The Villains In Shakespearean Tragedies

Shakespeare was the greatest playwright of the Renaissance.In the Renaissance period,Aristotle was a highly respected philosopher whose thoughts and treaties have far-reaching influence on literary creation.Shakespearean tragedies are influenced deeply by Aristotle's philosophy and theory of tragedy.Meanwhile,as a mirror of the times,he integrates his profound reflection on the society into his creation of tragedy.Hence,he portrays many impressive villains in the four tragedies.Shakespeare is a genius who can capture the heart of every villain and express it to audience and readers vividly.Villains are mainly motivated by lust,greed and pride.Each type of villain plays a prominent role respectively in the embodiment of human nature,the reflection on social contradictions and the achievement of the tragic effect.The main body of this thesis consists of three chapters.The first chapter expounds villains motivated by lust.Lust refers to sexual desire and lust for power.In King Lear,Goneril,Regan and Edmund are typical villains.After occupying the King's land,Goneril and Regan drive out their father into the storm,and struggle with each other for Edmund's love.Edmund,as a bastard,is the product of lust.Because of his identity,he envies his brother,for which he frames Edgar.Meanwhile,for the crown,he betrays his father and flirts with two sisters.The three villains embody the evil side of human nature.Their villainies demonstrate that,for interests and pleasure,human may harm others in spite of kinship or morality.The second chapter discusses villains motivated by greed.Greed especially refers to the excessive pursuit of money,power and status.Claudius and the Macbeths are such kind of villains.In order to usurp the throne,Claudius murders the Old Hamlet and the Macbeths murder Duncan.King is the head of a country.The murder of king means the chaos in social order,reflecting social contradictions of the times.In the period of Renaissance,people were liberated from the shackle of theology andadvocated the liberation of human nature.As a result,there were conspirators and aspirants,like Claudius and the Macbeths.To some extent,it reflects Shakespeare's concern for society.The third chapter explores the villain motivated by pride.Pride is the root of all evil.In Othello,Shakespeare creates a classic villain—Iago.He is arrogant,envious,ambitious and rancorous.The main function of him is not to show the evil of human,but to promote the development of plot and achieve tragic effect.Aristotle argues that plot is the soul of tragedy.A good plot involves reversal,recognition and suffering.It is Iago's conspiracy that leads to exceptional calamity.Because of his pride,Iago is discontented with Othello's appointment of lieutenant,so he intentionally creates the adultery between Desdemona and Cassio and causes the death of Desdemona.Iago's conspiracy not only promotes plots,but also arouses pity and fear of audience and readers,achieving the effect of emotional purification.Hence,Iago plays a key role in achieving tragic effect.In conclusion,Shakespeare's villains show his profound reflection on human nature and concern for society.At the same time,it is his deep understanding of human nature and the art of tragedy that enable him to create classic villains and achieve a better tragic effect.As a great humanist,Shakespeare exposes the evil side of human nature and reflects social contradictions,which does not mean Shakespeare's negative attitude;on the contrary,he faces up to the defects of human nature,firmly believes in virtue and justice,and longs for the stability and harmony of society.