试用亚里士多德的《诗学》理论浅析《哈姆雷特》

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作者简介：赵卉卉（1976.-），女，天津市人，天津商务职业学院经贸外语系听说教研室主任，讲师，英语语言文学硕士，主要从事商务英语听说教学和英美文学研究工作。

摘 要：亚里士多德的《诗学》被视为成功悲剧的写作指南。莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》从写作上大部分也遵从了这一指导，然而也有部分构架与之相左。即便如此，《哈姆雷特》亦是一部伟大的不朽悲剧。本文试用亚里士多德的《诗学》理论浅析《哈姆雷特》，初步探求这一理论在《哈姆雷特》悲剧创作中的应用。

关键词：亚里士多德的《诗学》；哈姆雷特；悲剧

Abstract：Aristotle’s Poetics is considered to be the guide to a well written tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows this method for the most part，and even though it is not always in agreement with Aristotle’s guidelines，it is still a great and effective tragedy.

Key words：Aristotle Poetics； Hamlet； tragedy

Aristotle’s Poetics is considered the guide to a well written tragedy； his methods have been used for centuries. In Aristotle’s opinion，plot is the most important aspect of the tragedy，and all other part such as character，diction，and thought stem from the plot. Aristotle defines a tragedy as “… an imitation of an action that is serious，complete，and of a certain magnitude； in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament，the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play； in the form of action，not of narrative； through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation of these emotions”. Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows this definition for the most part，and even though it is not always in agreement with Aristotle’s guidelines，it is still a great and effective tragedy.

As Aristotle says，“Tragedy is an imitation not of human beings but of action，life，happiness，and unhappiness.” Very few of the great tragedies could possibly be based on reality. For instance，how likely is it that a great king once discovered that he killed his father and married his mother in real life？ The purpose of this tragedy is to show the downfall of a great leader. This includes action，life，happiness，and unhappiness just as Aristotle says. Who would want to read something about a person that bad things happen to if the reader does not understand why it happens and the reason for the reaction？

Aristotle states that tragedy is “an imitation of an action that is serious，complete，and of a certain magnitude.” Hamlet is an excellent example of this statement. The play centers on Hamlet’s quest to avenge his father’s death，this is a serious action. It is also complete in the sense that all the loose ends are tied together in a sensible，believable manner. Hamlet is able to avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle. Shakespeare also follows Aristotle’s idea of tragedy being of a certain magnitude. The characters are supposed to be the most perfect people whom the audience can still relate to. Hamlet is a wealthy prince，and angered about the circumstances surrounding his father’s death. He is also unsure of himself and how he should handle the situation. The audience can relate to this uncertain feeling and they are able to emphasize with Hamlet.

Aristotle believes that in order for a tragedy to be effective，it must convey pity and fear. He defines pity as a feeling that is aroused by “unmerited misfortune”. Hamlet undoubtedly suffers this unmerited misfortune. He has done nothing to bring about his father’s death. To make the situation even more painful，his mother has married his uncle whom he suspects is responsible for the tragedy. These circumstances stimulate pity from the audience. The fear of impending evil is also prevalent in the play. As the plot processes，it becomes clear that the king is plotting to kill Hamlet and Hamlet is planning to kill the king.

Hamlet’s plot is what Aristotle considers complex. It is accompanied by Recognition，which is “a change from ignorance to knowledge，producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune”. The Recognition occurs when the “play” in the play is staged for the king. The play is a reenactment of what Hamlet believes happened to his father. His uncle is so upset and flustered by the play that he runs from the room. This action indicates to Hamlet that his suspicious were correct and his uncle is indeed responsible for his father’s death. Hamlet later finds the king in a church praying and is tempted to kill him there，but decides against it because he will go to heaven since he is praying. From this，the audience is able to infer that Hamlet will attempt to kill his uncle later in the play.

Aristotle stresses that diction is important to make the tragedy believable. Shakespeare utilizes diction perfectly and everything his characters say is appropriate for them to be saying. For instance，the king speaks like a king； he always dodges like a true politician. There is an obvious and necessary difference between the way he speaks and the way the gravediggers speak. The gravediggers are common men and therefore，speak in the way that shows they are common men.

There are some aspects of Poetics that Shakespeare does not follow. For instance，Aristotle states that in a great tragedy，there should be unity of time，place，and action. By this he means the action of the play should take place in the amount of time it takes to perform it，it should occur in one setting，and there should be one main plot or action. Shakespeare breaks all these rules. The play spans over a significant period of time. Also，the action occurs in various settings ranging from the palace to a plain in Denmark. Finally，there are several plots taking place simultaneously. For instance，as Hamlet is struggling with the death of his father，Ophelia is going insane because Hamlet is not returning her love or showing any interest in her. The audience feels pity for Ophelia throughout her ordeal as well. Aristotle would not approve of all the subplots that occur within this play.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a great and effective tragedy which follows most of the guidelines set by Aristotle in Poetics. There are some aspects of Poetics that Shakespeare does not include or follow，however the play still affects the audience in the desired manner. In reality，Hamlet would not have the same impact if it followed all the guidelines. For instance，the whole aspect of the subplot about Ophelia’s insanity adds so much to the play. Shakespeare broke some of Aristotle’s rules and still wrote an effective tragedy that has been appreciated by audiences for centuries.

However，Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows the definition of tragedy by Aristotle for the most part，though it is not always in agreement with Aristotle’s guidelines，it is still a great and effective tragedy. （作者单位：天津商务职业学院经贸外语系）

Bibliography

[1] F.L. Lucas，Tragedy in Relation to Aristotle’s Poetics，1928

[2] Chang，Yaoxin，A Survey of American Literature the 2nd Edition，Nankai University Publishing House； 12，2003

[3] Chang，Yaoxin，Selected Readings in America Literature，Nankai University Publishing House； 12，2003