Critics
Section A: Tragedy
Kastan (2003) – Shakespearean Tragedy
Causes for suffering are human weakness, divine retribution or arbitrary fate
Shakespeare doesn’t have a fully worked out theory of what tragedy is
‘tragedy as the fall from prosperity to wretchedness became commonplace’ following its
introduction in the middle ages
Tragedy is: ‘universal and inexplicable’ and fearfully ‘incomprehensible.’
3 quotes of Kastan (2003):
‘Are there reasons for the intolerable suffering?’
‘For Shakespeare, anyhow, the uncertainty is the point.’
‘Tragedy, for Shakespeare, is the genre of uncompensated suffering’
Nuttall (1996) - The Pleasure of Tragedy
Tension between pleasure and pain in tragic drama
Tragedy considered audience pleasure in relation to the pain they were witnessing on stage
Contemporary view of tragedy is that more commonly praise the playwright's ability to
disturb the emotions of the audience and render them uncomfortable
3 quotes of Nuttall (1996)
‘In the tragic theatre (…) grief and fear become in their turn matter for enjoyment.’
‘Conversely, the adjective 'uncomfortable' is automatically read as praise.’
‘For example, while it may seem essential to the idea of pleasure that it be felt, pleasure need
not occupy the foreground of consciousness.’
Bradley (1904)- The Shakespearean Tragic Hero
Originally published over a century ago
Shakespeare’s tragedies took note from Aristotle and other medieval writers
The tragic hero had to be of high rank because their downfall would be felt by the whole of
society due to the feudal system
The tragic hero always experienced a reversal of fortune leading to his own death
3 quotes for Bradley (1904):
‘It is, in fact, essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death’
‘Tragedy with Shakespeare is concerned always with persons of high degree’
‘His fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire’
Adelman (1992)- Hamlet: Avenging his father or saving his mother?
, Hamlet’s main concern is not revenge for his father, but complex feeling for his mother
Hamlet's fears his mother’s sexuality and maternal power and wants to purify her and convert
her from sin
This accounts for the delay in the revenge plot and the centrality of the closet scene
Adelman (1992) describes Gertrude as a mephor for all of Hamlet's imaginings and anxieties
more than an independent character
3 Quotes for Adelman (1992)
‘Less powerful as an independent character than as the site for fantasies’
‘the main psychological task that Hamlet seems to set himself is not revenge his father's death
but to remake his mother.’
‘Even as an avenger, Hamlet seems motivated more by his mother than by his father’
Mack (1993)- Tragedy and madness
Shakespearean heroes suffer with frequently with madness, which is a divine punishment by
god.
This madness gives the hero special insight and freedom of speech, which mirrors
Shakespeare’s use of the arts to reveal painful truths
These insights are dismissed by the other characters because the characters are mad
3 Quotes for Mack (1993):
‘Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things’
‘Shakespearean tragic heroes - contains both punishment and insight’
‘Shakespeare himself, perhaps - who, having been given the power to see the 'truth', can
convey it only through poetry.’
Kerrigan (1980) - Memory and remembrance in Hamlet
Memory is important in Hamlet as Hamlet expresses his mourning of his father by acts of
remembrance, and Hamlet’s is overrun by his dead father.
The ghost is a personification of the past
The ghost causes Hamlet to feel loss and a duty to commemorate
3 Quotes for Kerrigan (1980):
‘Such memories divert and slow the play’
‘Remembrance haunts him, even to the point of madness’
‘Through the loss of Ophelia, Hamlet feels that of his father’
Section A: Tragedy
Kastan (2003) – Shakespearean Tragedy
Causes for suffering are human weakness, divine retribution or arbitrary fate
Shakespeare doesn’t have a fully worked out theory of what tragedy is
‘tragedy as the fall from prosperity to wretchedness became commonplace’ following its
introduction in the middle ages
Tragedy is: ‘universal and inexplicable’ and fearfully ‘incomprehensible.’
3 quotes of Kastan (2003):
‘Are there reasons for the intolerable suffering?’
‘For Shakespeare, anyhow, the uncertainty is the point.’
‘Tragedy, for Shakespeare, is the genre of uncompensated suffering’
Nuttall (1996) - The Pleasure of Tragedy
Tension between pleasure and pain in tragic drama
Tragedy considered audience pleasure in relation to the pain they were witnessing on stage
Contemporary view of tragedy is that more commonly praise the playwright's ability to
disturb the emotions of the audience and render them uncomfortable
3 quotes of Nuttall (1996)
‘In the tragic theatre (…) grief and fear become in their turn matter for enjoyment.’
‘Conversely, the adjective 'uncomfortable' is automatically read as praise.’
‘For example, while it may seem essential to the idea of pleasure that it be felt, pleasure need
not occupy the foreground of consciousness.’
Bradley (1904)- The Shakespearean Tragic Hero
Originally published over a century ago
Shakespeare’s tragedies took note from Aristotle and other medieval writers
The tragic hero had to be of high rank because their downfall would be felt by the whole of
society due to the feudal system
The tragic hero always experienced a reversal of fortune leading to his own death
3 quotes for Bradley (1904):
‘It is, in fact, essentially a tale of suffering and calamity conducting to death’
‘Tragedy with Shakespeare is concerned always with persons of high degree’
‘His fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire’
Adelman (1992)- Hamlet: Avenging his father or saving his mother?
, Hamlet’s main concern is not revenge for his father, but complex feeling for his mother
Hamlet's fears his mother’s sexuality and maternal power and wants to purify her and convert
her from sin
This accounts for the delay in the revenge plot and the centrality of the closet scene
Adelman (1992) describes Gertrude as a mephor for all of Hamlet's imaginings and anxieties
more than an independent character
3 Quotes for Adelman (1992)
‘Less powerful as an independent character than as the site for fantasies’
‘the main psychological task that Hamlet seems to set himself is not revenge his father's death
but to remake his mother.’
‘Even as an avenger, Hamlet seems motivated more by his mother than by his father’
Mack (1993)- Tragedy and madness
Shakespearean heroes suffer with frequently with madness, which is a divine punishment by
god.
This madness gives the hero special insight and freedom of speech, which mirrors
Shakespeare’s use of the arts to reveal painful truths
These insights are dismissed by the other characters because the characters are mad
3 Quotes for Mack (1993):
‘Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things’
‘Shakespearean tragic heroes - contains both punishment and insight’
‘Shakespeare himself, perhaps - who, having been given the power to see the 'truth', can
convey it only through poetry.’
Kerrigan (1980) - Memory and remembrance in Hamlet
Memory is important in Hamlet as Hamlet expresses his mourning of his father by acts of
remembrance, and Hamlet’s is overrun by his dead father.
The ghost is a personification of the past
The ghost causes Hamlet to feel loss and a duty to commemorate
3 Quotes for Kerrigan (1980):
‘Such memories divert and slow the play’
‘Remembrance haunts him, even to the point of madness’
‘Through the loss of Ophelia, Hamlet feels that of his father’
