Tragic heroes of Shakespeare
Md Ismail Hossain :
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is the greatest dramatist in the world. He is famous because of his objectivity and having a deep insight into human nature. He has created a ‘galaxy’ of tragic heroes.
Among them Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello are the main. To depict the character of his tragic heroes he has followed the theory of Aristotle. According to Aristotle, “The hero of a tragedy should be a noble person but he falls from his prosperity to adversity only because of a certain flaw in his character. His fall will create pity and fear in us for his helplessness.” Though Shakespeare has followed the theory of Aristotle, each of his heroes has individual characteristic features.
Macbeth was a man of high position who was a general of the army of Duncan. He was a heroic soldier whose noble qualities have won golden opinions from all sorts of people. His bravery was rewarded, by the King giving him the title ‘Thane of Cawdor.’ Even, Macbeth, ‘The bridegroom, of Bellona,’ did not lack in the softness of heart.
He who was very loyal to the king loves also his wife very much. He was a man ‘full of the milk of human kindness.’ But soon he fell from that elevated position to that of a villain and traitor.
It was because of his high ambition, the flaw in his character. His craving for power made him lose all the noble qualities in him. So, he killed king Duncan who was in great safety sleeping in his (M) house. He murdered the guest breaking the time honoured ideal of hospitality. Thus he became the king of Scotland.
He was swept on to destruction thus causing many lives to be wasted and the whole nation brought to anarchy, being dragged into crime, he lost faith in man and became utterly distrustful.
But his realisation of his vices constantly caused a kind of pain in him. By his own word he revealed that he was suffering a living hell in the midst of fears. Since he had started his crime, he did not know any rest. After killing the king he experienced an acute mental conflict. In the final scene we find that acute mental suffering has made Macbeth’s life meaningless when he said, “Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player.” When Macbeth died we feel pity and fear for him because he was a brave and noble general but faced tragedy because of driving ambition.
King Lear is not an exception to Aristotle’s theory. He had a flaw in his own character like all other tragic heroes of Shakespeare. It is his own whim of knowing how much his daughters loved him. The king knew very well how much his daughters loved him. Besides, he had already divided his kingdom into three equal portions with equal natural gifts for his three daughters.
But at the time of conferring these portions on his daughters, he wanted to know how his daughters loved him. How childish his desire was! Gonerill and Regan expressed their love for the king in the most flattering language but Cordelia, the youngest, could not be so pretentious like her elder sisters and she, spoke the right, the truth that she loved him so much as he deserved.
The King also knew that she loved him most and he had decided to live with her in his old age.
Yet the true words failed to satisfy the moody king. In a state of anger, he deprived Cordelia of her share and even withdrew her filial love and duty. So, he failed to discern between the real and the unreal. As a result he had to suffer.
The dishonour he suffered at the hand of his own daughters, Goneril and Regan, is really heart rending.
It rends our heart but Goneril and Regan are so cruel that they drive away their father into the storm bare headed. The words he speaks to the storm strike us very much :
“Here I stand, your slave,
A poor, infirm, weak and’ deposed man.”
Even, he goes mad. Finally, for the greed and cruelty of Regan and Goneril, he had to die with Cordelia. His death with Cordelia creates pity and fear in our mind.
Othello fell a victim to jealousy that brought his tragedy. He was a noble Moor in the service of Venetian state. He was a born soldier, a brave and noble able General who had distinguished himself by his deeds of valour. He was noble, frank, honest and brave.
There was no one else in Venice to match him as a Commander and General. So, the Duke of Venice put him in the charge of the defence of Cyprus.
But, this man of high quality misunderstood his loyal, naive and honest wife Desdemona because of Iago’s conspiracy Iago, the ancient of Othello. told him that Desdemona had an illicit affair with Cassio, the Lieutenant of Othello. Othello was of so trustful and confiding nature that he believed Iago. So, he was required to face the problem which demanded logical and calm thinking and a keen knowledge of human nature.
But, he did not have the ability.
So, he suffered inwardly so acutely that he decided to kill Desdemona.
