to the scheme of the play, though in terms which a modern audience would not easily endure; the character of Polonius is seasonable and useful; and the grave-diggers themselves may be