Essay
Aspects of Shakespearean Tragedies
- Module
- English Literature
- Institution
- Cambridge University (CAM)
Comparison between 5 Shakespearean Tragedies.
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Salah 1Maryam Salah El Dien
Third year – 3021024
Shakespeare
Almost all Shakesperean tragedies follow the play within a play scheme, flow in a
supernatural atmosphere, and crystalize how deceiving appearances are. When comparing King
Lear to Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and Othello, many aspects tend to reoccur.
Shakespeare is keen on keeping the core of his works as real and humane as possible. He does so
by flawing his tragic heroes and implementing the concept of dualism, which is the essence of all
his works.
Any tragic hero’s hamartia, their fatal flaw that leads them towards their downfall, makes
them relatable, rather than mystical or fantastical. King Lear, for instance, is a man of
appearances and loves to have everyone sing his praises. His Id dominates and projects on the
way he rules and parents. He tests his daughters not by asking, “which of you doth love us
most,” but rather, “which of you shall we say doth love us most?”(1.1.49). King Lear is a victim
of his own blinded self and fate is free of his downfall; he willingly makes his decision based on
a false insight that appeals to him. As for Macbeth, ambition is his fatal flaw that transformed
him from a “noble” and “worthy gentleman” into a “bloody” “beast” that killed Duncan and
Banquo. In one of his first soliloquies, he claims he is “settled”, proving that he has always been
aware of his flaws and the consequences of his deeds. Hamlet’s weakness, however, is his
inability to act and his indecisiveness to act. Despite having a valid motive to take action and
avenge his father, he still “can say nothing”, equating himself to a “coward” and a “slave”. In
Othello, despite Desdemona abandoning everything to be with Othello, she pays the price for his
, Salah 2
irrational jealousy that eventually kills her. The Merchant of Venice differs from the previous
plays, as it is a tragic comedy rather than a tragedy. However, if Antonio is to be considered a
hypothetical tragic hero then his flaw would be his pride and arrogance. It is also argued that
Shylock could be the tragic hero too, making his thirst for avenging all years of forgiveness and
bearing Antonio’s abuse his hamartia that brings out the bloody “devil” in him.
As much as Shakespearean tragedies are based on paradoxes, they equally rely on
dualities. Shakespeare uses duality as a motif to rationalize what seems irrational to the audience
and contextualize the characters’ weaknesses, “in every point twice done, and then done double”
(Macbeth 1.6.18-22). According to Shakespeare, everything is juxtaposed whether it is an image,
a character, a plot, or a theme; anything has its parallel. King Lear’s persona sets an example of
how duality takes place within characters themselves; he keeps bouncing between sanity and
insanity throughout the play. He starts off by irrationally “disclaiming” all his “paternal care”
from Cordelia, and eventually gains insight into how dumb he was to favor his two other lying
“thankless” daughters. Lear proves once again that all tragic heroes are aware of their Achilles
heel as he admits: “I fear I am not in my perfect mind” (4.7.72). Resembling the real world,
Lear’s characters embody both the good and the evil. Shakespeare chooses to end his play on a
relatively good note where the good outweighs the bad, supporting Edgar’s belief that “The gods
are just, and of our peasant vices make instruments to plague us"(5.3.169).
Macbeth’s most famous quote, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (1.1.10), speaks dualism;
what appears to be good is bad and vice versa. This paradox sets up the trend of appearance
versus reality throughout the play. Macbeth runs on a certain rhythm of dualism of characters:
the good Macbeth and the evil Macbeth, Macbeth and Duncan, Macbeth and Banquo, the natural
Lady Macbeth and the unnatural “unsexed” Lady Macbeth. Moreover, there is dualism in
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