- Position‹3 of 3
- The tragedies are the best
- Argument‹3 of 3
Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest work, is a tragedy
Hamlet, written in 1599, is widely acknowledged as Shakespeare's masterpiece. It is a tragic play about the life of a young prince, but also contains comic elements and provides an excellent demonstration of Shakespeare's skill in character and dialogue.
The argument
The argument that Shakespeare's tragedies are his best work is made here through a single case: Hamlet is his greatest play, and Hamlet is a tragedy. The claim for the play rests first on its subject matter. It shows the struggles of Danish royalty through core human elements — grief, betrayal and family — and it does so through a character who gives those elements their fullest expression. Shakespeare displays what it means to feel alienated and to be in existential despair through the figure of Hamlet, a Danish prince caught between grief, betrayal and what his family owes and is owed. The writing that carries this is the second ground. The soliloquy beginning 'To be or not to be' is one of the greatest anthems in the language, and it has been adapted and retold through many different media — a speech that has passed out of its play and into common use, recognised by people who have never seen it performed. What the play achieves through its mastery of human emotions, which are crucial in every person's life, is a combination of art, poetry, drama and philosophy in a single work, which is what marks it as one of the greatest tragedies. The third ground is survival. Hamlet is performed in London every year, and Shakespeare's plays have been adapted into retellings including The Lion King, Ophelia and The Dead Fathers Club. A work that continues to be staged and reworked centuries later is one that later generations keep finding something in, and that endurance is a measure of quality no contemporary judgment can supply. If the greatest of Shakespeare's plays is a tragedy — the form in which he examined grief, betrayal and despair most fully — then the tragedies are where his best work lies. On that reasoning the tragedies are the best of the comedies, tragedies and histories.
Context
Shakespearean canon: the 38 plays written by Shakespeare, considered to be his complete dramatic works
Premises
Counter-arguments
Whether or not Hamlet is Shakespeare's best work is a subject for much debate: it's a matter of taste, and many people prefer other plays. The fact it's a tragedy doesn't necessarily mean tragedy is the best form for displaying Shakespeare's talents. His comedies are top-rated, and he makes use of unusual narrative devices in the histories. All the forms of his plays are significant in displaying his skills. Hamlet is also debated to be more of a revenge play than a tragedy because Prince Hamlet doesn't avenge his father's death but rather contemplates it beforehand. So it cannot be categorized as one of the greatest tragedies.
Rejecting the premises
1. There can be no definitive answer on what counts as Shakespeare's greatest work. 2. Just because Hamlet, a tragedy, is very popular, it doesn't mean that tragedy is immediately the best form for Shakespeare to display his literary skills.