John F Kennedy And Hamlet Comparison Essay

First a brief summary, this bit is prefaced by King Agamemnon saying the Greeks should pull out and retreat, then the quoted passage that follows is Odysseus berating him for a solid block of text which I believe supports my  aforementioned theme and in historical context is slightly scary.

her to bury her brother. She believes that the laws of the Gods are higher than the laws of the

Topic: Choose one element that you notice in three of these four major texts (Agamemnon, Hamlet, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and John F. Kennedy’s Secret Society Speech). For example, you could choose to explore how the three texts deal with an element of Tragedy, a common theme, the use of character, or language, etc. Explain the similarities and differences as you compare the development in each work of your chosen element.

William Shakespeare wrote plays that covered the breadth of human experience, which seem to have transcended the restraints of age because they contain universal themes. His body of his work is comprised of genres of plays, which varied from tragedies to comedies.

In the poem “The Iliad,” Agamemnon’s pride prevents him from being an honorable leader. The Achaeans take captive two women named Chryseis and Briseis; Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaean army, takes Chryseis as his prize, and Achilles, the Achaeans greatest warrior, takes Briseis. When Chryseis father, a priest of Apollo requests Agamemnon to return him his daughter, Agamemnon refuses, and the priest pleads Apollo, the son of Zeus, to help him. Apollo listens to the priest's prayers and begins a plague in the Achaean camp which causes many soldiers to die. Eventually, Agamemnon learns that he has to give up Chryseis for his army to be freed of the plague, but even after receiving this new information, he grudgingly accepts to send her off in exchange for Briseis. In this poem, Agamemnon’s pride prevents him from being an honorable leader. Although he wishes to maintain his honor, Agamemnon makes selfish decisions that negatively impact the Achaean army. Chryseis and Briseis are valued as possessions of pride and honor.

Many directors choose to make many different decisions when producing their version of Hamlet. Every actor portrays the character Hamlet in several ways making each version almost a new story. Mel Gibson's 1990 version and the 2009 David Tennant films are very different in style, scene omissions and several other aspects.

During the war, with Achilles absent and refusal to fight, the Achaean have a hard time keeping the Trojans at bay and with the gods involved on the Trojan’s side it is even harder for the Achaean army to with stand the Trojans. The gods give Diomedes supernatural powers and the ability to harm a god in hopes that he will even out the war and the absence of Achilles. Unfortunately this is not enough for the Achaean army to defeat the Trojans without Achilles and his men. Achilles rage towards Agamemnon is what the Achaean’s need to defeat the Trojans. The Achaeans try bribing Achilles for his return and to stand and fight with them but Achilles rage towards Agamemnon is so strong that he refuses.

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Shortly after his death, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius marries, the Queen, who is prince Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of the dead king later shows himself to Hamlet in order to reveal that he was actually murdered by his own brother Claudius. After the ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, he composes a plan involving false insanity, to discover whether Claudius really did kill his father and how to avenge his father's death. In comparing the original Hamlet play, to movie

In the Poetics, Aristotle provides an outline of how the artist is to portray or represent the perfect Tragedy. A Tragedy, of course, was nothing more than a drama, in which the characters appeared "better" than in real life (in a comedy, they appeared "worse," according to Aristotle). Aristotle's Poetics makes several references to other dramatic works to illustrate his points, but he most commonly calls upon The Odyssey to support his argument for how a dramatic structure should be designed. However, along with the Odyssey, Aristotle extensively references Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Both poetic works were enormously popular in their time (the former had been passed down orally for generations, and the latter won the top prizes at the dramatic festivals). Therefore, Aristotle is comfortable using both to support his viewpoint concerning Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. This paper will analyze the standards that Aristotle sets out concerning the definition of the Tragic Hero and show how Sophocles' Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a Tragic Hero.

we first meet him he is complaining that he warned Aegisthus not to seduce Clytaemnestra

The Goddess Artemis demanded that he offered up the blood of Iphigenia in order to get Agamemnon’s fleet moving once again. Agamemnon was caught between a rock and a hard place. He truly did not want to murder their daughter, knowing it would cause him great sorrow. Agamemnon even says that, “doom will crush me, once I rend my child…a father’s hands are stained, blood of a young girl streaks the altar” (Agamemnon, 207-211). He so fears the consequences and the guilt that will plague him after sacrificing his own daughter.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, has had many renditions over the years. Olivier, Branagh, and Hawk’s renditions are very different. However, it is through the symbols and underlying messages that these three films are very much alike. “To be, or not to be: that is the question” (3.1.64). Hamlet questions his life in this soliloquy and it is through the symbols, emotion, and interpretations that affected the way I saw each rendition differently.

Agamemnon is faced with a decision to kill his daughter Iphigenia or not to take his men to war. With this choice he must decide between his daughter’s life or respect from Argos. Securing his authority, he chooses

In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon there are many different opinions about what kind of king and commander Agamemnon was. Some argued that he was good, while others dispute that his motives were wrong. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, gained a strong hatred for him, after he sacrificed his own daughter so he could go to war. Many believe that this was not necessary and could have been overcome. The chorus seems to agree with this to an extent, and feels that Agamemnon could have prayed and requested that he not sacrifice his daughter.

Aristotle defines a tragedy as a ‘representation of an action which is important, complete and limited in length. It is enacted not recited and by arousing pity and fear, it gives an outlet to emotions of this type.’