The New Nation - Internet Edition

Tragic heroes of Shakespeare

Md. Ismail Hossain

William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is the greatest dramatist in the world: He is famous because of his objectivity and having a deep insight into human nature. He has created a 'galaxy' of tragic heroes:

Among them Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello are the main. To depict the character of his tragic heroes he has followed the theory of Aristotle. According to Aristotle, "The hero of a tragedy should be a noble person but he falls from his prosperity to adversity only because of a certain flaw in his character. His fall will create pity and fear in us for his helplessness". Though Shakespeare has followed the theory of Aristotle, each of his heroes has individual characteristic features.

Macbeth was a man of high position who was a general of the army of Duncan. He was a heroic soldier whose noble qualities have won golden opinions from all sorts of people. His bravery was rewarded, by the King giving him the title "Thane of Cawdor." Even, Macbeth, "The bridegroom of Bellona", did not lack in the softness of heart. He who was very loyal to the king loves also his wife very much. He was a man "full of the milk of human kindness"·. But soon he fell from that elevated position to that of a villain and traitor.

It was because of his high ambition, the flaw in his character. His craving for power made him lose all the noble qualities in him. So, he killed King Duncan who was in great safety sleeping in his (M) house. He murdered the guest breaking the time honoured ideal of hospitality. Thus he became the king of Scotland. He was swept on to destruction thus causing many lives to be wasted and the whole nation brought to anarchy, Being dragged into crime, he lost faith in man and became utterly distrustful.

But his realisation of his vices constantly caused a kind of pain in him. By his own word he revealed that he was suffering a living hell in the midst of fears. Since he had started his crime, he did not know any rest. After killing the king he experienced an acute mental conflict. In the final scene we find that acute mental suffering has made Macbeth's life meaningless when he said, " Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player". When Macbeth died we feel pity and fear for him because he was a brave and noble general but faced tragedy because of driving ambition.

King Lear is not an exception to Aristotle's theory. He had a flaw in his own character like all other tragic heroes of Shakespeare. It is his own whim of knowing how much his daughters loved him. The King knew very well how much his daughters loved him. Besides, he had already divided his kingdom into three equal portions with equal natural gifts for his three daughters.

But at the time of conferring these portions on his daughters, he wanted to know how his daughters loved him. How childish his desire was! Gonerill and Regan expressed their love for the king in the most flattering language but Cordelia, the youngest, could not be so pretentious like her elder sisters and she spoke the right, the truth that she loved him so much as he deserved.

The King also knew that she loved him most and he had decided to live with her in his old age. Yet the true words failed to satisfy the moody king. In a state of anger, he deprived Cordelia of her share and even withdrew her filial love and duty. So, he failed to discern between the real and the unreal. As a result he had to suffer.

The dishonour he suffered at the hand of his own daughters, Goneril and Regan, is really heart rending. It rends our heart but Goneril and Regan are so cruel that they drive away their father into the storm bare headed. The words he speaks to the storm strike us very much:

"Here I stand, your slave,

A poor, infirm, weak and deposed man".

Even, he goes mad. Finally, for the greed and cruelty of Regan and Goneril, he had to die with Cordelia. His death with Cordelia creates pity and fear in our mind.

Othello fell a victim to jealousy that brought his tragedy. He was a noble Moor in the service of Venetian state. He was a born soldier, a brave and noble able General who had distinguished himself by his deeds of valour. He was noble, frank, honest and brave. There was no one else in Venice to match him as a conunander and General. So, the Duke of Venice put him in the charge of the defence of Cyprus.

But, this man of high quality misunderstood his loyal, naive and honest wife Desdemona because of lago's conspiracy lago, the ancient of Otello, told him that Desdemona had an illicit affair with Cassio, the Lieutenant of Othello. Othello is of so trustful and confiding nature that he believed lago. So, he was required to face the problem which demanded logical and calm thinking and a keen knowledge of human nature.

But, he did not have the ability. So, he suffered inwardly so acutely that he decided to kill Desdemona.

At last, he killed Desdemona and finally himself. It is clear that he acted rashly when instigated by the person whom he trusted absolutely. But, his tragic death rends our heart and for this reason he stirs in us a passion of mingled love and pity.

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a, great tragic hero of Shakespeare. We find him in gloomy state because he thinks over the death of his father.

