Shakespeare is a very popular modern English playwright who wrote numerous pieces that touched sensitive topics, social concerns, and political issues. Several of his works are tragedies, including the popular tragic play, Hamlet, a story of a prince who lived in a lie. Almost the same may be said to the highly acclaimed classical Greek writer, Sophocles, who wrote the trilogy whose third installation is Antigone. Although these writers came from two completely different eras in literature, both their works proved to possess all the elements of a true tragedy, expressed in their own personal style within the bounds of the period it belongs in.
1st Element: The Plot
Shakespeare’s work told the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, whose father was killed by his own uncle. Upon knowing his uncle’s treachery, he immediately plotted revenge. With his anger, he ordered his uncle spied on, and was later on accused as being mad. After seeing him as a threat, he was sent to England. However, Hamlet’s fate seemed to have been made to work against his uncles. All the plans to have him killed or banished, worked in reverse. Instead of being able to dispose of Hamlet, it was Claudius’ men that were little by little murdered. By the end of the play, Hamlet dies from a wound cut with a poisoned sword. But with some remaining strength, he was able to take his greatest antagonist, Claudius, with him to death (Shakespeare and Cantor).
On the other hand, Sophocles’s story revolved on the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone, who loved her family with all her heart to the point of sacrificing her own life for them. As compared to the plot of Shakespeare’s piece, Hamlet, both were seeking justice for the maltreatment and unlawful actions committed against their loved ones. Antigone only wanted to have her brother decently buried. She had merely fought for justice in ways she was capable of, just as much as Hamlet fought for it upon knowing the truth behind his father’s death (Sophocles et al).
2nd Element: The Main Characters
As may be noticed in the plots of the two tragic stories at hand, it may be seen that even though Hamlet was a man and Antigone a woman, they had many things in common with regard to their experiences and most especially, their personality and attitude towards the fate they were born in. These two characters were both true tragic heroes (Elton).
Hamlet was born as the prince of Denmark, but his right to the throne was stolen by Claudius, his uncle, who murdered his father. Hamlet had wanted justice for his father’s death. He was persistent in his goals and no matter what the antagonist prepared to stall him, he had not been moved even when he had to sacrifice his own life to achieve justice and to stop the rule of his greedy uncle (Shakespeare).
Similarly, Antigone also wanted justice for the maltreatment experienced by her dead brother. She had also been persistent against Creon, her uncle, who stole the throne after Oedipus banished himself from his kingdom. She as well, could not be moved even by the edict placed upon the entire kingdom. She still buried her brother and afterwards committed suicide proving that she would not bend to anyone but herself and death (Sophocles).
3rd and 4th Element: The Dialogue and the Theme
The third element that both the tragedies contained was the way the two characters emphasized sensitive points that may be applied in real life, through their language, the delivery of the lines, and the composition of their dialogues (Kentucky Shakespeare Festival).
In the tragedy of Antigone, the main thought of the play was successfully expressed in the pivotal scene where Antigone wanted to have her dead brother, Polynices, buried with honor, despite the edict of her uncle, Creon. She pointed that the law of the Gods are mightier and must be obeyed more than the laws of man (McConnochie).
“Thou wouldst bury him,-when ’tis forbidden to Thebes?
ANTIGONE I will do my part,-and thine, if thou wilt not,-to a brother.
False to him will I never be found.
ISMENE Ah, over-bold! when Creon hath forbidden?”
(Sophocles and Jebb)
In this part, the author was able to convey how a man’s responsibility to his society may come in conflict with his responsibility to his god. It also emphasized the strength of Antigone and the women of Athens – who because of social norms – are led to believe that they may never be a man’s equal. As such, actions that work against male desires and may hurt the male pride are against social laws (McConnochie).
In the case of Hamlet, the thought of the entire tragedy was conveyed in the part where he decided to uphold his father’s dignity by avenging his death. It is in the part of the piece where finally in accepting his fate he dies with the knowledge that he has fulfilled his mission.
“To be or not to be-that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them.”
(Shakespeare and Cantor)
Compared to the event and dialogues in Antigone, it may be seen how both the lines of the two characters showed their persistent and determined personalities against those who manipulated their fates. Both the dialogues also contained the thought of the story. For Antigone, it was the cry to fulfill her duties to the gods, and for Hamlet, the plight to fulfill his duties as a son. Both also showed how a different set of beliefs may alter the significance of social laws in one’s life.
