six parts of tragedy with reference to "Hamlet"

Name:- Kubavat Kishan

Roll no:- 13

M.A semester no :-1

Paper no :- 3

Year:- 2014-15

Paper name :-  The Literarytheory & Criticism

Assignment Topic:-six parts of tragedy with reference to  “Hamlet”

Submitted to :- Department of English

 M.K.Bhavnagar University

About Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek Philosopher and scientist born in the Macedonian city of Stagirus, IN 384 BCE. At eighteen, he joined Plato’s Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. His writings cover many subjects-including physics, biology, Zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethic, aesthetics,poetry, theater,music,rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government and constitute the first comprehensive system of western philosophy.

What is Tragedy?

According to Aristotle,

Ø It involues mimesis

Ø It is serious ;

Ø The action is complete and with magnitude

Ø It is made up of language with the “ aesthetic ornaments “ of rhythm and harmony

Ø These “aesthetic ornaments” are not used uniformly throughout, but are introduced in scparate parts of the work , so that, for instance, somebits are spoken and other bits are sung

Ø  It is performed rather than narrated

Ø It arouses the emotions of pity and fear and accomplishes a catharsis of these emotions.

Six parts of Tragedy

Aristotle asserts that any tragedy can be divided into six component parts, and that every tragedy is made up of these six parts with nothing else besides.

There is       1) The Plot (Fable)

2) Character (ethos) (Tragic Hero)

                3) Thoughts (Dianoia)

                4) Melody / Songs (Melos)

                5) Diction (lexis)

                6) Spectacle (Opsis)

Now, we are discuss about all parts of tragedies.

1) The Plot (Fable)

PLOT:-

“Plot is a soul of tragedy “

This lines show the importance of Plot in tragedy. Plot is the “first Principle” in tragedy, first step which is most important. Tragedy can imagine without character not without Plot. Plot is structure of tragedy and around which the materials parts are laid. Just as the soul is the structure of men.

Plot is divided in three parts.

1.   Beginning

2. Middle ( Climax )

3.  End

Beginning is related with introduction, in middle there is a turning point of any play and at last in the end shows morality of play. Plot is a “chain” among them three parts.

Plot must be “Complete”, “Simple”.

Plot must has three unities.

1.   Time

2.  Place

3.  Action

Plot must be of “a certain magnitude” and it has “an air of design”.

Plot must be complex also, simple plots have only a “change of fortune” but a complex plots have the things “reversal of intention”. Complex plot has knowledge to produce love or hate between the person destined for good and bad fortune.

CHARACTER (ethos)

 Character is also another important element of “Tragedy”. Character is that who performed as per his dialogues and role on the stage to represent the society.

Character must be “Moral able” and good also. Aristotle says that character is prior to action and there can be no action without character. Character is as important as action and other elements in Tragedy. In a perfect tragedy character will support plot through actions and incidents. Character is a chain of actions producing pity and fear in the audience.

“Even a woman may be good, and also a slave though the woman be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless”

Here is the description of “goodness” of character and good quality of tragedy. “True of life” is also an important theme in character. An idealization of character is a major personality of character.

The Tragic Hero:-

In tragedy Tragic hero is very important part and also called ideal in tragedy. As a tragic main hero, he must have to select very serious dialogues in the tragedy.

Aristotle says that “a good tragedy depend on plot, action and also on tragic hero, main protagonist of the ply should have all the characteristics of a good character.

How was tragic hero?

A good man – coming to bad end

A bad man – coming to good end

A bad man – coming to a bad end

A good man – coming to a bad end

 According to Aristotle Tragic hero must have to be ideal and kind person of life neither too virtuous nor too wicked. He should be a man of mixed character, neither blameless nor depraved.

THOUGHT (Dianoia)

Thought is the third an important element of tragedy.

“Where something is proved to be or not to be or a general maxim is enunciated “

A little thought appear the idea and personality of play, associated with how speeches should revel character.

Thought is related with someone’s “Imagination” and personal inner ideas of someone. If thought is positive and related with morality and new ideas of mind.

DICTION (lexis)

Diction is fourth element related with “the expression of the meaning in words”

Diction is a matter of an arrangement of words, dialogues and sequences.

 If some dialogues, words and sequences are coming properly throughout the character, image of tragedy also being good or proper.

SONG / MELODY (melos)

Songs, melodies, choral odes, lyrically dialogues are another features of the Greek tragedy. Song is a thing related with enjoy and entertainment.

Sometimes there are also sad songs in play.

Ex. In “Hamlet” there is a sad song in the scene of Ophelia’s madness.

Aristotle says that song is related with musical rhythm and effect in tragedy or play.

SPECTACLE (opsis)

 Spectacle is the last element of tragedy.

Spectacle is production of spectacular effects depends more an on the art of the stage.

Spectacle is good technique of presentation in drama. Tragedy is stage performance and connected with emotional attraction which recognize by spectacle.

Spectacle performs a role of “create a sense” not of the horror but only the monsters.

Now, lets discuss that how all the parts of tragedy given by Aristotle are in “Hamlet” or not.

