Elucidate the characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Julius Caesar.

Page : 1

(Cover Page) 

Department Of English 

Name of Institution :................................................................................

MA (Final) Year

 

TERM PAPER

ON

“Elucidate the characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Julius Caesar.”

Submitted to:

Name of Teacher...........................

Lecturer/Assistant/Associate Professor

Department of English

Name of Institution.........................

 

 

Prepared by:

Name of the Student...................................

Class Roll :...............

Session :.................................

Department of English

Name of institution........................................

Page : 2

 

Department of English

Name of Institution..........................

 

 

Declaration

 

I hereby declare that the concerned term paper entitled “Elucidate the characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Julius Caesar.” is a work of  ……………….. a student of  MA [Final]  Year, Department of English, Govt Edward College, Pabna. He/She has completed his/her term paper under my supervision and submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts [MA] under National University, Gazipur, Bangladesh.

Name of the Teacher.........................

& Signature: ................................

Page : 3

 

Abstract

Shakespeare is considered to be the ultimate playwright. His works have transcended time and place, being staged and performed on a daily basis across the world some 400 years after his death. Many of his classic works are required reading for high school English language curriculums. In total, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, and in writing these plays he added 1,700 words to the English language. it's no wonder he's so famous and still studied to this day! Of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, ten are considered tragedies as defined as: plays dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

In each of his tragedies, Shakespeare has his main character suffer some flaw in their core character. He gives each tragic hero a 'fatal flaw' that ultimately results in their death. Shakespeare built each one of his tragic protagonists with a defect in their personality, a normal human emotion or characteristic taken to its extreme, that directly leads to their downfall. Each tragic character has their own fatal flaw, and each fatal flaw shines a light on some of the darker characteristics of humanity.

Rather than focusing on the obvious traditions of evaluating Shakespearean tragic heroes, this paper presents a groundbreaking approach to unfold the pattern William Shakespeare follows as he designed his unique characters. This pattern applies to most, if not all, Shakespearean tragic heroes. I argue that Shakespeare himself reveals a great portion of this pattern on the tongue of Lear as the latter disowns Goneril and Regan promising to have “such revenges on [them] both” in King Lear. Lear’s threats bestow four unique aspects that apply not only to his character but they also apply to Shakespearean tragic heroes. Lear’s speech tells us that he is determined to have an awful type of revenge on his daughters. However, the very same speech tells us that he seems uncertain about the method through which he should carry out this revenge. Lear does not express any type of remorse as he pursues his vengeful plans nor should he aim at amnesty. He also admits his own madness as he closes his revealing speech. This research develops these facts about Lear to unfold the unique pattern Shakespeare follows as he portrayed his major tragic figures. This pattern is examined, described and analyzed in King Lear, Othello, and Hamlet. We will find out that the pattern suggested in this study helps us better understand Shakespeare’s tragedies and enables us to provide better explanations for some controversial scenes in the tragedies discussed.

The word, “hero,” cannot be defined by one person, nor does one person have every quality a hero may possess. Yet, it is within a person we place heroic qualities to both honor them for their lifetime achievements and give us someone to look up to and model ourselves after. Typically known for creating and writing about heroes rather than being considered one himself, William Shakespeare fulfills my ideas of a hero because of the timeless impact he left on the world through his famous literary works. No, Shakespeare did not risk his life for others, but he did dedicate his life to a cause, to his passion: to entertain the people. In doing so, William Shakespeare planted a seed in the heart of entertainment that would allow it to grow and evolve with time, while having deep roots tied to history. The characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes with reference to Hamlet, Othello, King Lear,  and Julius Caesar will be this term  paper's principle subject.

 Page 4

Table of Contents

Chapter – One

1.1  Introduction.................................................................................................(page no)

1.2  Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero............................................

Chapter - Two

2.1 Characteristics of Hamlet..............................................................................

2.2 Characteristics of Othello.............................................................................

2.3 Characteristics of  King Lear........................................................................

2.4 Characteristics of Julius Caesar....................................................................

Bibliography………...........................................................................................

Appendix……....................................................................................................

“Elucidate the characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Julius Caesar.”

Chapter – One

1.1 Introduction :

Four hundred years after his death William Shakespeare (1564-1616)  remains the timeless international man of mystery. Almost everything about him is disputed. The plays that have come down to us today have been through the hands of numerous editors and were sometimes mangled.  Some of those editors in the past decided that his summation of the human condition wasn't what audiences would like, and they simply rewrote the plays to suit themselves. And then there were the collaborations. Shakespeare co-wrote many of his plays with others. The problem is that we're not sure exactly what works were shared with who.

The one abiding fact we can clasp onto is that William Shakespeare - whoever he really was and whoever his collaborators may have been - authored some of the greatest plays ever penned, and gave us characters that have been much copied but never bettered down the centuries. In an era that marked some of the greatest achievements in entertainment, one man rose above the rest through his eternal notions and literary tongue. His work not only captured and motivated the hearts and souls of his time, but also inspired an epic movement in literature that has set a standard for writers throughout history. William Shakespeare was merely a man, but he will forever remain in the hearts of millions through his writing.

For being a popular figure studied in history, not much is known about Shakespeare’s life before he achieved greatness. He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon in April of 1564, as the first of eight children of John Shakespeare, a glover, and Mary Arden, a land heiress. The date of his actual birth can only be approximated as the twenty-third, based on his date of baptism, April 26. Growing up, he was given only a basic education while attending Stratford Grammar School. He received no further extensive education and was thought to have taught himself other basic principles. November 28, 1582 marked a significant chapter in Shakespeare’s life, as he married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six at the time, making her eight years his senior. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583, which many believe was the reason for their quick marriage. Two years later, on February 2, 1585, Anne bore a set of twins, Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, Hamnet died at the age of 11 in 1596.

As a master playwright and avid poet, William Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays and compiled a total of one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. The numbers alone are astonishing, but the works themselves are even more impressive. Each of his plays falls under a category of comedic, tragic, historical, or a combination between two. Examples of his comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. His historical plays include those such as Henry VII. Shakespeare, however, was most renowned for his tragedies, which include Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, for the most part, used a specific rhyme scheme in writing his sonnets known as iambic pentameter. His sonnets range in topics, but he mainly focuses on love, loss, and preservation. “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see / so long lives this, and this gives life to thee” (Sonnet 18). Shakespeare knew that by writing these powerful masterpieces, he could make himself, or anyone he chooses, eternal.

Through his writing, Shakespeare left a legacy in the world of literature that has stood for almost four hundred years. Even more impressive is the fact that his works are still enjoyed by millions of people who study and read Shakespeare today. Almost half a century later, the powerful and nurturing words of Shakespeare continue to amaze and inspire people of a totally different time than his own. The reason being, that the focus of Shakespeare’s work turns towards love, passion, betrayal, sorrow, revenge, and heartbreak; themes that people of any time and age can relate to. His thoughts on entertainment were to involve the people, and to have them relate to the emotions expressed through characters in his plays, or words in his sonnets. In doing so, Shakespeare made an extraordinary advancement in entertainment that has shaped the meaning of the word today.

It is a true rarity when one person can make great advancements in a field that may affect people centuries later. It is for Shakespeare’s excellent literary intuitiveness, rather than his courage, that gives him the qualities of a hero in my eyes. Without the epic plays and sonnets of Shakespeare, the standards for literature would reach nowhere near the magnitude they are today. For it is William Shakespeare, the playwright and bard, not William Shakespeare, the man, who will be remembered throughout history, and for all time. In the words of Shakespeare himself, “I wish you well and so I take my leave, / I Pray you know me when we meet again"

1.2 Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero:

1.   He must be a person of some stature or high position such as a king, general, or nobleman.

2.   He must be basically a good person. He must matter to us and we must see him as a worthwhile person.

3.   Because of his position, his actions usually have far ­reaching effects.

4. He must possess a character trait or quality which under normal circumstances would be a virtue, but which under the special circumstances of the play proves to be a fatal flaw.

5. Although a great man, he often shows promise of further greatness.

6. Frequently, he makes serious errors in judgment which lead him to committing the deed which begins his down fall.

7. He must be ultimately responsible for the deed which begins his downfall.

8. He usually makes further errors in judgment following his misdeed.

9. Often he has a distorted perception of, or is blind to, reality.

10. He frequently commits further crimes which precipitate his downfall.

11. He suffers both outwardly (isolation, alienation, attacks) and inwardly (tortured

conscience).

12. He must elicit both pity and fear from the audience (catharsis).

13. Usually he recognizes his mistakes.

14. He must die

According to A. C. Bradley about Shakespearean Tragic Heroes, “The story depicts also the troubled part of the hero's life which precedes and leads up to his death; and an instantaneous death occurring by 'accident' in the midst of prosperity would not suffice for it. It is, in fact, essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death.”