After that the ghost of his father, informed him that he was killed by Claudius, the present king and uncle of Hamlet. It also suggested to take the revenge of his father's death. So, Hamlet had to do his filial duty but he could not overcome the indecision and hesitation of his mind.

So, he suffered much. He could not find rest for a moment because of his procrastination. He utters the great speech when it was unbearable to bear his suffering:

To be, or not to be: that is the question; Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles.

It is his heart rending crying. In the final scene he died facing the outcome of his tragedy. But, the death of such a noble hero creates pity and fear in us. To surri up, we should differentiate the tragic heroes of Shakespeare from each other though all of them possess the same characteristics of real tragic hero according to Aristotle. We may argue that the criminal activities of Macbeth diminish his tragic grandeur and like Hamlet, King Lear and Othello he is not a true tragic hero. But here we must remember that Macheth is the maturest product of Shakespeare and in this play he does not create an ideal hero who cannot be real human being. Rather he tries to make such a hero as to be found in every society of every time.

From this point of view, Shakespeare created tragic heroes or a character. But it may be said that Lear is different from other tragic heroes. He brought misery upon himself because of trifling matter, filial duty or love.

Between Othello and Hamlet, Othello has not the meditative or speculative' imagination of Hamlet but in the strictest sense of the word he is more poetic than Harnlet.

He is the greatest poet among the heroes of Shakespeare who could argue before the Duke on the way to win Desdemona's heart.

Indeed, he is the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes. Emotion excites his imagination but it confuses and dulls his intellect. On this side, he is the very opposite of Hamlet. Hesitation is almost impossible to him like Hamlet.

Though, all of the tragic heroes of Shakespeare are depicted according to the theory of Aristotle, they deserve individuality. Allardyce Nicol is quite just in his remark when he says regarding the tragic heroes of Shakespeare : "All his heroes', by their greatness, stand alone".

My first study tour

Md. Rahber-E-Alam (Raafa)

Experiencing something for the first time in life is always fun and memorable. However, everyone does not feel the same level of extraordinary excitement which comes after experiencing something different. Here I am going to describe a study tour and my feelings.

After my admission in Sunnydale, this was the first time we were taken on a study tour. In the month of noble Language Movement our school wanted us to study about the history of our language in an interesting way. We studied about the history of our Language Movement in the classes, through books.

We were supposed to visit four different places. Each one had some history behind it. In the morning of 15th February, all the Sunnydalians gathered at the school premises. Our teachers divided all of us and made us sit in two different buses.

I wondered how the whole day would be. Just after I arrived at the school that morning, I got to hear that sneakers were not allowed to be worn and I was wearing a black one. Immediately, I rushed towards my home and wore a Bata shoe and entered the school for the second time.

Finally, our tour began. Our first stop was Central Shaheed Minar (Martyrs' Memorial). We all took off our shoes as well as socks, and stepped on the cold floor of Shaheed Minar. Standing in front of it in a queue, we showed our respect to the language martyrs by keeping silence for one minute.

Then, we left for the historical city Sonargaon. It took a long and exhausting journey to reach Narayanganj.

At one point the bus had to stop to let some of us go to the toilet. However, we finally reached in front of Sonargaon's gate, we made another queue and followed our teachers inside.

The place was almost 500 years old, and indeed, it looked ancient. It was Isa Khan's capital, built in the sixteenth century. It was mainly a port for trade, as the place was situated beside Meghna, Sitalakkhya and Brahmaputra river. We were supposed to see the 'Lok Shilpa Jadughar' there.

We entered the first building through a huge iron gate, which was carved with designs.

Inside, at the centre, was a huge iron bed, perhaps, Isa Khan's. We knew the history of that place through a guide, and he took all of us in a line and told the details of each and every historical item present there. I was trying to copy his speech as fast as possible, as I thought it would help me in any assignment.

Even I tried to draw the panels, but the drawing was so horrible that I soon gave up. Each time our guide described us about something, our eyes widened and our jaws fell with wonder. There were ancient guitars, drums, toothbrushes, clothes and fabrics, models of wooden boats, etc. We had a note with us, telling brief history about each location.

Our next destination was the Balda Garden situated at Wari, Dhaka. We visited the whole garden in a line, which followed our teachers. I found flowers which I never saw before. It was just a botanical garden, with collection of different species of plant life.