At last, he killed Desdemona and finally himself. It is clear that he acted rashly when instigated by the person whom he trusted absolutely. But, Desdemona’s tragic death and his death rends our heart and for this reason he stirs in us a passion of mingled love and pity….
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a great tragic hero of Shakespeare. We find him in gloomy state because he thinks over the death of his father.
After that, the ghost of his father, informed him that he was killed by Claudius, the present king and uncle of Hamlet. It also suggested to take the revenge of his father’s death. So, Hamlet had to do his filial duty but he could not overcome the indecision and hesitation of his mind.
So, he suffered much. He could not find rest for a moment because of his procrastination. He utters the great speech when it was unbearable to bear his suffering.
To be, or not to be: that is the question; whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and anows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles.
It is his heart rending crying.
In the final scene he died facing the outcome of his tragedy. But, the death of such a noble hero creates pity and fear in us.
To surri up, we should differentiate the tragic heroes of Shakespeare from each other though all of them possess the same characteristics of real tragic hero according to Aristotle. We may argue that the criminal activities of Macbeth diminish his tragic grandeur and like Hamlet, King Lear and Othello he is not a true tragic hero. But here we must remember that Macheth is the maturest product of Shakespeare and in this play he does not create an ideal hero who cannot be real human being. Rather he tries to make such a hero as to be found in every society of every time.
From this point of view, Shakespeare created tragic heroes. But it may be said that Lear is different from other tragic heroes. He brought misery upon himself because of trifling matter, filial duty or love.
Between Othello and Hamlet, Othello has not the meditative or speculative imagination of Hamlet but in the strictest sense of the word he is more poetic than Hamlet.
He is the greatest poet among the heroes of Shakespeare who could argue before the Duke on the way to win Desdemona’s heart.
Indeed, he is the most romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes. Emotion excites his imagination but it confuses and dulls his intellect. On this side, he is the very opposite of Hamlet. Hesitation is almost impossible to him like Hamlet.
Though, all of the tragic heroes of Shakespeare are depicted according to the theory of Aristotle, they deserve individuality. Allardyce Nicol is quite just in his remark when he says regarding the tragic heroes of Shakespeare: “All his heroes, by their greatness, stand alone.” n
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is the greatest dramatist in the world. He is famous because of his objectivity and having a deep insight into human nature. He has created a ‘galaxy’ of tragic heroes.
Among them Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello are the main. To depict the character of his tragic heroes he has followed the theory of Aristotle. According to Aristotle, “The hero of a tragedy should be a noble person but he falls from his prosperity to adversity only because of a certain flaw in his character. His fall will create pity and fear in us for his helplessness.” Though Shakespeare has followed the theory of Aristotle, each of his heroes has individual characteristic features.
Macbeth was a man of high position who was a general of the army of Duncan. He was a heroic soldier whose noble qualities have won golden opinions from all sorts of people. His bravery was rewarded, by the King giving him the title ‘Thane of Cawdor.’ Even, Macbeth, ‘The bridegroom, of Bellona,’ did not lack in the softness of heart.
He who was very loyal to the king loves also his wife very much. He was a man ‘full of the milk of human kindness.’ But soon he fell from that elevated position to that of a villain and traitor.
It was because of his high ambition, the flaw in his character. His craving for power made him lose all the noble qualities in him. So, he killed king Duncan who was in great safety sleeping in his (M) house. He murdered the guest breaking the time honoured ideal of hospitality. Thus he became the king of Scotland.
He was swept on to destruction thus causing many lives to be wasted and the whole nation brought to anarchy, being dragged into crime, he lost faith in man and became utterly distrustful.
But his realisation of his vices constantly caused a kind of pain in him. By his own word he revealed that he was suffering a living hell in the midst of fears. Since he had started his crime, he did not know any rest. After killing the king he experienced an acute mental conflict. In the final scene we find that acute mental suffering has made Macbeth’s life meaningless when he said, “Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player.” When Macbeth died we feel pity and fear for him because he was a brave and noble general but faced tragedy because of driving ambition.
King Lear is not an exception to Aristotle’s theory. He had a flaw in his own character like all other tragic heroes of Shakespeare. It is his own whim of knowing how much his daughters loved him. The king knew very well how much his daughters loved him. Besides, he had already divided his kingdom into three equal portions with equal natural gifts for his three daughters.
