Father Figures in Shakespeare Tragedies - Book Report/Review Example

Father Figures in Shakespeare Tragedies Mind craves for happy endings. It does not have a capa to go on and on and on. If it does, there are manychances that it will go mad. “And they lived happily ever after” is the ending that gives immense satisfaction to our mind. However, we do not get those endings in the Shakespeare tragedies. The reader and the audience are left with the agony of an unanswered question and that question is, “Why? Why does it have to end like this?” Critic A.C. Bradley, through his article, ‘The Shakespearean Tragic Hero’, has drawn a character sketch of the tragic heroes. What makes them to behave in the way they do and are they evil by nature that they have to suffer such a great loss at the end, are the questions that he tries to find out. He starts with the study of the individual and taking us through behavior patterns, he ends up showing us the big picture, i.e. the picture of the society. The qualities of the tragic heroes that A.C. Bradley has shed the light on are as follows: 1) They are socially eminent figures. The important aspect of the Shakespeare heroes is that they are eminent personalities. They are not one of the common people whose life does not affect the others. They hold important position in the society and their decisions are important for the country or the noble families as a whole. Let’s take a look at King Lear and Capulet, in the plays ‘King Lear’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ respectively. King Lear is the King of Britain and Capulet is a nobleman in the city of Verona. They are important public figures and have respect and eminence in the society. Their decisions and actions are important not only for their families but also to the country or the city as a whole. 2) They have common qualities : The Shakespeare tragic heroes have common qualities like pride, respect, desire for appreciation, etc. They are neither good Samaritans nor evil human beings. It is just that they live all these common qualities intensely and that is why they seem to be outrageous and uncommon. Now, this intensity is the result of their pride and their ego. Because of their public importance, the characters in some way or the other, take their emotions to the extreme and this leads to rash decisions. In the play King Lear, King Lear asks his daughter Cordelia to say words of praise for him so that he can decide what amount of share she deserves from his kingdom [1]. Desire for appreciation is a common psychological trait. However, it becomes a little extreme when a father asks his daughter to praise him in order to be eligible for the share in his property. Here, it is obvious that King Lear’s love for his daughter depends on how much she can feed his ego and makes him feel important. 3) They do not look at the other side of the story: The tragic heroes have a one sided opinion on the situations. Bradley says that they are very strong with their thoughts and opinions and most of the times refuse to look at the other side of the decision [2]. The tragic heroes have the quality of being stubborn with whatever they have decided. They are not ready to budge from their decision. Even a slight resistance from their well wishers lead them to be more stubborn with their decision and unleashes a rash rage in them. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s nurse tries to explain that Juliet is not ready for the marriage and supports Juliet when she pleads for some time [3]. But Capulet insults her by calling her fool and asking her to say not even a single word. Juliet pleads him to listen to her. He refuses flatly and gives her a decision that she will marry Count Paris on Thursday. Same rashness can be seen in the play King Lear. King Lear orders Earl of Kent to leave the kingdom when he resists the decision of King’s to expel his daughter from getting a share from his kingdom [4]. When Cordelia tries to explain him that she is being honest and has no more words of praise for him, he gets in rage and outlaws her. These are the two examples where the fathers are so blinded with their ego and pride that they are not able to see the point of view of others, even when it is their loving daughter. 4) The circumstances, even if they are related to personal life, are seen through the eyes of public figure, Bradley also throws light on the way the Shakespearean heroes handle the circumstances they find themselves in. He is with the opinion that if the tragic heroes had handled the situation they face, like a common man does, then they would have experienced a positive result altogether. We can put it this way. King Lear and Capulet, rather than dealing with the situation as fathers of their daughters, dealt it as King and Nobleman respectively. Let’s look at the play King Lear. What kind of father would put a condition of feeding his ego when distributing a kingdom? King Lear displays the quality of egoistic nature going to the extreme. He is so blind that when Cordelia refuses to say words of praise, he actually curses her and tells her that she will not get anything from him [5] . No common man does that. Same is the case with Juliet’s father. When he