A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE TRAGIC HERO IN SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET AND MILLER’S DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Abstract

This paper focuses on the creation of the tragic hero via Shakespeare's Hamlet in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. In this two-person study about Hamlet & Willy Loman, the study aims to engage with the evolution of tragedy as a cultural phenomenon from its classical origins to its contemporary manifestations. If Hamlet is the archetype of the classical Aristotelian tragic hero of nobility, moral conflict, and fatal flaw, then Willy Loman is representative of the new age re-creation of tragedy, an ordinary person pushed into the heart of a major dramatic event. The research employs a comparative and analytical approach in characterisation of the psychology, society and philosophy surrounding both characters. The struggle at the center of Hamlet with moral responsibility and existential doubt sharply contrasts with Willy Loman's confrontation with social expectations and personal illusions. Though socially ranked, historiographical events, and theatre forms are widely different, themes of human suffering, failure, searching for self, etc. and similar to each other, resonate with everyone on a larger scale. Finally, the conclusion is: tragedy is not confined to kings and princes; common man who, with dreams and reality always fight their way through this struggle. This suggests a shift in importance for literary values and a democratization of tragedy in current literature. The research sheds some light on this issue, particularly in its view of literature as being linked to historical or contemporary cultural and ideological conflicts, but also maintaining relevance relevant today.