Shakespearean Tragedy Revisited: Death in Othello and Hamlet

Abstract

This paper looks closely at death as a thematic concern in Shakespearean tragedy, with a focus on Othello and Hamlet. In both plays, death as a tragic ending brings the stories of heroes who are led up constantly to fall and yield to the force of circumstances that have been created and plotted. The calamities in Shakespeare‟s tragedies are not accidental. They proceed mainly from actions which beget others until this series of interconnected acts leads to a catastrophe. These acts are predominantly of great importance to the tragic ending. As the tragedy advances towards its „denouement‟, one would notice that the catastrophe follows inextricably from certain actions whose main source is a flaw in the hero‟s character. Such is the case with both Othello and Hamlet. This paper attempts to offer a critical reading and a discussion of Shakespeare‟s tragedy.

Keywords

• tragedy
• Hamlet
• Othello
• drama
• death