But at the time of conferring these portions on his daughters, he wanted to know how his daughters loved him. How childish his desire was! Gonerill and Regan expressed their love for the king in the most flattering language but Cordelia, the youngest, could not be so pretentious like her elder sisters and she, spoke the right, the truth that she loved him so much as he deserved.
The King also knew that she loved him most and he had decided to live with her in his old age.
Yet the true words failed to satisfy the moody king. In a state of anger, he deprived Cordelia of her share and even withdrew her filial love and duty. So, he failed to discern between the real and the unreal. As a result he had to suffer.
The dishonour he suffered at the hand of his own daughters, Goneril and Regan, is really heart rending.
It rends our heart but Goneril and Regan are so cruel that they drive away their father into the storm bare headed. The words he speaks to the storm strike us very much :
“Here I stand, your slave,
A poor, infirm, weak and’ deposed man.”
Even, he goes mad. Finally, for the greed and cruelty of Regan and Goneril, he had to die with Cordelia. His death with Cordelia creates pity and fear in our mind.
Othello fell a victim to jealousy that brought his tragedy. He was a noble Moor in the service of Venetian state. He was a born soldier, a brave and noble able General who had distinguished himself by his deeds of valour. He was noble, frank, honest and brave.
There was no one else in Venice to match him as a Commander and General. So, the Duke of Venice put him in the charge of the defence of Cyprus.
But, this man of high quality misunderstood his loyal, naive and honest wife Desdemona because of Iago’s conspiracy Iago, the ancient of Othello. told him that Desdemona had an illicit affair with Cassio, the Lieutenant of Othello. Othello was of so trustful and confiding nature that he believed Iago. So, he was required to face the problem which demanded logical and calm thinking and a keen knowledge of human nature.
But, he did not have the ability.
So, he suffered inwardly so acutely that he decided to kill Desdemona.
At last, he killed Desdemona and finally himself. It is clear that he acted rashly when instigated by the person whom he trusted absolutely. But, Desdemona’s tragic death and his death rends our heart and for this reason he stirs in us a passion of mingled love and pity….
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a great tragic hero of Shakespeare. We find him in gloomy state because he thinks over the death of his father.
After that, the ghost of his father, informed him that he was killed by Claudius, the present king and uncle of Hamlet. It also suggested to take the revenge of his father’s death. So, Hamlet had to do his filial duty but he could not overcome the indecision and hesitation of his mind.
So, he suffered much. He could not find rest for a moment because of his procrastination. He utters the great speech when it was unbearable to bear his suffering.
To be, or not to be: that is the question; whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and anows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles.
It is his heart rending crying.
In the final scene he died facing the outcome of his tragedy. But, the death of such a noble hero creates pity and fear in us.
To surri up, we should differentiate the tragic heroes of Shakespeare from each other though all of them possess the same characteristics of real tragic hero according to Aristotle. We may argue that the criminal activities of Macbeth diminish his tragic grandeur and like Hamlet, King Lear and Othello he is not a true tragic hero. But here we must remember that Macheth is the maturest product of Shakespeare and in this play he does not create an ideal hero who cannot be real human being. Rather he tries to make such a hero as to be found in every society of every time.
From this point of view, Shakespeare created tragic heroes. But it may be said that Lear is different from other tragic heroes. He brought misery upon himself because of trifling matter, filial duty or love.
Between Othello and Hamlet, Othello has not the meditative or speculative imagination of Hamlet but in the strictest sense of the word he is more poetic than Hamlet.
He is the greatest poet among the heroes of Shakespeare who could argue before the Duke on the way to win Desdemona’s heart.
Indeed, he is the most romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes. Emotion excites his imagination but it confuses and dulls his intellect. On this side, he is the very opposite of Hamlet. Hesitation is almost impossible to him like Hamlet.
Though, all of the tragic heroes of Shakespeare are depicted according to the theory of Aristotle, they deserve individuality. Allardyce Nicol is quite just in his remark when he says regarding the tragic heroes of Shakespeare: “All his heroes, by their greatness, stand alone.” n
