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(2016
final exam assignment) Sample Student Final Exam Essays 2016 Essay 3. Special Topics on Tragedy Special Topic # 1: Tragedy & Its Updates |
LITR 4370 Tragedy
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Nikki
Jones
6
July 2016
Adaptation: What Changes as Literature Evolves?
Since the beginning of the written word, when men started taking accounts
of stories, there have been people who choose to vary each tale. We see this
happen often with biblical tales. Miracles that are supposed to be exclusive to
one religion shows up in a different religious doctrine, only with slightly
varied circumstances. Another example is urban legends and fairy tales that have
been passed down for generations that become slightly modified over time, so
that instead of the event happening in a faraway place, it now takes place in a
town near you, and the teller of the story swears that it happened to their
cousin’s friend. This type of editing goes back for hundreds upon hundreds of
years. In this course we have plenty of examples that prove this to be true.
Arguably the most interesting duo to compare and contrast is Sophocles’
Oedipus the King and William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It would seem
that Shakespeare has payed homage to Sophocles with this work as there are very
similar qualities throughout each play, but there are changes that differentiate
the plays and keep them two separate works.
One of the most immediate changes that is apparent is that the
predominantly Greek aspects of tragedy did not get translated into
Hamlet. There is no questioning that
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s longer plays. That being said, it is just one
play. The entirety of the play is set in those five acts, whereas it is typical
for Grecian tragedies to have three separate parts. The story of Oedipus is no
exception and to comprehend his family’s entire story
Antigone and
Oedipus at Colonus should be read in
conjunction with Oedipus the King.
Another classic element Shakespeare took creative liberties with is the chorus.
Danielle Maldonado mentions this change as well in “Tragedy and its Updates”.
She states that when it comes to modernized tragedy “The chorus … doesn’t
exist in the same capacity”. This is an aspect in which we see Shakespeare
paying homage to Sophocles and the classic tragedies. In
Oedipus the King, the chorus acts as
narrators for the audience, but they also act as Oedipus’s advisor. In this same
regard, Hamlet has Horatio. Although Horatio’s character is not used as a
narrator, as we have stage directions for that, he is honestly trusted by Hamlet
and he is the only one Hamlet goes to with his troubles. Through Horatio,
Shakespeare creates a chorus. For Hamlet’s dying request he forbids Horatio to
commit suicide and instead tells him to share the story and relay the tragic
events that happened to his family.
In addition to these technical changes,
Hamlet has some superficial changes
to the plot as well. In making these changes Shakespeare modernizes the play. He
strays away from the mythological aspects found in Oedipus and instead
incorporates elements of the supernatural. With this major change comes the need
for a villain. The driving force of the play is no longer fate, but free will.
The gods are no longer to blame as they are in
Oedipus the King, now we are aware
that the characters in Hamlet make
their own conscious choices and create their own consequences based off of them.
In this aspect of incorporating human nature,
Hamlet becomes more relatable. Along
with the need for a villain, Oedipus and Hamlet are at contrast in some aspects
as well. Where Oedipus is an older king, Hamlet is a younger prince. Oedipus is
also established in his love life. He is happily married, up until a certain
point, and has four children whereas Hamlet is a playboy or a tease. He takes a
romantic interest in Ophelia and expresses it in seductive ways, yet he toys
with her emotions and ultimately causes her tragic demise.
These
characteristics of Hamlet, in a way, make him more realistic and relatable to
the audience reading the play, instead of Oedipus’s character. This aspect
creates a sense of mimesis. In today’s society,
Hamlet is usually introduced in high
school, around the eleventh grade, or so. Most sixteen and seventeen-year-old
students cannot relate to a hot-headed, middle-aged man whose fate is the fault
for all of his pain and suffering, like Oedipus. On the other hand, adolescents
can relate more to a young vigilante-type character, trying to get revenge and
retribution on the behalf of his murdered father. In
Tragic Changes?, Haylie Unger
describes this change as an evolution from “heroic character(s)” to “a more
pure, tragic hero”, and while Oedipus is not really thought of as a
traditionally “heroic” character, his character still applies to Unger’s
statement because his fate is not ultimately of his own doing, but of the god’s.
Unger
goes on to add in her midterm that as tragedy “ages” the play’s end up “mixing
and blending … conventions from multiple genres”. This, again, rings true to
Hamlet. Romantic elements are
strongly perceived through Hamlet’s character. Hamlet is given an objective by
his father’s ghost, and in turn he must overcome obstacles, like creating a play
and murdering his uncle, in order to fulfill his duty as a son and as the heir
to the throne. Oedipus, in contrast, does not have these romantic qualities in
Oedipus the King. Arguably, it is his
backstory and Oedipus at Colonus that
has the romantic qualities of Oedipus setting out on a quest or journeying to
faraway places. In his backstory, he tells of his journey from Corinth to the
oracle and ultimately to Thebes where he bests the Sphynx and becomes the king
and it is only at the very end of the play when we see him setting off on
another journey, which is recorded in the sequel.
Even with all these changes and modernizations we still have some
similarities that tie these two plays together. The main characters have some
extremely comparable characteristics and practically the same “tragic flaw”
(LITR 4370 Terms/Themes). Oedipus and Hamlet both share a strong sense of
justice and to avenge their fathers, who have been wronged in the most severe
way, unbeknownst to Oedipus obviously. Both characters are extremely impulsive
in their behavior and actions without thinking ahead to the consequences. The
duo is also irrational and violent in temperament at times, mainly when they
feel they are being condescended or betrayed, again leading to impulsive
behavior.
The
aspect of spectacle is an element that has become more prevalent as the plays
become more modernized. According to the term page on the course website the
Oxford English Dictionary defines a spectacle as “A specially prepared or
arranged display of a more or less public nature, forming an impressive or
interesting show or entertainment for those viewing it”. There are many
instances of spectacle when it comes to both of the plays, but the events become
more observable in Hamlet, with the
action happening on stage rather than off the stage, as it is in
Oedipus the King, which “offers more
visible gratification to the audience”. (Lozoya, Jorge,
Tragedy Forms: Classics and the New
Classics).
There are two types of spectacle when
referring to Hamlet, one example is
the public sword fight that takes place in the final act, which incorporates
elements of adventure and danger. The other type of spectacle is more of a
horrific nature. An example of this would be the scene between Queen Gertrude
and Hamlet in her bedroom. This scene is horrifying for obvious reasons, as it
reflects the Oedipus Complex, but it is also so horrifying that it is hard to
look away, which in turn makes it a spectacle.
There
are both similarities and differences in
Oedipus the King and Hamlet to
support the argument that the latter of the two could potentially be loosely
based off of elements from the first, or at least the same elements of thought
that inspired Sophocles to write Oedipus
the King. In reflection, Shakespeare’s modernization does change many things
between the two plays. Hamlet is a more relatable character for the students and
younger generation reading the play in schools, and he becomes a more tragic
character, as he is a victim of his circumstances and duty rather than fate. In
all though, both of these plays have made a huge impact on the literature of
today and have inspired many plays, remakes, recreations, movies, and more that
we do not have to compare one for the sake of it being better than the other.
They are both strong plays that stand out on their own.