Plot

Aristotle says the plot must be a whole with a beginning, middle and end. But in Shakespeare did not follow the rules given by Aristotle he has invented his own style of writing. ‘Hamlet’ is also such play. Play start with appearns of Ghost. In between lot of intrigues and other thing take place and in the end of the play most all the character died.

Aristotle’s concept of unity of action that came to be known as Freytag’s Triangle or Freytag’s Paramid. In the illustration below, let us see a graphic that can be employed to analyze the structure and unity of a narrative plot.

The German journalist and writer. Gustav Freytag, described the classical five act structure of play sin the shape of pyramid, and he attributed a particular function to each of the five acts.

ü Hamlet discovers Claudius is guilty (main plot)

ü But kills Polonious by mistake (sub plot)

           

The plays opens on a cold winter midnight on “ plat form before the castle “ of Elsinore, the Danish royal castle. Discovered first by a pair of watchmen , then by the scholar Horatio. The ghost resembles the recently deceased king Hamlet, whose brother Claudius has inherited the throne and married the king’s widow, Queen Gertrude. When Horatio and the watchmen bring prince Hamlet, the son of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the ghost, it speaks to him. Ordering Hamlet to seek revenge on the man who usurped this throne and married his wife, the ghost disappears with the dawn.

          Prince Hamlet devotes himself to clvenging his father’s death, but because he is contemplative and thoughtful by nature he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. They employ a pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to watchman. Polonius, the pompous lord Chamberlain, Suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia.

          A group of traveling actors comes to Elsionre, and Hamlet seizes upon an idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will have the players perform a scene closely resembling the sequence by which Hamlet imagines his uncle to have murdered his father. Hamlet and Horatio agree that this proves his guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but finds him praying. And that true thinking killing Claudius while in prayer would send Claudius’s soul to heven.

          Hamlet goes to confront his mother in whose bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the tapestry, Hearing a noise from behind  the is hiding there. He draws his sword and stabs through the fabric, killing Polonius.

          In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with grief and drowns in the river. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths planning by Hamlet died. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the facing match between Hamlet and Laertes.

          Hamlet scores the first hit but declines to drink from the king’s proffered goblet instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after achieving his revenge.

At this moment a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. He moves to take power of theHoratio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story.

2) Character

According to Aristotle characters in tragedy should have the following qualities , “good or fine”, “Fitness of character”, “true to life”, “consistency”, “necessary or probable”, and “true to life and yet more beautiful”.

Character are most important any plays. Hamlet is also one of the most important characters in the play. He is a protagonist tragic hero of the play. A good man coming to end died.

H. N. Hudson :-

“ It is easy to invent with plausibility almost any theory respecting  (Hamlet), but very hard to make any theory hard to make any theory comprehend the whole subject”.

Two Hamlets in the play; one the sensitive young intellectual and idealist, the ‘sweet prince’ who expresses himself in unforgettable poetry and who is dedicated to truth; the other, a barbaric Hamlet who treats Ophelia & Gertrude so cruelly, who slays Polonius and sends Rosencrantz and Guildenster to their death. Dealy in revenge.

But then Shakespeare would not have achieved tragedy and the resulting work would have been no more than a potboiler.

3) Thought

According to Aristotle Plot and Character should move around the particular thought. Which are proper and appropriate to the characters, and end of the tragedy. The same with the play ‘Hamlet’ the main thought and theme is to take revenge.

In ‘Hamlet’ the murder of king Hamlet by Claudius, Ghost of king reveals crime to prince Hamlet and lays the sacred duty to taken revenge , Death of Polonius ,Ophelia, Gertrude, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz, madness of Hamlet/Ophelia, Plots and counter plots, reference to adultery and incest relations, nunnery scene, graveyard scene, fencing fight, poisoning.

His tortured soul is threadbare before us and it raises  play above a crude melodrama or revenge play.

Diction :-

Diction means “ choice of language”. In Hamlet proper and appropriate to the plot, characters and end of the tragedy, it is the choice of words to embellish language with beautiful ornaments in Hamlet great by Shakespeare.

                                Some of the play Hamlet like-------

Hamlet is known for the advice of Polonius to his son latters,

Polonius says ,

“ neither a borrower for a lender be,

Borrowing often dulls edge of husbandry ,

And lose the friend forever”

Hamlet tells his mother …….

“I will speak the daggers but use none”

                Hamlet speaks for the attitude Gertrude and for women in general,

“ Frailty thy name is women ”

Song or melody

According to Aristotle chorus should be fully integrated into the play like an actor; choral/odes/ melodious lyrical dialogue should countable to the unity of the plot.

The word chosen by Shakespeare also creates musical effects, language is according to the level of the character, Shakespeare dialogue and poetry are musical, melodious many Dialogue are famous of Ophelia poetry is one of such example.

Spectacle

in the play spectacle plays a vital rule.it help us in understand play in better way. It gives us editional information about the play. With the moving of scene spectsle also chansing. So we came to came to know about the action they where it take place.

For example in the movie Hamlet Big Palace, mirror scene , grave diging scene and statue of king.

 Thus, spectacle is used in the play hamlet very well.

Conclusion:-

Thus, plot,character, thoughts, melody/songs, Diction, Spectacle. All the parts of tragedy is used in the in the play very well by Shakespeare.