| The purpose of this dissertation is to compare five plays by Euripides with three plays by Shakespeare and demonstrate the extent to which these two playwrights share a common tragic vision. In Chapter One, I examine the following: (1) what has already been written about the similarities between Euripides and Shakespeare? (2) what is meant by the term "tragic"? (3) was Shakespeare actually influenced by the writings of Euripides? (4) what kind of historical influences could have caused these two playwrights to share a similar tragic vision?;In Chapter Two, I compare Euripides' two revenge plays, Electra and Orestes, with Hamlet. In this chapter, I demonstrate how both playwrights refute Aristotle's notion of the classical tragic hero by depicting the protagonists as anti-heroes who pursue revenge with excessive and unjustified violence. In Chapter Three, I compare Euripides' Bacchae with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and show how both tragedies demonstrate the power of the irrational over the rational in society. In the Bacchae, Euripides uses the Greek god Dionysus to represent this irrational force, the divine being who subjugates the city of Thebes, ruled by king Pentheus. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare depicts the citizens of Rome as a kind of Dionysian force which listens to the emotional Mark Antony but refuses to heed the rational words of Brutus. In Chapter Four, I compare Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis and Helen with Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. All three of these plays deal with the tragic folly of the Trojan War and depict the value of Helen in very ironic terms. Euripides and Shakespeare demonstrate their ability to transform classical heroic mythology (Homer's Iliad) in highly unflattering terms as they show the Trojan War to be a disastrous mistake fought out of illusion and public opinion rather than heroism. Furthermore, these plays demonstrate the problematic notion of categorizing a play with a happy ending as a comedy, even when it has terribly tragic overtones. |
PDF Full Text Request