Hamlet Analyzed In Terms Of Aristotle’s Poetics Essay, Research Paper
Aristotle?s Poetics is considered the guide
to a well written tragedy; his methods have been used for centuries.
In Aristotle?s opinion, plot is the most important aspect of the
tragedy, all other parts such as character, diction, and thought
stem from the plot. Aristotle defines a tragedy as an imitation
of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude;
in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the
several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form
of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the
proper purgation of these emotions(p. 22).
Shakespeare?s Hamlet follows this
definition for the most part, and even though it is not always in
agreement with Aristotle?s guidelines, it is still a great and
effective tragedy.
Aristotle states that tragedy is an imitation
of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude(p.
22). Hamlet is an excellent example of this. The play
centers around Hamlet?s quest to avenge his father?s death, this
is a serious action. It is also complete in the sense that
all the loose ends are tied together in a sensible, believable manner.
Hamlet is able to avenge his father?s death by killing his
uncle. Shakespeare also follows Aristotle?s idea of the tragedy
being of a certain magnitude. The characters are supposed to
be the most perfect people whom the audience can still relate to.
Hamlet is a wealthy prince, however he deals with the same problems
as the common man. He is confused, paranoid, and angered about
the circumstances surrounding his father?s death. He is also
unsure of himself and how he should handle the situation. The
audience can relate to this uncertain feeling and they are able to
empathize with Hamlet.
Aristotle believes that in order for a
tragedy to be effective, it must convey pity and fear. He defines
pity as a felling that is aroused by unmerited misfortune (p. 27).
Hamlet undoubtedly suffers this unmerited misfortune. He has
done nothing to bring about his father?s death. To make the
situation even more painful, his mother has married his uncle whom
he suspects is responsible for the tragedy. These circumstances
illicit pity from the audience. The fear of impending evil
is also prevalent in the play. As the plot progresses, it becomes
clear that the king is plotting to kill Hamlet and Hamlet is
planning to kill the king.
Hamlet?s plot is what Aristotle considers
complex. It is accompanied by Recognition, which is a change
from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons
destined by the poet for good or bad fortune(p. 26). The Recognition
occurs when the play within the play is staged for the king.
The play is a reenactment of what Hamlet believes happened to his
father. His uncle is so upset and flustered by the play that
he runs from the room. This action indicates to Hamlet that
his suspicions were correct and his uncle is indeed responsible for
King Hamlet?s death. Hamlet later finds the king in a church
praying and is tempted to kill him there, but decides against it
because he will go to heaven since he is praying. From this,
the audience is able to infer that Hamlet will attempt to kill
his uncle later in the play.
Aristotle stresses that diction is important
to make the tragedy believable. Shakespeare utilizes
diction perfectly and everything his characters say is appropriate
for them to be saying. For instance, the king speaks like a
king, he always dodges like a true politician. There is an
obvious and necessary difference between the way he speaks and the
way the gravediggers speak. The gravediggers are common men
and therefor, speak as thought they are common men.
There are some aspects of Poetics that Shakespeare does not follow.
For instance, Aristotle states that in a great tragedy, there should
be unity of time, place, and action. By this he means the action
of the play should take place in the amount of time it takes to
perform it, it should occur in one setting, and there should be one
main plot or action. Shakespeare breaks all these rules.
The play spans over a significant period of time. Also, the
action occurs in various settings ranging from the palace to a
plain in Denmark. Finally, there are several plots taking place
simultaneously. For instance, as Hamlet is struggling
with the death of his father, Ophelia is going insane because Hamlet
is not returning her love or showing any interest in her. The
audience feels pity for Ophelia throughout her ordeal as well.
Aristotle would not approve of all the subplots that occur within
this play. Shakespeare?s Hamlet is a great and effective tragedy
which follows most of the guidelines set by Aristotle in Poetics.
There are some aspects of Poetics that Shakespeare does not include
or follow, however the play still effects the audience in the desired
manner. In reality, Hamlet would not have the same impact if
it followed all the guidelines. For instance, the whole
aspect of the subplot about Ophelia?s insanity adds so much to the
play. Shakespeare broke some of Aristotle?s rules and still
wrote an effective tragedy that has been appreciated by audiences
for centuries.