Linguistic Features of Fate Tragedy King Oedipus and Character Tragedy Hamlet

Source: China Paper Download Center [09-04-1711:52: 00] Author: Zhang Yun Editor: studa20.

Literary works are the product of the times. Because of the different creation times, the two tragedies, King Oedipus in ancient Greece and Hamlet in Renaissance, have their own characteristics in theme, life thinking and language features. This paper will analyze the differences between the two tragedies from three aspects: language text content, language expression and language expression.

Keywords: tragedy; Fate; Character; King Oedipus; Hamlet

When it comes to tragedy, people often think of helplessness, despair and even death, which will naturally arouse people's desire and cherish for survival, as well as their understanding and thinking about the meaning of life. Maybe this is the real purpose of tragedy. King Oedipus (hereinafter referred to as "Russia") born by Sophocles in ancient Greece and Hamlet (hereinafter referred to as "Ha") written by Shakespeare in the Renaissance brought us not only the shock of drama, but also the brand of two eras. Undoubtedly, the language expressions used in the two tragedies also have their own characteristics. Next, we will talk about the different characteristics of the two languages from three aspects: language text content, language expression and language expression.

First, the content of the language text reflects the characteristics of the times.

In ancient Greece, people knew little about the universe and nature, and firmly believed that an irresistible force dominated their own destiny. Therefore, the protagonists of tragedies are mostly gods or heroes, who advocate deeds and spirits to purify people's hearts. Drama creation is also bound to be related to the invariance of fate. The tragedy "Russia" is a typical representative work of ancient Greece, "and it is also the highest interpretation of the tragedy of fate." [1] The so-called fate "represents a huge' objective force', and people can do nothing about it but be dominated by it." [2] The objective force here refers to the natural phenomenon or social reality that people can't overcome in primitive society, slave society and feudal society where social productivity is relatively low, gods or clan rights are worshipped, and monarchy is supreme. "Because in the clan society, people believe in the power of God and think that God is in charge of everything, so the concept of fate has emerged." [3] "Russia" is usually called the tragedy of fate. It tells the story of a king Oedipus who was regarded as the savior by China people. Under the arrangement of fate, he made a big mistake of killing his father and taking away his mother without knowing it. Once the truth came out, he suffered great pain, self-mutilation, self-exile and destruction. Although the hero is indomitable about fate, he can't escape the manipulation of fate in the end. When the hero, King Oedipus, faced with reality and fate, he could do nothing. In the face of his two daughters, he moaned:

"What shame do you have less? Your father killed his father; I sowed the seeds to my birth mother and gave birth to you from where I was born. You will be scolded like this; Who will marry you? Ah, son, no one will; Obviously, you are destined not to get married, have no children, and die of haggard. "

Shakespeare's Ha is a typical tragic work in the Renaissance. During this period, the status of theology has been declining, the cognition of human value has been improving, and the concepts of respecting people, respecting life and pursuing value have been deeply rooted in people's hearts. The themes of "people" and "drama to arouse people and develop subjectivity [4]" are fully expressed in the lines of drama Ha:

"What a great masterpiece human beings are! What a noble reason! What a great power! What a beautiful instrument! What an elegant move! How like an angel! What a wise god! The essence of the universe! The spirit of all things! "

The play is a classic in Shakespeare's works and is usually called a tragedy of character. When the old king of Denmark died suddenly, Prince Hamlet was filled with sadness and anger when he learned that his uncle Claudius had succeeded to the throne and married his mother queen. My father's ghost appeared, told Claudius about his murder, and asked Hamlet to avenge his father. After confirming the ghost's grievances, the angry Hamlet accidentally killed his lover's father, Minister Polonius. Finally, the prince and Polonius' son Leontes duel, and the poisoned wine arranged by Claudius for the prince was accidentally drunk by the queen and died. The poisonous sword prepared by Claudius stabbed Hamlet and Leontes, and also stabbed Claudius himself. The greatest success of "Ha" drama lies in its portrayal of the complex psychology and personality of the characters. Hamlet, the hero, is a man with deep thoughts and weak actions. He let people with this typical personality weakness as the undertaker of revenge task, which virtually increased Fielding's dramatic conflict. Because of Hamlet's character, the plot is extremely complicated, intense and elusive, which surprised the audience.

Second, language expression has its own emphasis.

