Characteristics and significance of tragedy; Its comparison and contrast between Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy

Arain, Mohammad Saeed (1999) Characteristics and significance of tragedy; Its comparison and contrast between Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The topic of the dissertation has been defined through chapters starting with an introduction to the characteristics of tragedy i.e. imitation, Catharsis, plot, the concept of tragic Hero, chorus, the three unities, the function of humour, significance of Fate, Chance and Diction, and the impact of tragedy on Society. In addition, the pleasures of tragedy signifying Catharsis and the role of tragic hero in it have been explained in succeeding chapters. After this, the tragic outlook of Shakespeare has been stated especially with reference to 'Hamlet', and 'Macbeth' where his views and philosophy on the subject are mentioned citing examples from these plays. Modern criticism based on tragedy has also briefly been described. Thomas Hardy has been taken up for comparison with Shakespeare with reference to his tragic novels 'Tess of The D'Urbervilles'. 'The Mayor Of Casterbridge' and 'Jude The Obscure'. The views of Hardy about tragedy, his presentation of characters, his constitution of plots, his diction, his views about life style and so on have all been described in the chapters assigned to him. Finally, in order to compare both writers, the main points have been considered for the agenda. Mainly, their views about Protagonists in their creative pieces of tragic art, their universal approach, their use of Catharsis, their construction of sub-plots, their concept of poetic justice, their imagery and diction, their tragic vision and so on have been examined with reference to their masterpieces. However, this study does not consider certain recent critical theories mentioned in the dissertation but it is limited to consideration of the theory of Aristotle. In order to conclude this paper, their final estimation is given under the heading 'conclusion'. The bibliography is given at the extreme end of the dissertation while Chapters with their headings have been mentioned at the beginning in the table of contents.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: English literature, comparative literature.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism; P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
• Supervisor's Name: Cooper, Dr. Robert
• Date of Award: 1999
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1999-71612
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 10 May 2019 14:07
• Last Modified: 20 Oct 2022 17:45
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.71612
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71612