comes to know his daughter’s desire of getting married to Romeo, rather than looking at the scenario as a father, he gives importance to his status and treats it as a blot on his noble eminence. If he had analyzed the scenario as just a father whose daughter is in love and wants to marry a boy, it would have been a different story altogether. The stubbornness and the strong will power not to budge from the decisions are two good qualities for the rulers. But when it comes to dealing with personal relationships and family, one has to be a different person. However, the ego that has tasted importance by saying ‘no’ and imposing the decisions on others, cannot be asked to step aside. So the same pride and egoistic nature comes in the play when the tragic heroes deal with their loved ones. They become blind and cannot distinguish between being a father and being a king or a nobleman. After all, they are two different things. However, the fathers in the two plays do not appear to distinguish between being a father and a ruler. These two examples show that the tragic fathers are wearing just a mask of love. In reality, what is more important for them is their social status. Their love is not unconditional. They treat their daughters not as human beings who have their own freedom of speech and have their own life, but as an object to gain importance and power in the society. 5) By taking drastic actions , he invites ruin: Bradley says that the tragic heroes cannot be termed as nice or kind human beings [6]. At the same time, they are not even evil. However, they are the victims of the impulsive actions and the decisions. We realize that if King Lear and Capulet had taken the decisions in calm and composed way, they would have taken a different decision. And this realization makes us to feel sad about them. King Lear’s decision to outlaw his daughter [7] and to order Earl of Kent to leave the kingdom [8] eventually brings the ruin. His daughter Goneril keeps the condition that he can stay with her only if he cuts down on number of knights to 50 [9] and he refuses to do so. And his second daughter says that he cannot have even 25 men with him if he wants her to take care of him [10]. This drives him mad with rage. He leaves his daughters and takes shelter in a hut. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s father, in rage decides to get Juliet married on Thursday with Count Paris [11] . He discloses the plan to Juliet and when she asks him to give her some time, he calls her unworthy of the suitable match that he has found in Paris. He curses her and orders her to be ready for marriage [12]. Eventually, this drives Juliet to kill herself by stabbing [13]. Both the plays have tragic ends. The fathers are shown as people who misguided with their judgments, fail to treat their daughters as human beings and eventually, bring their own ruin. 6) The individuals are helpless as they cannot meet the demand of perfection from the social order. Bradley mentions that the whole social order demands perfection [14].And so the individual finds himself powerless compared to these demands. The social order breathes on perfection and demands the same from the individual. And if evil tries to raise its head, the order destroys him. However, in doing so, it also destroys the good people that are associated with the evil ( Here we can mention Earl of Kent, Cordelia, Juliet, Lady Capulate, Juliet’s nurse, Romeo etc. as ‘good people’). And here is where we start thinking “Why? Why did it happen?” So in a sense, the audience and the readers are left sad and helpless as this question haunts them. The destruction is not a solution. There has be some other way and that too a beautiful way. Bradley says that the motive of Shakespeare was always to write a tragedy. And tragedy is tragedy when it leaves us with pain, questions that are unanswered, that haunts us for days to come, and that leaves a permanent scar on our heart [15]. References : 1) The dramatic works of Shakespeare, part vii Romeo and Juliet, London, J.Pattie, Brydges Street, Convent garden, 1839 2) The Shakespearean Tragic Hero by A.C.Bradley 3) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, seventh edition , Philadelphia, J.B.Lippincott company, London, 1880 Citations: 1) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page.10 2) The Shakespearean Tragic Hero by A.C.Bradley, Page-688 3) The dramatic works of Shakespeare, part vii Romeo and Juliet, Page.50 4) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page. 26-27 5) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page.17 6) The Shakespearean Tragic Hero by A.C.Bradley, Page 688 7) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page.19 8) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page. 26-27 9) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page.90 10) Shakespeare, volume 5, King Lear, Page.161 11) The dramatic works of Shakespeare, part vii Romeo and Juliet, Page 47 12) The dramatic works of Shakespeare, part vii Romeo and Juliet, Page 50 13) The dramatic works of Shakespeare, part vii Romeo and Juliet, Page 690 14) The Shakespearean Tragic Hero by A.C.Bradley, Page 691 15) The Shakespearean Tragic Hero by A.C.Bradley, Page 691 Read More