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A Comparative Study of "Macbeth" and "Hamlet"

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A Comparative Study of بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم Republic of Sudan Ministry of Higher Education &Scientific Research Nile Valley University College of Post Graduate Studies A comparative Study of "Macbeth" and "Hamlet" A Thesis submitted in partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of M.A. in ELT By: Gada Khadir Ahmed Alkaik Supervised by: Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Al. Faki January 2007 أتت فكرة ىذا البحث كنتيجة ﻻىتمام الباحث بأعمال شكسبير االدرمية خاصة المأساوية . يقوم الباحث بمقارنة إحدى مأساويات شكسبير وىما قصتي ماكبث وهاملت . تقوم ىذه المقارنة بتحميل بعض المواضيع التي تناولتيا كل من القصتين ىذا باﻹضافة إلى تحميل إنشاء وصياغة القصتين . تقوم االدرسة أيضاً بتحميل بطمّي القصتين وبقية الشخصيات اليامة في القصتين . تحتوي االدرسة عمى خمسة أبواب حيث يناقش الباب اﻷول مشكمة وأىداف الدراسة ىذا باﻹضافة إلى الفروض التي وضعتيا االدرسة . يعطي الباب الثاني الفرصة لمتعرف عمى حياة الكاتب وأعمالو االدرمية . كما يقوم الباب الثالث بتحميل قصة ماكبث متضمناً تحميل بعض موضوعات القصو وتحميل شخصية ماكبث وبعض الشخصيات في القصو . يقوم ىذا الفصل أيضاً بمقارنة قصة ماكبث وشعر ارستو . يعتبر الباب ال اربع شبيياً لمباب الثالث حيث يقوم بتحميل قصة ىاممت. أما الباب الخامس فيعتبر خاتمة ىذه االدرسة حيث يناقش وجو الشبو واﻻختﻻف بين كل من القصتين . i To the soul of my father, To my mother for her encouragement and support, To my brother and sisters I dedicate this study ii I gratefully acknowledge the efforts of my supervisor Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Al.faki who has supported with his valuable advice and patience. Thanks also are extended to all who offer their help and support and to the staff of the library of college Education in Atbara. iii Table of Contents Page Dedication I Acknowledgements Ii English Abstract Iii Arabic Abstract iv Table of Contents v-vi Chapter One Introduction 1-0 Introduction 1-2 1-1 statement of the problem 3 1-2 significance of the study 3 1-3 Objectives of the study 4 1-4 Questions of the study 4 1-5 Methodology of the Research 4 1-6 structure of the study 5 Chapter Two: Shakespeare's Biography 2-1 Shakespeare Early Life 6 2-1-1 His Birth and Education 6 2-1-2 His Ancestries and parents 7 2-2 His life in London 9 2-3 Shakespeare`s mind and opinion 10-11 2-4 Shakespeare as a writer and a poet 12-16 2.5 The influence of Shakespeare's plays 17 2-6 Shakespeare's Language 18 2-7 The Previous Studies 19-20 Chapter Three: Analysis of the story of Macbeth 3-0 Introduction to the play 21 3-1 Macbeth plot summary 22-24 3-2 Plot Structure 25-26 3-3 The correlation between the plot in Macbeth and 27-28 Aristotle's "Poetics" 3-4 Analysis of the major characters 29 iv 3-4-1 Macbeth 29-30 3-4-2 Lady Macbeth 31-32 3-4-3 The Witches 33 3-5 The major themes of the play 34 3-5-1 “Fair and foul” 34-36 3-5-2 Blood 37-39 3-5-3 King Ship 40-43 3-6 Macbeth as a tragic hero 44 3-6-1 The murder of Duncan 45 3-6-2 Macbeth as a king 46 Chapter Four: Analysis of Hamlet 4-0 Introduction to the play 49 4-1 Hamlet plot synopsis 50-53 4-2 Plot Structure 54-56 4-3 Hamlet Pot as Aristotle's Tragedy 57-58 4.4 Analysis of major characters 59 4-4-1 Hamlet 59-61 4-4-2 Ophelia 62-63 4-4-3 Claudius 64-65 4-5 The major themes of the story 66 4-5-1 Disease and poison 67-69 4-5-2 Fortune, fate and Providence 70-73 4-5-3 Revenge 74-77 4-6 The true world of Hamlet 78 4-6-1 Hamlet as a tragic hero 79 4-6-2 Hamlet as a weak revenge 80 4-6-3 Hamlet as a political misfit 80 Chapter Five: Conclusion 5-0 Introduction 83 5-1 The construction of the two stories 83-84 5-2 Hamlet and Macbeth as Aristotle's tragedies 85-87 5-3 The themes of the two stories 88 5-4 The construction of the two stories 89 5-5 The use of Supernatural in the two stories 89-92 Bibliography 93-94 v Chapter One Introduction 1-0 Background Shakespeare can be regarded as the greatest writer of all times and he occupies a position of the world of literature. In fact Shakespeare’s art cannot be compared with other writers. This because his reputation as a writer, unlike others, is still alive. Although his plays are written in the late of 16th and early of 17th centuries for a small repertory theatre, are now performed and read in many countries than ever before. Shakespeare’s plays are divided into: Comedy, History and Tragedy. His career is divided into three periods; the early period up until his company acquired the Globe Theatre in 1599; the middle period, from that time until they acquired the Black Friars in 1608 and the final period until his death. In the early period Shakespeare wrote four plays about the war of Roses. In the middle period he wrote four tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. In these plays both character and fate have an influence on the outcome. Shakespeare’s finest characterization and his most profound vision of the nature of evil and struggles of human soul are to seen here. While in the final period what is left for Shakespeare to write is the area of romance, which was popular in his time both in fiction and drama. 