A tragic hero is one of the most significant elements of a Shakespearean tragedy. This type of tragedy is essentially a one-man show. It is a story about one, or sometimes two, characters. The hero may be either male or female and he or she must suffer because of some flaw of character, because of inevitable fate, or both. The hero must be the most tragic personality in the play. According to Andrew Cecil Bradley, a noted 20th century Shakespeare scholar, a Shakespearean tragedy “is essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death.” (Usually the hero has to face death in the end.)

An important feature of the tragic hero is that he or she is a towering personality in his/her state/kingdom/country. This person hails from the elite stratum of society and holds a high position, often one of royalty. Tragic heroes are kings, princes, or military generals, who are very important to their subjects. Take Hamlet, prince of Denmark; he is intellectual, highly educated, sociable, charming, and of a philosophic bent. The hero is such an important person that his/her death gives rise to full-scale turmoil, disturbance, and chaos throughout the land. When Hamlet takes revenge for the death of his father, he is not only killing his uncle but inviting his own death at the hands of Laertes. And as a direct result of his death, the army of Fortinbras enters Denmark to take control.

 

Good vs. Evil

Shakespearean tragedies play out the struggle between good and evil. Most of them deal with the supremacy of evil and suppression of good. According to Edward Dowden, a 19th century noted poet and literary critic, “Tragedy as conceived by Shakespeare is concerned with the ruin or restoration of the soul and of the life of man. In other words, its subject is the struggle of Good and Evil in the world.” Evil is presented in Shakespearean tragedies in a way that suggests its existence is an indispensable and ever-enduring thing. For example, in Hamlet, the reader is given the impression that something rotten will definitely happen to Denmark (foreshadowing). Though the reader gets an inkling, typically the common people of the play are unaware of the impending evil.

In Julius Caesar, the mob is unaware of the struggle between good and evil within King Caesar. They are also ignorant of the furtive and sneaky motives of Cassius. Goodness never beats evil in the tragedies of Shakespeare. Evil conquers goodness. The reason for this is that the evil element is always disguised, while goodness is open and freely visible to all. The main character (the most pious and honest person in the tragedy) is assigned the task of defeating the supreme evil because of his goodness. As a result, he suffers terribly and ultimately fails due to his fatal flaw. This tragic sentiment is perfectly illustrated by Hamlet in the following lines:

O cursed spite,

That ever I was born to set it right."

 

Hamartia

Hamartia is the Greek word for “sin” or “error”, which derives from the verb hamatanein, meaning “to err” or “to miss the mark”. In other words, hamartia refers to the hero's tragic flaw. It is another absolutely critical element of a Shakespearean tragedy. Every hero falls due to some flaw in his or her character. Here I will once again reference A. C. Bradley, who asserts, “The calamities and catastrophe follow inevitably from the deeds of men and the main source of these deeds is character.” As a result of the fatal flaw, the hero falls from a high position, which usually leads to his/her unavoidable death.

A good example of hamartia can be seen in Hamlet when Hamlet's faltering judgment and failure to act lead him to his untimely death. He suffers from procrastination. He finds a number of opportunities to kill his uncle, but he fails because of his indecisive and procrastinating nature. Every time, he delays taking action. In one case he finds an opportunity to kill Claudius while Claudius is praying. Still, Hamlet forgoes the excellent opportunity to achieve his goal with the excuse that he doesn’t want to kill a man while he is praying. He wants to kill Claudius when he is in the act of committing a sin. It is this perfectionism, failure to act, and uncertainty about the correct path that ultimately result in Hamlet's death and lead Denmark into chaos.

Hamartia, also called tragic flaw, (hamartia from Greek hamartanein, “to err”), inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other respects a superior being favoured by fortune."

— Encyclopedia Britannica

 

Tragic Waste

In Shakespearean tragedies, the hero usually dies along with his opponent. The death of a hero is not an ordinary death; it encompasses the loss of an exceptionally intellectual, honest, intelligent, noble, and virtuous person. In a tragedy, when good is destroyed along with evil, the loss is known as a "tragic waste." Shakespearean tragedy always includes a tragic waste of goodness. Hamlet is a perfect example of tragic waste. Even though Hamlet succeeds in uprooting the evil from Denmark, he does so at the cost of his death. In this case, the good (Hamlet) gets destroyed along with evil (Claudius). Neither of them wins. Instead, they fail together.

 

Conflict

Conflict is another imperative element of a Shakespearean tragedy. There are two types of conflicts:

External Conflict

External conflict plays a vital role in the tragedies of Shakespeare. External conflict causes internal conflict in the mind of the tragic hero. Every tragic hero in a Shakespearean play is confronted with external conflicts that must be addressed. Hamlet, for example, is confronted with external conflict in the shape of his uncle, Claudius. He has to take revenge, but as a result of his uncle's craftiness and effective security, Hamlet isn’t able to translate his ideas into action. This external conflict gives rise to internal conflict, which hinders Hamlet from taking any action.

Internal Conflict

Internal conflict is one of the most essential elements in a Shakespearean tragedy. It refers to the confusion in the mind of the hero. Internal conflict is responsible for the hero's fall, along with fate or destiny. The tragic hero always faces a critical dilemma. Often, he cannot make a decision, which results in his ultimate failure. Again, Hamlet is a perfect example. He is usually a doer, but over the course of the play, his indecision and frequent philosophical hangups create a barrier to action. Internal conflict is what causes Hamlet to spare the life of Claudius while he is praying.

Catharsis

Catharsis is a remarkable feature of a Shakespearean tragedy. It refers to the cleansing of the audience's pent-up emotions. In other words, Shakespearean tragedies help the audience to feel and release emotions through the aid of tragedy. When we watch a tragedy, we identify with the characters and take their losses personally. A Shakespearean tragedy gives us an opportunity to feel pity for a certain character and fear for another, almost as if we are playing the roles ourselves. The hero's hardships compel us to empathize with him. The villain's cruel deeds cause us to feel wrath toward him. Tears flow freely when a hero like Hamlet dies. At the same time we feel both sorry for Hamlet and happy that Claudius has received his proper punishment.

Supernatural Elements

Supernatural elements are another key aspect of a Shakespearean tragedy. They play an import role in creating an atmosphere of awe, wonder, and sometimes fear. Supernatural elements are typically used to advance the story and drive the plot. The ghost Hamlet sees plays an important role in stirring up internal conflict. It is the ghost who tells Hamlet his father was killed by his uncle Claudius and assigns him the duty of taking revenge. Similarly, the witches in Macbeth play a significant role in the plot. These witches are responsible for motivating Macbeth to resort to murder in order to ascend the throne of Scotland.

 

Absence of Poetic Justice

Poetic Justice means good is rewarded and evil is punished; it refers to a situation in which everything comes to a fitting and just end. There is no poetic justice in the tragedies of Shakespeare, rather, these plays contain only partial justice. Shakespeare understood that poetic justice rarely occurs outside of fiction. Good deeds often go without reward and immoral people are often free to enjoy life to its fullest. “Do good and have good” was considered an outdated ethos in the time of Shakespeare, which is why we don’t find any poetic justice in his tragedies. Good is crushed along with evil. Hamlet dies along with Claudius.

 

Comic Relief

Comic relief is our final key element. Shakespeare didn’t follow in the footsteps of his classical predecessors when writing tragedies. Greek and Roman writers didn’t use comic relief. But Shakespeare wanted to relieve the tension for the reader and lighten up the mood here and there. A few examples of comic relief scenes include the grave digger scene in Hamlet, the drunken port scene in Macbeth, the fool is smarter than the king dialogue in King Lear, and the Polonius in the wings speech in Hamlet. We also have the following scene in Romeo and Juliet.

Chapter – Two

2.1 characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Hamlet:

In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the main character is a classic  example of a Shakespearean tragic hero.  Hamlet is considered to be a tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw that in the end, is the cause of his downfall.  The play is an example of a Shakespearean tragic play because it has all of the characteristics of the tragic play.  As defined by Aristotle, a tragic play has a beginning, middle, and end; unity of time  and place; a tragic hero; and the concept of catharsis.

 
He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. At the beginning of the play, he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and struggles with his own sanity along the way. By the end of the tragedy, Hamlet has caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, and two acquaintances of his from the University of Wittenberg Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He is also indirectly involved in the deaths of his love Ophelia (drowning) and of his mother Gertrude (poisoned by Claudius by mistake).

The play opens with Hamlet deeply depressed over the recent death of his father, King Hamlet, and his uncle Claudius' ascension to the throne and hasty marriage to Hamlet's mother Gertrude. One night, his father's ghost appears to him and tells him that Claudius murdered him in order to usurp the throne, and commands his son to avenge his death. Claudius sends for two of Hamlet's friends from Wittenberg, to find out what is causing Hamlet so much pain. Claudius and his advisor Polonius persuade Ophelia—Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's true love—to speak with Hamlet while they secretly listen. Hamlet enters, contemplating suicide ("To be, or not to be"). Ophelia greets him, and offers to return his remembrances, upon which Hamlet questions her honesty and tells her to "get thee to a nunnery."