5th Element: The Visuals or the Spectacle
As Shakespeare’s Hamlet was set during the medieval times, the characters were dressed in medieval kingly attires. Most clothes are of velvet material. However it did not entirely separate it from Sophocles’ Antigone, which was portrayed during the ancient periods and as such presents characters in clothing during those times (Mapes). There are still similarities between the two plays. Their settings were both dark and gloomy; abound with mountains and rocks as if describing the life the main characters would have. The existence of the ghost in Hamlet and the chorus in Antigone added to the scary and mysterious nature of the both plays. These two details also emphasized the tragic nature of both plays and made them both thrilling in the eyes of spectators and the ears of listeners (Phillips).
6th Element: the Song
In the Antigone, the chorus served as spectators of events taking place within Thebes. They narrate past events, mourn for the losses and celebrate for the improvement of the situation. Since the chorus is composed of the Theban Elders, they were also the basis of judgments and counselors of the city’s leader as proven by the subsequent excerpt.
“But lo, the king of the land comes yonder, Creon, son of Menoeceus,
our new ruler by the new fortunes that the gods have given; what counsel
is he pondering, that he hath proposed this special conference of
elders, summoned by his general mandate? “
(Sophocles and Jebb)
On the other hand, the chorus in the play of Shakespeare may be said to be the ghost of the late king Hamlet. As he was already a ghost, he was ever-present in play and acted as the spectator as well; though unlike the Theban Elders in Antigone, the late king’s ghost was not only a counselor for characters but the fountain of truth and source of Hamlet’s knowledge about Claudius. It may be considered as the means to point out what is just and necessary as the predicament calls.
Conclusion
Given the above details it may be said that the tragedies in discussion contain all the six elements of a classical tragedy however, it was presented or expressed in ways both and different from each other. In the first element or the plot, “Hamlet” and “Antigone” were very similar as their parents were both replaced by greedy kings whose intent resulted to their ruin. However, it also differed as in the case of Hamlet, who father was murdered; while Antigone’s father banished himself from the city because of grief.
For the second element, the main characters were both persistent and determined to fulfill the desires they want to achieve. They also sacrificed their lives for their cause. But compared closely, the desire of Antigone was more innocent as it was only to fulfill moral obligations to her God, while Hamlet’s desire were both of arrogant nature as well as filial.
In third and fourth element, which is the language or dialogue and the theme, both plays have used their language as a means to relate to the audience the theme of their stories. Through emphasis in their points, the thought was delivered successfully. Both plays pointed that often times it is necessary to go against social norms in order achieve justice and to fulfill another obligation life. As man is a being of various facets.
The fifth and sixth elements are the visuals and the song of the play. There is a variation in the visuals as the other was set in the medieval times and the other was in the ancient Greek times. However, both stories contained visual factors which point to its tragic nature. The gloomy façade of both plays were open doors that ushers its audience into sad stories that speak of heroes’ downfall in the hands of fate. The chorus added to this spectacle making the story even more chilling.
With these elements in both tragic pieces of literature, it may further be said that Shakespeare, even if he belonged to the modern era was as true tragedian as much as Sophocles was in the ancient times. Having achieved all the criteria set by Aristotle in his poetics, both the “Antigone” and “Hamlet” are true tragedies. And as such deserves to be classified as classics and canons in the literature field.
Works Cited
Elton, Michael. “Tragic Heroes”. 2006. Scribd.com. 2 March 2009
;http://www.scribd.com/doc/692/Tragic-Heroes;.
Mapes, Marty. “Hamlet”. 2009. Movie Habit. 2 March 2009
;http://www.moviehabit.com/reviews/ham_kb06.shtml;.
McConnochie, Rhys. “Three Antigone Plays”. 1995. The University of Sydney. 2 March
2009 ;http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/perform/docs/AP1McConnachie.pdf;.
Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, “Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama”. 2008. Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.org. 2 March 2009
;http://www.kyshakes.org/Resources/Aristotle.html;.
Phillips, Bert. “Antigone stuns with Visual Display”. 17 February 2005. Old Gold ; Black.
2 March 2009
;http://www.oldgoldandblack.com/l_article/antigone_stuns_with_visual_display/;.
Shakespeare, William, (trans.) Cantor, Paul Arthur. “Hamlet: Hamlet”. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Sophocles, (trans.) Jebb, Claverhouse Richard, Shuckburgh, Shirley Evelyn. “The Antigone of Sophocles: with a commentary”. New York: CUP Archive, 1984
Sophocles, (trans.) Jebb, Richard Claverhouse. “Antigone”. 1902. Sacred-texts.com. 2 March
2009 ;http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/soph/antigone.htm;.
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