Shakespeares tragedies and the supernatural

Dissertant

al-Dulaymi, Muhammad Khalaf Nawwaf

Thesis advisor

al-Badri, Amina Muhammad Abd al-Karim

University

Omdurman Islamic University

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

Department

Department of English Language and Literature

University Country

Sudan

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2008

English Abstract

Shakespeare's literature takes its way through hundreds of years to reach us.

This thesis is an attempt to shed the light on Shakespeare’s Supernatural characters, their symbolic and significance and their effects, and the influence of Seneca on Shakespeare that helped him to serve sources and to give him special motivation to write the highly forms of drama as Hamlet and Macbeth.

It is concerned with the tragedy and the supernatural beings employed by Shakespeare as characters in the historical and tragically plays.

In Hamlet Shakespeare presents the audience with the Ghost of the murdered people, with the common theme of nature death of father.

Hamlet’s tragedy results in his attempts for revenge.

The Ghost in the play of Hamlet is used to achieve function certain dramatic effects, supernatural used as real characters.

The Ghost of Hamlet appears to lead and take Hamlet who killed his father and the Ghost asked him to revenge; Revenge drama in Elizabethan era was flourishing.

Also revenge is an important theme during that period, because the playwrights and the audiences were interested in it.

In Macbeth the great playwright Shakespeare used witches, weird sisters and apparitions act as the evil power that directs the whole events of the play from the beginning to its end.

Shakespeare used the Witches as instruments to lead Macbeth away from fair.

The motive of jealousy, pride, hatred and murder of relative’s .Cunning, plotting employing others to take revenge on his behalf.

Shakespeare used the Supernatural as a means of entertainment and to excite horror and fear for the audience to interest.

This thesis is divided into six chapters : chapter one is an overview, significance of the study, justification, objectives of the study, hypothesis, plan of the study and limitations of the study.

Chapter two deals with the history of drama and its elements, Elizabethan and Greek tragedy, the supernatural, tragedy and revenge, Seneca, the influence of Seneca on Shakespeare’s tragedies and previous studies.

Chapter three is concerned with Shakespeare’s life, plays, and revenge, changing style in Shakespeare, Elizabethan theater, cultural background, Jacobean drama and critics on Shakespeare.

Chapter four sheds the light on the Supernatural in Hamlet, plot summary, the first appearance of the Ghost, extracts from the play, conflict different loyalties, Gertrude divided between loyalty to Claudius and Hamlet, the second appearance of the Ghost, soliloquy, the life of Shakespeare in Hamlet, Hamlet the Elizabethan actor, and the mystery of Hamlet's Ghost.

Chapter five deals with the Supernatural in Macbeth, plot summary, extracts from the play, psychoanalysis imagery.

Chapter six sums up the findings of the thesis and summaries suggestions for further studies.

Main Subjects

Literature

Topics

• United Kingdom
• Literature

No. of Pages

268

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-393563