Claudius, now fearing for his life, sends Hamlet to England, accompanied (and closely watched) by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Alone, Claudius discloses that he is actually sending Hamlet to his death. Prior to embarking for England, Hamlet hides Polonius' body, ultimately revealing its location to the King. Meanwhile, her father's death has driven Ophelia insane with grief, and Claudius convinces her brother Laertes that Hamlet is to blame. He proposes a fencing match between the two. Laertes informs the king that he will further poison the tip of his sword so that a mere scratch would mean certain death. Claudius plans to offer Hamlet poisoned wine if that fails. Gertrude enters to report that Ophelia has died.

Later that day, Hamlet tells Horatio how he escaped death on his journey, disclosing that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been sent to their deaths instead. A courtier, Osric, interrupts to invite Hamlet to fence with Laertes. Despite Horatio's warnings, Hamlet accepts and the match begins. After several rounds, Gertrude toasts Hamlet, accidentally drinking the wine Claudius poisoned. Between bouts, Laertes attacks and pierces Hamlet with his poisoned blade; in the ensuing scuffle, Hamlet is able to use Laertes' own poisoned sword against him. Gertrude falls and, in her dying breath, announces that she has been poisoned. In his dying moments, Laertes reveals Claudius' plot. Hamlet stabs Claudius with the poisoned sword, and then forces him to drink from his own poisoned cup to make sure he dies. In his final moments, Hamlet names Prince Fortinbras of Norway as the probable heir to the throne. Horatio attempts to kill himself with the same poisoned wine, but it was stopped by Hamlet, so he will be the only one left alive to give a full account of the story. He then wills the throne of Denmark to Fortinbras before dying.

T. S. Eliot offers a similar view of Hamlet's character in his critical essay, "Hamlet and His Problems" (The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism). He states, "We find Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' not in the action, not in any quotations that we might select, so much as in an unmistakable tone...".

Others see Hamlet as a person charged with a duty that he both knows and feels is right, yet is unwilling to carry out. In this view, his efforts to satisfy himself on Claudius' guilt and his failure to act when he can are evidence of this unwillingness, and Hamlet berates himself for his inability to carry out his task. After observing a play-actor performing a scene, he notes that the actor was moved to tears in the passion of the story and compares this passion for an ancient Greek character, Hecuba, in light of his own situation:

Hamlet reclines next to Ophelia in Edwin Austin Abbey's The Play Scene in Hamlet.

O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!

Is it not monstrous that this player here,

But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,

Could force his soul so to his own conceit

That from her working all his visage wan'd;

Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,

A broken voice, and his whole function suiting

With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing!

For Hecuba?

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,

That he should weep for her? […]

The name Hamlet occurs in the form Amleth in a 13th-century book of Danish History written by Saxo Grammaticus, popularised by François de Belleforest as L'histoire tragique d'Hamlet, and appearing in the English translation as "Hamblet". The story of Amleth is assumed to originate in Old Norse or Icelandic poetry from several centuries earlier. Saxo has it as Amlethus, the Latin form of the old Jutish Amlethæ. In terms of etymology the Old Icelandic name Amlóði comes from the Icelandic noun Amlooi, meaning ‘fool,’ suggestive of the way that Hamlet acts in the play. Later these names were incorporated into Irish dialect as Amlodhe. As phonetic laws took their course the name’s spelling changed eventually leaving it as Amlaidhe. This Irish name was given to a hero in a common folk story. The root of this name is ‘furious, raging, wild’.

It has also been suggested that Hamlet's hesitations may also be rooted in the religious beliefs of Shakespeare's time. The Protestant Reformation had generated debate about the existence of purgatory (where King Hamlet claims he currently resides). The concept of purgatory is a Catholic one, and was frowned on in Protestant England. Hamlet says that he will not kill his uncle because death would send him straight to heaven, while his father (having died without foreknowledge of his death) is in purgatory doing penance for his sins. Hamlet's opportunity to kill his uncle comes just after the uncle has supposedly made his peace with God. Hamlet says that he would much rather take a stab at the murderer while he is frolicking in the "incestuous sheets", or gambling and drinking, so he could be sure of his going straight to hell.

Ernest Jones, following the work of Sigmund Freud, held that Hamlet suffered from the Oedipus complex. He said in his essay "The Oedipus-Complex as an Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery: A Study in Motive":

His moral fate is bound up with his uncle's for good or ill. The call of duty to slay his uncle cannot be obeyed because it links itself with the call of his nature to slay his mother's husband, whether this is the first or the second; the latter call is strongly "repressed," and therefore necessarily the former also.

Harold Bloom did a "Shakespearean Criticism" of Freud's work in response.

It has also been suggested that Hamlet, who is described by Ophelia as "th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state, / The glass of fashion and the mould of form" (Act III, Scene i, lines 148-9), is ultimately a reflection of all of the interpretations possessed by other characters in the play—and perhaps also by the members of an audience watching him. Polonius, most obviously, has a habit of misreading his own expectations into Hamlet’s actions ("Still harping on my daughter!"), though many other characters in the play participate in analogous behaviour.

Gertrude has a similar tendency to interpret all of her son’s activities as the result of her "o’erhasty marriage" alone. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tend to find the stalled ambitions of a courtier in their former schoolmate’s behaviour, whereas Claudius seems to be concerned with Hamlet’s motivation only so far as it reveals the degree to which his nephew is a potential threat. Ophelia, like her father, waits in vain for Hamlet to give her signs of affection, and Horatio would have little reason to think that Hamlet was concerned with anything more pressing than the commandment of the ghost. And the First Gravedigger seems to think that Prince Hamlet, like that "whoreson mad fellow" Yorick, is simply insane without any need for explanation. Several critics, including Stephen Booth and William Empson have further investigated the analogous relationship between Hamlet, the play, and its audience.

One aspect of Hamlet's character is the way in which he reflects other characters, including the play's primary antagonist, Claudius. In the play within a play, for instance, Gonzago, the king, is murdered in the garden by his nephew, Lucianus; although King Hamlet is murdered by his brother, in The Murder of Gonzago - which Hamlet tauntingly calls "The Mousetrap" when Claudius asks "What do you call the play?" - the regicide is a nephew, like Prince Hamlet. However, it is also worth noting that each of the characters in the play-within-a-play maps to two major characters in Hamlet, an instance of the play's many doubles:

• Lucianus, like Hamlet, is both a regicide and a nephew to the king; like Claudius, he is a regicide that operates by pouring poison into ears.
• The Player King, like Hamlet, is an erratic melancholic; like King Hamlet, his character in The Murder of Gonzago is poisoned via his ear while reclining in his orchard.
• The Player Queen, like Ophelia, attends to a character in The Murder of Gonzago that is "so far from cheer and from [a] former state"; like Gertrude, she remarries a regicide.

Hamlet is also, in some form, a reflection of most other characters in the play (or perhaps vice versa):

Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras and Pyrrhus are all avenging sons. Hamlet and Laertes both blame Claudius for the death of their fathers. Hamlet and Pyrrhus are both seized by inaction at some point in their respective narratives and each avenges his father. Hamlet and Fortinbras both have plans that are thwarted by uncles that are also kings.

• Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Osric and Polonius are all courtiers.
• Hamlet, his father, Bernardo, Marcellus, Francisco, Fortinbras and several other characters are all soldiers.
• Hamlet and his father share a name (as do Fortinbras and his father).
• Hamlet, Horatio, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Laertes are all students.
• Hamlet, his father, Gertrude and Claudius are all members of the Royal Family. Each of them is also killed by poison—poison that Claudius is responsible for.
• Hamlet and Ophelia are each rebuked by their surviving parent in subsequent scenes; the surviving parent of each happens to be of the opposite gender. Both also enter scenes reading books and there is a contrast between the (possibly) pretend madness of Hamlet and the very real insanity of Ophelia.
• Hamlet, Horatio, Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Daine, and Claudius are each "lawful espials" at some point in the play.

In Act V, scene I of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the First Gravedigger is asked by Hamlet at about line 147 and following, how long he has "been a grave-maker." His reply appears to determine the age of Hamlet for us in a roundabout but very explicit manner. The Gravedigger says that he has been in his profession since the day that Old Hamlet defeated Old Fortinbras, which was "the very day that young Hamlet was born." Then, a little later, he adds that "I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years." According to this logic, Hamlet must be thirty years old. Yorick, the dead jester whose skull Hamlet holds during this scene, is said to have been in the earth "three-and-twenty years," which would make Hamlet no more than seven years old when he last rode on Yorick's back.