The places we were visiting were related with history of emergence of Bangladesh. Our next and final destination was the Liberation War Museum. We were taken to a small hallroom, where we saw videos of the Liberation War of 1971. It showed the mass killing, the injustice and the torture, which the Bangladeshi people had to face during the war. Surviving through all these obstacles, we were the winners and the prize was an Independent country, named Bangladesh.

The video automatically brought sympathy in our mind for our people, as well as raised anger against our enemies who tortured us inhumanly. It made us feel what we have been through during the war. Each time the video showed a dead body, we yelled out, 'awwwww !!!' Even a child of 5 years became the victim of the Pakistani soldiers.

Eventually, we visited six different galleries inside the museum, which told about the history from the 17th century till the Liberation War of 1971. Once again, our jaws began to fall by what we saw and heard. The museum had several weapons of that time, used by the martyrs.

We found skulls taken out from several killing fields excavated by the museum authority. They gave us information to that extent that we forgot most of it. However, to me, seeing and hearing those things became the utmost priority.

Later, the museum authority arranged a quiz game for us, which made us shout with excitement as well. The winners were awarded with caps and with books about the Liberation War. We were provided with cupcakes and ships there, and finally, we left the museum.

After some time, I found our bus in front of the school gate. The tour was over. Very soon, I began to miss the excitement that I have been through in the tour.

However, I am glad that the school authority took the decision to arrange such a tour for us. I thank all the teachers who were with us to guide us on the tour. It's only for them, I have realised that to be a good citizen we need to know about our history. This tour is a success for me as it has raised my patriotism to some level, which would not have been possible without this.

Book Review

Pushpanjoli (A book of poems in Bengali) by Fyyaz Husyn. Published by Riyeze Uddin Chapole, Vorer Shishir, Nurjahan Road, Dhaka, Boimela 8th Falgun, 1414 ( 21 February 2008). Cover, Moniruzzaman, DD I/16, : Page 116 Price : Tk 180.00 $ 5 & £ 3.

'Pushpanjoli' means offering a handful of flowers. Devotion leads to this offering. Thus the name of the poetry 'Pushpanjoli' signifies that the poems are dedicated on devotion.

The first chapter is on the Supreme Being, the Creator of the Universe. The second is on the great Prophet (SM). Then the great festivals which include Victory Day, Birthday of Hazrat Muhammad (SM), Shab-e-Quadar, Martyrs' Day, Haz, Shab-e-Meraz, Ashura, Shab-e-Barat and Ramzan.

The chapter 'Desh -kal' includes Joy Bangla, Victory Day, Independence, Suppressed people, Fortunate Bangladesh and Poet's questions.

The chapter 'Probhat Chhata' includes Fundamentalism, Quranul Karim, Marriage tie, Universal peace : Islamic faith, White people, Azan, Youth, Life, Great hero Haridar Ali, Mother Fatema, Monishikuler Shiromoni, Dhaka: my city and Mother.

The chapter 'Sudhanirjhar' contains a series of poems dedicated in search of truth.

The last chapter 'Magon-Jachon' has two poems closing with an urge to cross over all darkness to reach light and regain the heritage of respectable position.

The poems reflect the impulse and passion of the poet. He has patriotic and humanistic outlook. His deep sympathy towards the suffering people is worth appreciation. The poems mostly represent his search for truth. In some cases, the poet seems to be lacking in conveying the message and spirit, he intends to, because of coining of terms, not in the original Islamic form. For example, the word 'Allah' is unique. No alternative word can express the same spirit of the Supreme Being, which it connotes.

The book has been dedicated to the suppressed people of Bangladesh.

The printing and binding of the book is good. The cover design with a handful of flowers focuses on the name of the book 'Pushpanjoli.'

We wish the poet success in his literary career.

--Abdul Muqit Chowdhury

Poem

Garden

What! I named the garden

If all the flowers

fallen on the ground!

Once there is no flower

in the burning world

how can men live

with full of desert

If the trees are destroyed

one after another

what we can call the green land!

When the world is gray

how can I separate myself

How can I separate

from the burning world ?

Half of the life

On the chair

In cannot conceive

when

Half of the Quen

marbaling beneath the table

as a rate

But

The dream breakup

Then I conceive

I have no more time

I am no more alive

There is no mercy for a man.

I have destroyed

Half of my life

but nothing savings.

Shujauddin Kaisar