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.