This view of Hamlet's age is supported by the fact that Richard Burbage, the actor who originally played the role, was thirty-two at the time of the play's premiere.However, a case has been made that at an early stage in Hamlet—with its apparent history of multiple revisions—Hamlet was presented as a sixteen-year-old. Several pieces of evidence support this view. Hamlet attends the University of Wittenberg, and members of the royalty and nobility (Elizabethan or medieval Danish) did not attend university at age 30. Additionally, a 30-year-old Prince Hamlet would clearly have been of ruling age. Given his great popularity (mentioned by Claudius), this would raise the question of why it was not he, rather than his uncle, who was elected to succeed to the throne upon the death of King Hamlet.

Although, the difference between a sexton and a grave digger must also be taken into account. A sexton oversees many different jobs around the church and surrounding areas. A grave digger simply digs graves. There are sextons who also dig graves and some that do not. It is completely possible that the Gravedigger has been a sexton for 30 years, but has not been digging graves for that entire time. This could be another example of the character's very round-about way of speaking.

However, this reading has the disadvantage that in the Folio the length of time Yorick has been in the ground is said to be twenty-three years, meaning that he had been dead seven years by the time Hamlet was born. Another theory offered is that the play was originally written with the view that Hamlet was 16 or 17, but since Shakespeare wrote his plays to be performed, and not read, these lines were likely changed so Burbage (who was almost always the protagonist in Shakespeare's plays) could play the role.

Hamlet as a Complex Tragic Hero:

Hamlet is the center of action in the play. This is a play so dominated by one character that Hamlet without the 'Prince is impossible to imagine. The play deals with his suffering and tragic death. The other characters in the play serve as foils to him. Hamlet's tragedy is a particular example of a universal predicament; action is necessary, but action in a fallen world involves us in evil.

To attempt to shuffle off responsibility by refusing to act, or by shuffling off this mortal coil-by 'handing god back his ticket,' as Dostoevsky puts it involves us equally in guilt. Like other tragic heroes of Shakespeare, he is also endowed with exceptional qualities like royal birth, graceful and charming personality and popularity among his own countrymen. He is essentially a scholar and a thinker, and his noble brain conceives the finest thoughts. He has a high intellectual quality. He is religious-minded and is very sensitive. In spite of possessing all these higher qualities which rank him above the other characters, but the flaw in his character named as 'tragic flaw' by A.C. Bradley, leads to his downfall and makes him a tragic hero.

The tragic flaw in the character of Hamlet is that he thinks too much and feels too much. He is often disturbed by his own nature of 'self-analysis.' He is forever looking into himself, delving into his own nature to seek an explanation for every action, and giving vent to his own thoughts in soliloquies. Coleridge says that his enormous intellectual activity prevents instant action and the result is delay and irresolution. Bradley gives his own explanation for his delay and irresolution. According to the learned critic, he suffers from melancholia, a pathological state only a step removed from insanity. His thoughts are diseased thoughts. What is required of Hamlet is prompt action, whereas he broods over the moral idealism which leads to his delay in action. When he gets an opportunity to kill Claudius, he puts aside the thought because he cannot strike an enemy while he is at prayer. Again he allows himself to be taken to England, although he knows well that the plan is part and parcel of Claudius's evil intent. Hamlet himself is fully aware of his own irresolution.

There are several causes account for Hamlet's inaction. By nature he is prone to think rather than to act. He is a man of morals and his moral idealism receives a shock when his mother remarries Claudius after his father's death. Chance too plays an important part in shaping his character. Chance places him in such a position in which he is incapable of doing anything. He feels sad at his position and says ''The time is out of joint. 0 cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right.''

He becomes inconsistent and is no longer a person who reaches a conclusion only by reasoning. He cannot quite accept the role that nature has prescribed for him-that of a revenger-and thus he is unable to act quickly. Like other tragic heroes Hamlet too has to face conflict, both internal and external. The internal conflict is between his moral scruples and the act of revenge, which he is called upon to perform. Love of his father, the dishonor of his mother, and the villainy of his uncle prompt him to take revenge while his nobility, his moral idealism, his principles and his religion revolt against such a brutal act. The result is that, torn within himself, he suffers mental torture.

The external conflict is with Claudius-'the mighty opposer'-and the murderer of Hamlet's father. To Hamlet, Claudius is a smiling, damned villain, a seducer and a usurper of his rights to Denmark's throne; he is one against whom he has to take revenge. The other external conflicts are with Laertes, his friend and the brother of his beloved Ophelia, with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, his former school fellows and friends but present enemies. Indeed Hamlet succeeds in overcoming his foes, but only at a dreadful cost.

  Character is not the only factor that is responsible for the tragedy of Hamlet. External circumstances are also responsible for making Hamlet tragic hero. Shakespeare creates a heeling that there is a mysterious power in this universe, which is responsible for every small -happening. The appearance of the Ghost and its revelation is a manifestation of Fate. Many of the things that take place in Hamlet's life are by chance, but none of these are improbable. He kills Polonius by chance. The ship in which he travels is attacked by pirates, and his return to Denmark is nothing but chance. Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine, by accident, and dies. So fate in the shape of chance shapes the future of all characters including Hamlet. But the sense of fate is never so overwhelming as to cast character in shade; after all, it is Hamlet himself who is responsible for his tragedy.

The Riddle of Hamlet. “Subjective” and “Objective” Solutions. The Problem of Hamlet’a Character. Structure of the Tragedy. Fable and Subject. Identification of the Hero. Catastrophe.The tragedy of Hamlet is generally considered an enigma. It differs from Shakespeare’s other tragedies as well as from the works of others in that its course of action never fails to surprise and bewilder the spectator. This is why the essays and critical studies on the play are more like commentaries. They have one trait in common: all try to solve the riddle set by Shakespeare. After his first encounter with the ghost, Hamlet is expected to kill the king—why is he unable to do this? And why does the play reflect nothing but his failure to act? Shakespeare does not explain the reasons for Hamlet’s inertia, and thus the critics approach the riddle from two different angles: the first, from the character and personal experiences of Hamlet, and the second, from the environmental obstacles in his path.

None of Shakespeare’s characters shows, in such a striking fashion, the playwright’s - I don’t want to say inability—complete disregard for proper characterization as does Hamlet. None of his other plays reveals as much as Hamlet the blind worship of Shakespeare, the unreasoning hypnosis which does not even admit the thought that a work of Shakespeare’s can be anything but brilliant or that one of his main characters can be anything but the expression of some new, deeply involved idea.

All this is clear, and it follows from Hamlet’s character and position. But by putting into Hamlet’s mouth those ideas which Shakespeare wants to tell the world, and by forcing him to perform those actions which Shakespeare needs for preparing the most effective scenes, the author destroys the character of the Hamlet of the legend. For the entire duration of the play Hamlet does not act the way he might want or might like to, but the way the author requires him to act: at one time he is terrorized by his father’s ghost, and another time he chaffs at him, calling him an old mole; first he loves Ophelia, later he teases her cruelly, and so forth. It is impossible to find an explanation for Hamlet’s actions or words, and it is therefore impossible to assign to him any character at all.

Hamlet now is ready to kill, and he fears that he might even harm his own mother. Oddly enough, this realization is followed by the prayer scene. Hamlet enters, takes his sword, and places himself behind the king whom he could kill on the spot. We have left Hamlet ready to avenge, ready to kill, we have left him as he was convincing himself not to raise arms against his mother; now we expect him to perform his act. But instead we hear

Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;

And now I’ll do’t: and so he goes to heaven ... (III, 3)

And when in Hamlet’s last words and Horatio’s narrative the tragedy again describes its circle, the spectator is keenly aware of the duality upon which it is built. Horatio’s narration returns him to the tragedy’s external plane, to the “words, words, words.” The rest, to speak with Hamlet, “is silence.”

2.2 Characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Othello:

There have been many explanations for Othello’s downfall. Perhaps he has a savage nature within him, just waiting to be exposed; perhaps it is his disposition towards self-deception, that his ability to coldly murder his wife is only possible because he has the ability to fool himself and see what he wants to see rather than what is really there; perhaps it is a fear of loss of reputation and pride that drives him towards evil; perhaps he truly is noble, but is driven by intense passion which overcomes his reason. I will argue Othello’s lack of self-knowledge is what causes him to turn evil, becoming a completely different person than what he was in the beginning of the play, and it is this lack of self-knowledge and his capability for evil that cause him to so easily accept Iago’s “poisonous” whisperings and suggestions.

The key to understanding a mind like Othello’s is through the work of the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. For Jung, “man is an enigma to himself,” and our key need is the ability for introspection. Jung pursued his research and published The Undiscovered Self in 1958 after the rise and fall of dictators such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. Jung observed entire nations slowly becoming prone to the evil influences around them. To explain this problem, he posited that we all have the capability for evil within ourselves, and it is only by recognizing this capability that we can escape and see through the sometimes evil influences around us. Our fear of the unknown interior prompts the individual to constantly attempt to deceive oneself into thinking that he or she is always in the right. In Othello, Jung’s ideas cannot be clearer than what we see in the outward influence Iago has over Othello.

