Literature Review -Hamlet, Agmamenon & Love Song of Alfred Prufrock.

Great literary works always claim a sense of tragedy to attract its audiences. Nevertheless, there are different types of tragedy and when a literary artist mimics common tragic endings, the audience disregards the work as ordinary and not worth much analysis. However, the three stories analyzed for this essay project a type of tragedy that is more personal, more of the character and less about the story at large. Hamlet, Love Song of Alfred Prufrock and Agamemnon became popular literary works of art because of the way they showcase tragedy from a different, more singular and triangular manner. In all of these stories, the one element that stands out the most is paralysis or the incapacity to act. The next three paragraphs will outline how this is exemplified in each story starting with Agamemnon and concluding with Hamlet.

First, in Agamemnon, a triangulation occurred between the king, his queen, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. The element of paralysis became apparent when reading about the love affair between the queen and Aegisthus while the King, Agamemnon was away in the Trojan War. Sleeping with the wife of the man Aegisthus wants dead, keeping quite about his revengeful plans, Aegisthus was paralyzed, incapable of acting. Undoubtedly, he wanted Agmamenon dead, however, his lustful magnetism to the queen and power over the kingdom in the king’s absence, kept him unable to move forward with the plans to seek outmost revenge (p. 844). The next example of paralysis is on the Love Song of Alfred Prufrock.

The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock exemplifies a personal paralysis. The inability to initiate conversation or even approach women is Prufrock’s example. His social anxiety led him to stay incapacitated, while yearning for a close-knit relationship with a woman. TS Eliot described Prufrock as weak and “growing thin” (41). He kept himself hidden from the world, disconnected from others, accepting hostile treatment from women without acting, paralyzed in the frustration of his own social anxiety. The next example is of Hamlet, he was also paralyzed and incapable of acting at the right time.

Hamlet was indecisive, always hesitating and it is not until the end of the play that he was able to settle his mind. The revenge plot takes place at the end only because f Hamlet’s inability to act in the moment. However, his fury did reveal itself at the end, his argumentative mind came out to the open and he found the perfect opportunity to act. Resistance to act was a main characteristic of his personality, showing a personal battle from the over evaluation of his circumstances.

In conclusion, all three stories showed the element of paralysis in a very clear manner. If the paralysis was because of fear, lust or anxiety, all three characters show that adding a deeper layer to tragedy, including more drama and triangulation to the story makes for a perfect literary artistic piece. This is important for readers to feel a personal connection with the author. Being in love with a woman, being unable to speak to women generally, and being overly concerned over one problem is a common occurrence for all of us. These authors understood tragedy, from a conventional angle.

Bibliography

Hamlet

Agmamenon (844)

Love Song of Alfred Prufrock (41)