1 Since the days of Shakespeare the English language has changed and so have audiences, theatre, actors and even the thoughts and feelings. In other words Shakespeare’s language like that of the king James’ version of the Bible has had a profound influence on every day speech. In fact Shakespeare has had influence on the world of literature. That is though his plays were written many centuries ago, they still performed in most of the world. His influence has also been witnessed in English theatre as well as dramatist, theatre directors and actors out of his own country. It is also worth mentioning that Shakespeare was a man of theatre. His theatre was not like the presenting one. The spectators surrounded it on three sides and there was no Scenery in the modern Sense the audiences of Shakespeare were not given printed programs listening the time and place of each scene. With a few exceptions, Shakespeare did not invent the plots of his plays. Sometimes he used old stories (Hamlet). Some plays deal with rather remote and legendary history (King Lear, Macbeth). The plays which are the subject of this study are Hamlet, a play in which Shakespeare draws on the effect of an a strong bad man (Claudius) on a weak good man (Hamlet and Macbeth, 2 which is basically intended by Shakespeare to interest the new monarch James VI of Scotland. 1-1 The Statement of the Problem The problem which this study tries to tackle is that many people ignore Shakespeare`s dramatically works and the literature in general. Shakespeare in all of his plays addresses the nature of human being. The thing which makes his stories have great role in many countries. Accordingly this study tries to analyze two of Shakespeare tragedies. In other words the study analyses the literary genres of the story of Macbeth and the story of Hamlet. It also tries to echo some of the ideas and the concept that Shakespeare reveals through these stories. 1-2The Significance of the Study The idea of this study comes from the researcher`s interest in Shakespeare works. The study analyses two of the Shakespeare`s great tragedies: Macbeth and Hamlet. It analyses these stories in order to show the similarities and the differences. The aim of this comparison is them to give some evidence that Shakespeare has different ideas about the nature of people and the society in general. In addition Shakespeare has the ability to write the plays in different forms and structures. 3 1-3The objectives of the study 1-3-1 To investigate differences between two of Shakespeare`s tragedies; Hamlet and Macbeth. 1-3-2 To give evident that Shakespeare`s tragedies addresses the human nature through ideas that echo. 1-3-3 To highlight aspects of the culture of the outer world. 1-3-4 To draw attention to the moral problems that cause a destruction in human life. 1-3-5 To encourage reading Shakespeare`s drama. 1-4 The Questions of the Study 1-4-1 What are the similarities between the story of Macbeth and the story of Hamlet? 1-4-2 What are the differences between these two stories? 1-5 The Methodology of the research The researcher follows the analytical approach through critical analysis. The researcher chooses two of Shakespeare`s tragedies and compares the construction, characters and themes. The researcher also compares the use of super natural in the two stories. 4 1-6 The Structure of the Study: The study contains of five chapters. Chapter one is an introduction of the study. Chapter two offers background of the writer. Chapter three analyses the story of Macbeth and illustrates the plot, characters and themes. Chapter four is similar to chapter three. Chapter five shows the similarities and the differences between the two stories. 5 Chapter two Literature Review 2-0 Introduction This chapter sheds some lights on Shakespeare's life and career.
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