Othello, a thorough extrovert, has no genuine capability for the introspection that Jung speaks of; it is his outward focus that makes it only too easy for Iago to control and manipulate him. Othello is incapable of recognizing his capability for evil. He is completely ignorant of his tendency towards self-deception; of his absolute need for certainty that drives him to the brink of madness; of his tendency towards making excuses for his actions, especially in his final speech; of the contradictions within him, and of his overwhelming passion that drives him to murdering his innocent wife. As a voice from the outside, Iago essentially does Othello’s thinking for him, driving Othello, ironically, into believing that it is Desdemona and Cassio who are evil, while Othello himself is slowly turning into a monster. If we are to apply Jung’s ideas directly, Iago functions like civilization: he creates chaos; he implants ideas into the individual’s mind, thereby influencing the individual, and turning Othello’s own hidden nature against himself. Some critics even believe that Iago is a projection of Othello’s hidden self due to his complete control over Othello’s mind. Othello’s final speech is itself a form of self-deception: he blames fate, he blames Iago, but he never blames himself except for loving “too well.” He turns an obvious negative into a positive, further reinforcing the defenses that he uses to direct responsibility elsewhere as opposed to his own psychological make-up.

Othello is a man who is highly competent in his job as military leader. He is honored and awarded for his abilities on the battlefield. He has confidence in himself as a commander. Othello is, however, very insecure about his basic attractiveness and lovability. He knows he is a black man, which is considered less attractive than being white in Venetian society. He is middle-aged and full of self doubts about whether a beautiful young woman like Desdemona can truly love him. He is a study in contrasts—supremely confident in his career, utterly insecure in his domestic life.

The intuitive Iago recognizes that Othello's insecurity about whether or not Desdemona truly loves him is his most vulnerable point. Determined to destroy Othello, he attacks him at his weak point and does everything he can to drive a wedge into the relationship and convince Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Iago also plays on ideas common in Venice that all women are inherently unfaithful. It is part of the social world Othello lives in to trust men more than women, and this has its influence on Othello's character. Eventually, it is the combination of Iago's manipulations and Othello's own self doubts that cause his undoing.

Othello is a respected, talented general, known for his fearless exploits and leadership in battle. Although he valiantly serves the country of Venice, he is considered an outsider because he is a Moor. In contrast to his courageous, aggressive demeanor on the battlefield, Othello is romantic. In Act One, Scene 3, Othello articulately describes how he won Desdemona's affection by telling his riveting adventure stories to her. Despite Othello's prestige and authority, he is self-conscience and naive. Othello knows that he is an aging man, who is not particularly attractive. Iago manipulates Othello's insecurities by convincing him that Desdemona is having an affair with Michael Cassio. Othello's naive nature is illustrated in his trust for the malevolent Iago. However, it is Othello's jealous nature that is considered his tragic flaw. Overwhelmed with his insecurities, Othello believes Iago's story and cannot control his jealousy. In a fit of rage, Othello ends up smothering Desdemona.

Othello is a combination of greatness and weakness, in his own words "an honourable murderer" (V.2, 295). He is a general in the Venetian defense forces, and, although a foreigner from Africa, he has won this post by excellence in the field of war. He has courage, intelligence, the skill of command, and the respect of his troops. Under pressure, he makes an inspiring speech. When the colony of Cyprus is threatened by the enemy, the Duke and Senate turn to "valiant" Othello to lead the defense.

After many years on campaign, Othello has come to live in Venice, among the sophisticated people of the city. Senator Brabantio has invited him to his home, and this is a revelation to the soldier. He is dazzled by the comfortable life, the learned conversation, the civilization. He appoints a student of military knowledge, Cassio, to be his lieutenant. Suddenly he sees possibilities for himself to which he had never before aspired.

Othello is an outsider who is intelligent and confident in military matters but socially insecure. He leads an intense life, swinging between triumph and dread. He is different from those around him, due to his origins and his life history, but he shares their religion, values, and patriotism to Venice. More importantly, he is visibly different due to the color of his skin, so he lives constantly among, but separated from, other people. Whenever they look at his black face, however brilliant a general he is, he knows the others are thinking "Yes, but he is not really one of us." Shakespeare presents this fact in the dialogue and also in the staging of the play: Othello's is a black face among a sea of white faces, and he is constantly referred to as "The Moor," a representative African, while others go by their personal names and are seen as independent individuals. When other characters call him "black," they refer to his face but also to the concept of color symbolism in Elizabethan morality: White is honor, black is wickedness; white is innocence, black is guilt.

Othello tells his life story to Desdemona, and she sees him through his words. The life of early separation from home and family, followed by danger and adventure, is perhaps the life story of thousands of men down the ages who become soldiers of fortune and who end up as corpses in ditches at an early age, unwept, unpaid, and unrecorded. Othello's achievement is not so much that he survived this unpromising life, but that he survived it in such a spectacularly successful manner, ending up one of the most powerful men in the Venetian defense forces.

On the field of battle Othello is skilled and triumphant; in the drawing room he is reluctant until Desdemona takes the lead and encourages him to tell his life story. It is Desdemona, as well as Othello, who turns the secret marriage into a social success with her skillfully worded defense. Othello feels that his marriage is at the pinnacle of his life: "If it were now to die, / 'Twere now to be most happy, for I fear / My soul hath her content so absolute, / That not another comfort, like to this / Succeeds in unknown fate" (II.1, 190-194). He is triumphant in war and in love, the hero at his greatest moment. Such triumph, in a tragedy, cannot last.

Othello is aware of the precarious nature of success and happiness. "But I do love thee, and when I love thee not, / Chaos is come again" (III.3, 91-93). These are the words of a man who knows chaos and believes himself to have been rescued from it by love. Love for Othello puts order, peace, and happiness into his mental world, which would otherwise lapse back into chaos. He has grown up in exile, slavery, danger, and despair, now, as a professional soldier, he lives amongst chaos on the battlefield, but he need no longer have it in his inner being, because he has love. Chaos is the old concept of Hell, where everything is dreadful anguish, and Desdemona is the angel who has rescued Othello with her love.

When faced with the prospect of managing love and marriage, Othello's inexperience undermines his confidence. Iago finds it easy to drive Othello to jealousy and think that Desdemona loves another man because he already feels that her love for him is too good to be true. Othello sees Cassio as the man most Venetian women in Desdemona's position would like to marry and, therefore, as the man she would turn to if she ceased to love her husband. In a way, he is waiting for the dream to come to an end, for Desdemona to decide that she has made a mistake in marrying him.

Othello's insecurities are so close to the surface that a few words of hint and innuendo from Iago can tear the confident exterior and expose his fears, desires, and tendency to violence. Othello cannot stand uncertainty; it drives him to destroy his sanity. However, once he makes a decision, he is again the military man, decisive in action. Iago has only to push Othello to the belief that he has been betrayed, and Othello does the rest, judging, condemning, and executing Desdemona.

Fate is cruel to Othello, like the cruel fate of ancient Greek tragedies. Like the Greek heroes, Othello can confront this fate only with the best of his humanity. In his final speeches, Othello brings again a flash of his former greatness: his military glory, his loyalty to Venice, the intensity of his love, and his terrible realization that, by killing Desdemona, he has destroyed the best in himself. No man has full control over his life, but a man can judge himself and perform the execution and die with his love.

2.3 Characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in King Lear:

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. Derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king, the play has been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, with the title role coveted by many of the world's most accomplished actors.

The first attribution to Shakespeare of this play, originally drafted in 1605 or 1606 at the latest with its first known performance on St. Stephen's Day in 1606, was a 1608 publication in a quarto of uncertain provenance, in which the play is listed as a history; it may be an early draft or simply reflect the first performance text. The Tragedy of King Lear, a more theatrical revision, was included in the 1623 First Folio. Modern editors usually conflate the two, though some insist that each version has its own individual integrity that should be preserved.

After the English Restoration, the play was often revised with a happy, non-tragic ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing observations on the nature of human suffering and kinship. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear."

Shakespeare's play is based on various accounts of the semi-legendary Brythonic figure Leir of Britain, whose name has been linked by some scholars to the Brythonic god Lir/Llŷr, though in actuality the names are not etymologically related. Shakespeare's most important source is probably the second edition of The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande by Raphael Holinshed, published in 1587. Holinshed himself found the story in the earlier Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth, which was written in the 12th century. Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, published 1590, also contains a character named Cordelia, who also dies from hanging, as in King Lear.

The source of the subplot involving Gloucester, Edgar, and Edmund is a tale in Philip Sidney's Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (1580–90), with a blind Paphlagonian king and his two sons, Leonatus and Plexitrus.  King Lear provides a basis for "the primary enactment of psychic breakdown in English literary history". The play begins with Lear's "near-fairytale narcissism".

