Hamlet contains one of the most famous lines in all of drama: "To be or not to be, that is the question". A dramatic masterpiece that ponders death and the afterlife, the consequences of suicide, and the power a person has over his/her destiny. It defines tragedy; a play that has inspired countless other works and continues to be studied for its questions and answers, its beauty and genius... The plot primarily concerns Hamlet and his quest to right a most "horrible" wrong: the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle. After meeting with his father's unsettled spirit, Hamlet looks within himself to sort out his thoughts and feelings in regards to how he should go about disposing of his murderous uncle, as well as how to deal with those touched by the past and ensuing events -- including his mother, his love, and his supposed friends. By play's end, a bloody scene befitting the battlefield is realized, with the guilty now dead; the innocent also tragically so.
Macbeth is the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, but much is packed into its compact size. Its plot is well-known: that of an ambitious politician who decides to fulfill a "prophecy" through criminal means. He and his partner (his famous wife, Lady Macbeth) decide that murder is the quickest way from Point A to Point B, and together, carry out the first. But as it is with any deception, a lie/crime must be quickly covered with another, ultimately snowballing into a mess that can only be resolved through a reveal and a remedy. Lady Macbeth eventually grows mad over her criminal behavior; Macbeth too becomes unhinged. Only, unlike his wife who internalizes her guilt, Macbeth chooses to cover up his misdeeds with even more murders, apparently feeling as if problems can simply be removed from the scene... Macbeth's power lies with its accessibility, and as Harold Bloom suggests, it is perhaps led by the most identifiable character of all in Macbeth. In Shakespeare: the Invention of the Human, Bloom writes: "If we are compelled to identify with Macbeth, and he appalls us (and himself), then we ourselves must be fearsome also" (518). Is his behavior so difficult to understand? Remove murder from the equation, and are Macbeth's ambitions and self-justification so foreign to us?
Othello has been given its share of modern updates. Most recently, the teenage flick "O" starring Mekhi Pfeiffer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett, reset the drama in a modern-day prep school. To this day, Othello's issues/themes remain relevant... Tragedy of course is forever constant, as is love, hate, friendship, betrayal, and deception; but the story of the outsider living within a foreign society (one that has embraced him, but still poses a source of insecurity) is one that most can identify with. If ever a person felt different (like an outsider looking in), he/she could probably understand (at least to some degree) Othello's feelings, as well as his vulnerability when it comes to Iago's manipulation... Iago's power of persuasion rests with his capacity for evil, but also with Othello's mistrust of those around him. Do they truly accept him? Such thoughts seem to persist in the back of his mind, in the depths of his heart. How else to explain his blind acceptance of what Iago says: about Desdemona, Cassio, and everyone else. At the start of the play, the Duke notes: "To mourn a mischief that is past and gone/ Is the next way to draw new mischief on" (1.3.203-4). Othello's troubles are brought on by his obsession over a false wrong, one that could have been explained away, but that was never given the chance. Do we ever do the same in our lives? Do we ever choose to believe a lie because it confirms our own fears? Who do we blame for our troubles, and how do we deal with our pain?
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