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Hamlet and Macbeth Analyzed as Aristotelian Tragedies


Aristotle's Poetics is considered the guide to a well written tragedy; his methods have been used for centuries. Aristotle defines a tragedy as "an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude… in the form of an action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions" (House, 82). The philosopher believes the plot to be the most vital aspect of a tragedy, thus all other parts such as character, diction, and thought stem from the plot. Aristotle affirms, "the principle of tragedy – the soul, if you like – is the plot, and second to that the characters" (Whalley, 27). William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth essentially adhere to this definition. While both plays are not always in agreement with Aristotle's guidelines, they remain distinguished and effective tragedies with regard to the philosopher's criteria.
Aristotle states that tragedy is......

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Approximate Word Count: 1932
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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