Given the absence of legitimate mothers in King Lear, Coppélia Kahn provides a psychoanalytic interpretation of the "maternal subtext" found in the play. According to Kahn, Lear's old age forces him to regress into an infantile disposition, and he now seeks a love that is traditionally satisfied by a mothering woman, but in the absence of a real mother, his daughters become the mother figures. Lear's contest of love between Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia serves as the binding agreement; his daughters will get their inheritance provided that they care for him, especially Cordelia, on whose "kind nursery" he will greatly depend.

Cordelia's refusal to dedicate herself to him and love him as more than a father has been interpreted by some as a resistance to incest, but Kahn also inserts the image of a rejecting mother. The situation is now a reversal of parent-child roles, in which Lear's madness is a childlike rage due to his deprivation of filial/maternal care. Even when Lear and Cordelia are captured together, his madness persists as Lear envisions a nursery in prison, where Cordelia's sole existence is for him. It is only with Cordelia's death that his fantasy of a daughter-mother ultimately diminishes, as King Lear concludes with only male characters living.

Lear and Cordelia in Prison — William Blake circa 1779

Sigmund Freud asserted that Cordelia symbolises Death. Therefore, when the play begins with Lear rejecting his daughter, it can be interpreted as him rejecting death; Lear is unwilling to face the finitude of his being. The play's poignant ending scene, wherein Lear carries the body of his beloved Cordelia, was of great importance to Freud. In this scene, Cordelia forces the realization of his finitude, or as Freud put it, she causes him to "make friends with the necessity of dying". Shakespeare had particular intentions with Cordelia's death, and was the only writer to have Cordelia killed (in the version by the Nahum Tate, she continues to live happily, and in Holinshed's, she restores her father and succeeds him).

Alternatively, an analysis based on Adlerian theory suggests that the King's contest among his daughters in Act I has more to do with his control over the unmarried Cordelia. This theory indicates that the King's "dethronement" might have led him to seek control that he lost after he divided his land.

In his study of the character-portrayal of Edmund, Harold Bloom refers to him as "Shakespeare's most original character". "As Hazlitt pointed out", writes Bloom, "Edmund does not share in the hypocrisy of Goneril and Regan: his Machiavellianism is absolutely pure, and lacks an Oedipal motive. Freud's vision of family romances simply does not apply to Edmund. Iago is free to reinvent himself every minute, yet Iago has strong passions, however negative. Edmund has no passions whatsoever; he has never loved anyone, and he never will. In that respect, he is Shakespeare's most original character." The tragedy of Lear's lack of understanding of the consequences of his demands and actions is often observed to be like that of a spoiled child, but it has also been noted that his behaviour is equally likely to be seen in parents who have never adjusted to their children having grown up.

The play of King Lear is a tragedy like many of Shakespeare’s plays, and many of them deal with the tragic hero that end up meeting their demise thanks to their tragic flaw. The tragic hero of this play is King Lear, and he is a man that is a ruler of the kingdom of Britain in the 8th century B.C. He is a very old man surrounded by grave responsibilities, which are taking care of the land and taking care of the citizens of the kingdom. Lear the tragic hero must feel suffering and contrast those good times to the suffering, except his suffering leads to chaos and ultimately his death. The definition of a tragedy from our class notes is, “an honorable protagonist with a tragic flaw, which is also known as a fatal flaw. This eventually leads to his/her demise” (Class Notes). The definition of a tragic hero if laid out in black and white and King Lear meets all these requirements and his nobleness initiated his tragic flaw. King Lear is a tragic hero because he is a man that is very arrogant and does not see the world for what it really is. We can show how Lear is a tragic hero by using some of the elements of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero that are nobleness, arrogance (tragic flaw), and reversal of fortune.

Most critics of King Lear take the position that he was a tragic hero. However, there are critics who believe that he might be a comic figure. This paper attempts to discuss whether King Lear is a tragic hero or not, looking at the works of two critics, each taking opposite sides. On the one hand, there is A.C. Bradley, who takes the position that King Lear is a tragic hero because he demonstrates all the characteristics of a tragic hero as Bradley saw it. On the other hand, G. Wilson Knight believes that the play King Lear is really a comedy of the grotesque, and that King Lear is really a comic figure. The position that I am taking is this paper is that King Lear is a tragic hero, because he fits all the characteristics that Bradley identifies as belonging to a tragic hero, and more than that although there might appear to be comic elements in the play King Lear that the tragic element seem to outweigh the comic. Therefore, the position taken by Knight is not accurate in describing King Lear.

The tragic hero, according to Bradley, is a person who suffers tremendously, whose suffering goes beyond him. The tragic hero also takes the action that produces the suffering and calamity which leads to death. Other characteristics of a tragic hero are as follows. The tragic hero is a person who is of high degree, and his welfare is intimately tied up with the welfare of the state. The hero is an exceptional being, of high degree, whose actions and sufferings are of an unusual kind, who possesses and exceptional nature. His nature is exceptional in the sense that it is very much like our nature, except that it is intensified. The tragic hero is also involved in conflict, which could be either conflict with someone else, or conflict within himself. The tragic hero is also described as inspiring pity on the part of the viewer because of the intensity of the suffering that the tragic hero is undergoing. Furthermore, the tragic hero is seen as wretched, nevertheless, the audience does not see him as contemptible. Instead, the audience sees the tragic hero as suffering and the order in the world as destroyed. The only way that order would be restored is through the death of the tragic hero. (Bradley)

Knight, on the other hand, takes a different perspective of the play King Lear. This author points out that tragedy and comedy are very close to each other. "Humor is an evanescent thing, even more difficult of analysis and intellectual location than tragedy. To the coarse mind lacking sympathy an incident may seem comic which to the richer understanding is pitiful and tragic." (Knight 1949, 34) In other words, tragedy and comedy seem to involve the process of invoking tension, and the relief of that tension could be either through the pain of tragedy or the humor of comedy. This is why there are situations where a person may cry or laugh at a similar set of circumstances. It just depends on how the idea is developed. "The comic and the tragic rest both on the idea of incompatibilities, and are also, themselves, mutually exclusive; therefore to mingle them is to add to the meaning of each; for the result is then but a new sublime incongruity." (Knight 1949, 34) The reason that people laugh at situations is that there is a juxtaposition of things that are incongruous. At the same time, the tragic does involve incompatible things taking place, and thus leading to a resolution of the pressure that is created through pain or crying. Knight does not see tragedy and comedy as being very different in the sense that they both view incongruity.

In the case of King Lear, Knight believes that while the character of King Lear is tragic in the sense that he suffers that there is something comic in the situation because King Lear brings it upon himself because of the incongruity of King Lear's behavior. King Lear is mad, and his behavior from the very beginning of the play, where he tries to see which one of his daughters loves him more is incongruous. Knight sees this situation as comic, where King Lear has " . . . staged an interlude, with himself as chief action. . . . It is childish, foolish - but very human." (Knight, 35) As far a Knight is concerned, King Lear's behavior is incongruous, because he is a king and not a child. Knight believes that the difference between the comic and the tragic is that in the case of the former the oncongruities stand out more noticeably, whereas in the tragic " . . . the dualism of experience is continually being dissolved in the masterful beauty of passion, merged in the sunset of emotion." (Knight, 35)

As I look at the ideas of Bradley and Knight, I tend to agree with Bradley. King Lear is a tragic hero because he is king, he has undergone a great deal of suffering, and in the end dies, being thrown out of his kingdom by daughters he believed loved him. I think that the audience pities King Lear, because he was unable to see that Cordelia, his last daughter truly loved him, but could not flatter him as his other daughters could. I believe that this was a pathetic sight and situation, and that King Lear should be pitied and not laughed at. Knight believes that there is something comic about King Lear wanting to be flattered, but I do not agree with him. It is sad that an old king feels so lonely and unloved that he has to try to create a situation where his daughters would tell him that they love him to inherit his kingdom.

Which of you shall say doth love us most?
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge . . .
(Shakespeare 1990, Act I, Scene I, 50-52)

Knight argues that from Lear's madness and Gloucester's suicide that it appears that what is being communicated is that "Mankind is, as it were, deliberately and comically tormented by 'the gods'. He is not even allowed to die tragically." (Knight, 48) In other words, Knight is trying to show that the tragedy of King Lear is really a comedy of the gods. I disagree with him, because the action of the play does not involve in any major way the gods. Had the gods had a play of their own within the play, then I could have agreed that the tragedy of King Lear was really for the entertainment of the gods, and therefore a comedy, from their perspective. However, King Lear remains the main character and the action is from his perspective. This being the case, I think that the determination whether the play is a tragedy or a comedy should be viewed from this perspective.

My conclusion is that King Lear should be viewed as a tragic hero, because he fulfills all the characteristics that Bradley outlines as belonging to a tragic hero. On the other hand, the comic aspect of the play that Knight tries to portray just does not seem real to me. It would take "the coarse mind lacking sympathy" to see the comic aspect of King Lear. From the play, King Lear is of high estate: he is a king. His actions cause the tragedy, because it is King Lear that called his daughters together and had them tell him how much they loved him. It was King Lear's actions that caused Goneril and Regan to strive to get as much as they could and therefore to tell their father what he wanted to hear.

Since Cordelia could not flatter her father in the same way as her sisters, she had the tragedy of her father's wrath. The suffering of a tragic hero extends beyond himself, and it clearly did with respect to Cordelia, as well as to Gloucester. Since there has to be a reordering the world within the tragedy, King Lear must be gotten rid of. The audience sees the king as an exceptional being in the sense that he is very much like us, except that his emotions and behavior are intensified. He experiences both internal and external conflict, and although he strikes us as being wretched, we never see him as contemptible. Rather we pity him. It is on these grounds that we consider King Lear a tragic hero.

2.4 Characteristics of Shakespearean Heroes as embodied in Julius Caesar:

Julius Caesar is a great general of Rome, who has recently won a civil war against Pompey and returns to Rome in triumph. He is beloved by many, almost to idolatry, and hated by some. He is somewhat old, not as physically powerful as he believes, deaf in the left ear, and subject to epileptic fits. He is also pompous and given to speaking of himself in the third person. He is hopeful that his wife’s barrenness may be cured during the Feast of Lupercal. A good leader of men, he has good instincts about them that he does not always listen to. He refuses to be crowned king when the crowd approves his refusal, despite an evident desire to accept the crown. He is swayed by his wife’s fears for a time, but the thought of receiving a crown, and appeals to his vanity – such as the thought that he might be considered a coward – convince him to go to the Capitol in spite of Calpurnia’s premonitions. He plays the role of Caesar to the hilt, insisting on his constancy, equanimity, and refusal to budge. He does not notice how he is surrounded when the conspirators kneel to prevent him from fleeing, and is shocked that Brutus is among the men stabbing him. He returns as a Ghost to warn Brutus that they will meet again at Philippi. Brutus takes his second appearance as a sign that his time is come.

Julius Caesar - Despite the play being named after him, Julius Caesar dies in the opening scene of Act III. What glimpse we get of Caesar shows him to be proud and power hungry. As the play opens, the commoners are celebrating his victory over Pompei and it is the commoners who have helped Caesar's rise to power. Senators and other nobility fear Caesar desires to become king and will become tyrranical. This pride of Caesar manifests itself as he refuses to lidten to advice or warnings from others. Numerous devotees of Caesar try to sway him from going to the Capitol on the Ides of March. They fail. This tendency to place character conception before historic truth is best illustrated in Julius Caesar by the portrayal of Caesar himself. Shakespeare insists, despite history, that he is a tyrant, weak in body and mind, easily flattered, vain, superstitious.

1. Physically weak.

a. Subject to epileptic fits. Act I, sc. 2, 1. 256.

 
"He hath the falling sickness."
b. Deaf. I, 2, 1. 213.
"Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf."

2. Susceptible to flattery. II, 2, 1. 91.
"And this way have you well expounded it."

3. Superstitious.
a. "Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia." I, 2, 1. 6.
b. Influenced by Calpurnia's dream and augurers' warnings. II, 2.
c. "He is superstitious grown of late," II, i, 1. 195.

4. Vain.
a. "Danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he." II, 2, 1. 44.
b. "These crouchings and these lowly curtesies
Might fire the blood of ordinary men." III, 1, 1. 36.
c. "I am constant as the northern star ..." III, I, 1. 60-73.

5. Arrogant.

"If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him

I spurn thee like a cur out of my way." III, i, 1.45.

Yet, although Caesar's weakness is thus emphasized, he rules throughout the play, especially after his death. The chief conspirators must at length fall before Caesar's spirit. Cassius's last words are "Caesar, thou art revenged," and Brutus ends his life with

. . . "Caesar, now be still;

I killed not thee with half so good a will."

 

Julius Caesar’s Characteristics:

 

1. Won victory • Great warrior • Superstitious • Like people praise but don’t like flattery • Firm and arrogant in decision • North star and Olympus Mountain • Like fat people “Caesar is more dangerous than danger itself” • Denied all omens • Shocked when stabbed by Brutus.. Et tue Brute!! Then fall, Caesar…!!!

2.  In opening scene we get impression that Caesar is a great warrior, won— war over sons of Pompey.  The Tribunes try to belittle Caesar’s achievement— FLAVIUS It is no matter; let no images Be hung with Caesar's trophies. I'll about, And drive away the vulgar from the streets: So do you too, where you perceive them thick. These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, Who else would soar above the view of men And keep us all in servile fearfulness.  This also shows that Caesar was great warrior and— posses great military strength.

      3. • First he appears to be a superstitious man because he asks Antony to touch his wife Calpurnia in the course of his running a race. CAESAR Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say, The barren, touched in this holy chase, Shake off their sterile curse.

4.  But the very next moment Caesar shows a complete— disregard of all superstition when in a replay to the soothsayer’s warning to beware the ides of March, he says that this man is a dreamer and doesn’t deserve any attention. Soothsayer Beware the ides of March. CAESAR He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass.

5.  Cassius speaks to Brutus about Caesar in a most— disparaging manner. As Cassius tries to build negative image of Caesar in Brutus mind so that he may able to turn Brutus against Caesar.  Cassius claims that he had on one occasion shown— greater stamina as a swimmer then Caesar and that he had in fact saved Caesar from drowning.

6. CASSIUS The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, Caesar said to me 'Darest thou, Cassius, now Leap in with me into this angry flood, And swim to yonder point?' Upon the word, Accoutred as I was, I plunged in And bade him follow; so indeed he did. The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it With lusty sinews, throwing it aside And stemming it with hearts of controversy; But ere we could arrive the point proposed, Caesar cried 'Help me, Cassius, or I sink!'

7.  Cassius also says that once, when Caesar was suffering— from fever, he had cried like a sick girl and asked in a feeble tone for a little water to drink. He had a fever when he was in Spain, And when the fit was on him, I did mark How he did shake: 'tis true, this god did shake; His coward lips did from their colour fly, And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world Did lose his lustre: I did hear him groan: Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Romans Mark him and write his speeches in their books, Alas, it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius,' As a sick girl.

8.  And yet Cassius also conveys to us an idea of Caesar greatness— when speaking about him he says Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs Here Cassius compares Caesar to a huge statue and refers to himself and to Brutus as “we petty men”.

9.  When, after attending games, Caesar re-appears, he makes— one of the most perspective speeches in the whole play. He tells Antony that he would like to keep away from men like Cassius who has lean and hungry look, and who thinks too much. Describing Cassius’s character, Caesar further says that this man loves no plays, hears no music, smiles seldom and, even when he smiles, he smiles in a manner which shows as if he scorned himself for having smiled at anything. Such men say Caesar can never at ease as long as they see somebody greater than themselves. Such men according to Caesar are dangerous. Caesar would like to only associate with man who are fat, who keep their hair well-combed, and who enjoy a sound sleep at nights. Here Caesar speaks like a specialist in human psychology.

10. CAESAR Let me have men about me that are fat; Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

11.  The next moment Caesar asks Antony to come— to his right hand because his left ear is deaf. Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf, And tell me truly what thou think'st of him.

12.  Then we learn from Casca’s account to Brutus and Cassius that— Caesar has fainted at the games because of the strain which he had experienced in refusing the crown which mark Antony had offered to him three times at which he had inwardly belonging to accept. Brutus here says that Caesar suffers from “the falling sickness” and that he must surely have fainted. CASCA He fell down in the market-place, and foamed at mouth, and was speechless. BRUTUS 'Tis very like: he hath the failing sickness.

13.  Caesar fearlessly says to Calpurnia that if the mighty— gods are bent upon putting an end to somebody's life then that man cannot escape from his fate. Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.  Replay to Priest:— CAESAR The gods do this in shame of cowardice: Caesar should be a beast without a heart, If he should stay at home to-day for fear.

14.  Having decided not to gout of the doors Caesar— decided to go out. Thus he appears to be having a wavering mind.  Decius interpreting Calpurnia dream as good omen.—  And saying you don’t like flattery.—  He is also partly influenced by Decius’s falsely— telling him that the Senate intend to offer him a crown at that day’s meeting. And that they might change their mind in case if he fails to attend the meeting.

15. A little latter the conspirators led by Brutus arrive at Caesar’s house and we feel greatly impressed by Caesar’s graceful and dignified behavior in receiving them and hospitably offering wine to them. He speaks in a most cultured manner saying: Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me; And we, like friends, will straightway go together.

16.  When the meeting of the Senate begins and Metellus— Cimber makes a personal request to Caesar, Caesar firmly rejects the requests. Here we certainly admires Caesar firmness but we strongly disapprove of the arrogant and haughty behavior in which he speaks. He describes Metellus Cimber as “couchings and these lowly courtesies, Low-crooked court'sies and base spaniel-fawning”.  And then he says to Metellus Cimber “I spurn—  thee like a cur out of my way.”—

17. • He compares himself one man amongst countless men because he never changes his mind and never modifies his decisions. I could be well moved, if I were as you: If I could pray to move, prayers would move me: But I am constant as the northern star, Of whose true-fix'd and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament. He rejects the recommendation of Brutus and Cassius too; and when Cinna lends his support to Metellus’s petition, Caesar loftily says Hence! wilt thou lift up Olympus?

18.  Shakespeare insists, despite history, that he is a tyrant,— weak in body and mind, easily flattered, vain, and superstitious.  1. Physically weak.—  2. Susceptible to flattery.—  3. Superstitious.—  4. Vain.—  5. Arrogant.—

Caesar's good qualities or characteristics:

According to the writings of Cato and Cicero, who were not exactly Caesars friends:

• Caesar was immensely smart, educated, ambitious (this was seen as a very positive character trait at his time) and pragmatic when making allies.
• Caesar was popular with the women and famous for sleeping around half or Rome's upper class including the wife's of friends and allies.
• Caesar didn't care for money for himself. He used money to throw lavish parties for his friends and to become a celebrity when he was young, to buy political office on his move up and to bribe half of Rome when he was on the top. Consequently Caesar was always in debt, betting that his next position of power would allow him to pay it back.
• He was a "POPULARI" - a member of the political faction trying to institute reform benefiting the "PLEBS", the common folks as well as Romans allies in Italy.
• He was loyal to his friends - and not pretty good in picking them (though not all his allies were his friends - like Pompeius).
• He avoided unnecessary political violence. (By the standards of the time). No random killing of political opponents.

·         Caesar was a good speaker

·         Caesar has been a great speaker ever since his young age. By the first time he had a public speech his speech rhetorically was not really competitive, but his speaking methods were persuasive that Cicero even takes notice of Caesar’s skills. After his lost, Caesar went to Rhodes to learn more about rhetoric speech during the 78 B.C.s .

·         Caesar was smart in making beneficial relationships

·         During his time in the Senate, Caesar befriended a lot of senators in order to receive support being a consul. He defended some of them who were pressed and in trouble, that they helped and supported him in support back. He befriended Crassus, a rich senator, and he supported Clodius when he was in trial, etc. Caesar also made himself popular around the society of Rome. He was so famous in the views of normal citizens that the senators were afraid that a rebellion would start if they assassinate Caesar.

Caesar was ambitious and determinative:

When Caesar was at war with Pompey, Caesar kept on pressing his assault to him. Pompey predicted that Caesar would not lead an assault to his army by that time because of the cold wheather in the seas, but he was wrong. Caesar built his own navy and sailed during the cold month, and lead an assault. Caesar never want to stop or get stopped by anyone else. All he wants was to be a king in Rome.

Caesar was a strategic general:

Caesar was able to make great plannings that he managed to defeat Pompey’s great army. His army was made of just several infantry legions, while Pompey’s army was made of infantry and cavalry legions. Caesar made four total lines of his troops. He deployed them one by one. First he sent the first and second line to fight all the battalions of Pompey (All his army was deployed), then he sent the third and fourth the last, and ordered the first and second to return. Pompey’s army was heavily charged that they even retreat passing their own camp. He also motivated his soldiers that they fight not just for their general, but for themselves and even more.

Julius Caesar: Intelligent

First and foremost, Julius Caesar, the Roman general and statesman who upended the Republic and its laws, was a smarty pants. He was exceptionally bright, well-educated, and well-read. His intelligence is one of the reasons why he was such a successful ruler. Caesar was both an articulate writer and a compelling speaker. When he was addressing the Senate or the public, Romans hung on his every word. His critical mind was immensely beneficial during his military career. He planned and strategized to outmaneuver his opponents.

One of the best examples of Caesar's intelligence comes from the Battle of Alesia. While working to conquer Gaul (which is modern-day France), Caesar pursued his enemy to a small fortified town called Alesia. Instead of exhausting his resources and sacking the city, he created a siege instead. Caesar was well aware his foe would be sending reinforcements so he did two things. First, he had his troops construct a series of walls and ditches around the city called circumvallation. This way, he could monitor the Gauls trapped inside the city. Around the circumvallation, he had his troops build another series of perimeters called contravallation. From the contravallation, he could watch for reinforcements and defend the position of the Roman army. It was this attention to detail and cleverness that endeared him to his troops.

Julius Caesar: Energetic

In addition to being clever, Caesar was incredibly energetic. As the governor of Gaul, Caesar was able to fight wars for seven years, while also writing a series of seven books recounting his escapades. During his life, Caesar traveled non-stop. Whether he was fighting a war or simply visiting a Roman province, he was constantly on the move.

Caesar's energy was also evidenced in his romantic exploits. Over the course of his life, he had three wives and multiple mistresses. Imagine taking over a country, fighting multiple wars, AND juggling several girlfriends at the same time. The man never tired!

Julius Caesar: Cunning and Generous

Immense intelligence and energy were not the only qualities that made Caesar a formidable leader. He was also exceptionally driven, power-hungry, and cunning. Caesar came from a noble but poor family. What Caesar lacked in funds he made up for with an insatiable thirst for power. Every action was calculated; nothing he did was without purpose.

For example, when one of his greatest political opponents died, Caesar went out of his way to memorialize the man. Not because he liked him or thought he was a good guy, but because Caesar knew that speaking about his fallen adversary would help neutralize his posthumous influence.

Aside from being cunning, Caesar was also generous, bestowing lavish gifts on the people closest to him. He gave his mistress, Cleopatra, her own palace in Rome. Additionally, he showed mercy to the people he conquered and spared many of the political opponents he defeated.

Caesar's Downfall

Caesar had many positive qualities, but some of his more negative attributes worked against him. Caesar is described by Roman historian Suetonius as a good-looking guy and, given his love life, it's pretty evident that the ladies found him attractive. Despite this, Caesar was rather self-conscious, especially when it came to his hairline. He took to combing his hair a certain way or wearing a crown of laurels in an attempt to hide the fact that he was balding. 

Bibliography

1.  Bate, Jonathan; Rasmussen, Eric, eds. (2008). Hamlet. The RSC Shakespeare. The Royal Shakespeare Company. ISBN 978-0230217867.

2.  Edwards, Phillip, ed. (1985). Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521293662.

3.  Hibbard, G. R., ed. (1987). Hamlet. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283416-9.

4.  Irace, Kathleen O., ed. (1998). The First Quarto of Hamlet. New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-65390-8.

5.  Jenkins, Harold, ed. (1982). Hamlet. The Arden Shakespeare, second series. London: Methuen. ISBN 1-903436-67-2.

6.  Bradley, A.C. “Othello: A Noble Soul Overcome by Passion.” Readings on Othello. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2000. 88-96. Print.

7.  Matthew Fike. A Jungian Study of Shakespeare. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.

8.  Eliot, T.S. “The Hero Cheering Himself Up.” A Casebook on Othello. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Thomas T. Crowell Co, 1961.153-156.Print.

9.  Haybron, Daniel M. “Evil Characters.” American Philosophical Inquiry. 36.2. (1999): 131-148.

10.  Heilman, Robert B. “Othello: The Unheroic Tragic Hero.” A Casebook on Othello. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Thomas T. Crowell Co, 1961. 185-199. Print.

11.  Harold Bloom. Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages: King Lear. Infobase Publishing, p.53, 2008.

12.  Frank Kermode, 'King Lear', The Riverside Shakespeare (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974), 1249.

13.  R.A. Foakes, ed. King Lear. London: Arden, 1997, 89–90.

14. John Danby, Shakespeare's Doctrine of Nature: A Study of King Lear (London, 1949), p.50

15.  Harold Bloom. Shakespeare Through the Ages: King Lear, pg. 317.

16. Bradley, A. C. (1991). Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. London: Penguin. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-14-053019-3.

18. Suetonius, Julius 1; Plutarch, Caesar 1; Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.41

19. Thorne, James (2003). Julius Caesar: Conqueror and Dictator. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 15.

20. Kennedy, E.C. (1958). Caesar de Bello Gallico. Cambridge Elementary Classics. III. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 10. Retrieved 26 December 2014.

21. Suetonius (2004). Lives of the Caesars. Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Reading Series. Translated by J. C. Rolfe. Barnes & Noble. p. 258. ISBN 9780760757581. Retrieved 26 December 2014.

22.   J.F.C. Fuller, Julius Caesar, Man, Soldier, Tyrant", Chapter 13

23.   Diana E. E. Kleiner. Julius Caesar, Venus Genetrix, and the Forum Iulium (Multimedia presentation). Yale University.

Appendix

“The story depicts also the troubled part of the hero's life which precedes and leads up to his death; and an instantaneous death occurring by 'accident' in the midst of prosperity would not suffice for it. It is, in fact, essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death.” - A. C. Bradley (2016). “Shakespearean Tragedy”, p.9