Although both tragic works have the basic ways of dialogue, monologue, narration and singing, the emphasis is quite different. The dialogue in the form of question and answer in Russia is equally divided with the chorus to complete the play. For example:

"King Oedipus what did you say? Isn't Polonius my father?

Messenger: Just as I am not your father, so is he.

King Oedipus: How can my father be as different as you who have nothing to do with me?

Whistleblower: You were not born to him, nor to me.

King Oedipus: Then why did he call me his son?

Teller: To tell the truth, that's because he accepted you as my gift.

King Oedipus: But why does he love children given by others so much?

Messenger: He didn't have a son before, so he loves you so much. "

The dialogue in the whole play is concise and natural, with full actions and subtext, which is suitable for expressing the characters' character. It is vivid and simple, and forms a "tragic poem" with the beautiful chorus. Chorus includes: the entrance song, the first chorus, the second chorus, the third chorus and the fourth chorus, with a chorus leader. It can be seen that "white" and "singing" have the same important position and function in the play.

Kazakhstan reveals the complex psychological process of the characters with poetic language and numerous monologues, which makes the characters more profound and full. "From writing people to portraying dramatic characters with individuality to depicting unique souls, it shows the deepening trend of human drama art creation and the historical transformation from classical drama to modern drama." [5] The drama Ha portrays different characters in different languages according to their identities and situations. The language of the characters is elegant or vulgar, philosophical or lyrical, simple or gorgeous. Hamlet, the protagonist, is a typical image of a humanist in the Renaissance, eager to break through the shackles of feudal forces. However, due to the limitations of the early British bourgeoisie, this humanistic thought is irreconcilable with reality. Therefore, Hamlet's character is full of melancholy and despair, full of ideals, hesitant in behavior, decisive in language, yearning for equal interpersonal relationships, despising civilians and not knowing how to mobilize the masses. Character determines fate, and Hamlet's character tragedy leads to the tragedy of his fate. For example, the third scene of the third act ends Hamlet's monologue.

Hamlet: it's easy to do it now, when he is praying; I'll kill him now ... [pulls out his sword]

... and then he went straight to heaven; Is this revenge? Think twice: a villain killed my father,

And I, my father's only son, sent this villain to heaven; What, this is equivalent to fulfilling him; This is not revenge.

He killed my father when he was unrepentant and sinful;

Who but God knows what God thinks of his narrative at the moment?

According to mortal reasoning, this should be considered a felony; But if I kill him in his confession,

Then he has made full preparations for this trip;

Can I be considered as being retaliated? Don't!

Go back to your sheath, sword, and let me find a better chance. "

This monologue is the process in which Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius. It can be seen that he is indecisive and weak in action. In fact, he is making excuses for being at a loss, which also makes the plot more dramatic. Another example is the famous monologue "to be or not to be" in the first scene of the third act;

"Hamlet: {to himself}

To be or not to be, this is a question that must be answered:

Should we silently endure the merciless blow of bumpy fate,

Or we should be enemies of endless suffering as deep as the sea,

And overcome it.

Which of the two choices is more noble?

Death is sleep, that's all!

If sleep can end the pain of mind and body,

So, this ending is promising!

Go to hell and go to bed. ...

But there may be dreams in sleep, ah, this is an obstacle:

When we remove this dying skin,

What dreams will you have in the eternal sleep of death?

This makes us hesitate ... "

This monologue shows us his thoughts on life, his worries and disappointments, his anguish and hesitation, and his profound exposure and criticism of the surrounding reality.

Third, language expression embodies individuality.

Personality language determines the personality of language expression. The tone of language in Harbin Opera is dull, depressed and angry. The contradiction of the protagonist Hamlet's thought and the flexibility of his character should be expressed through his personal language with low tone, heavy tone and slow speech speed.

The language tone of the play King Oedipus is vigorous and aggressive. The protagonist begins to disbelieve in fate, perseveres and never gives up any chance to fight against it. At this time, the language expression is heavy, the speech speed is moderate, powerful and full of passion. But when I still can't escape the trick of fate, at this time, I turn to a lower tone, a heavier tone, a slower speech speed and a richer inner foundation. The tone is full of tragic and heroic. When Oedipus king painfully faced all these fates, he cried painfully, hopelessly and helplessly:

"Wedding, wedding, you gave birth to me; After giving birth, have another child. You have caused incest between father, brother, son, bride, wife and mother: this is the most shameful thing in the world. "

Faced with such a tragic reality, he was completely desperate, collapsed, screamed at the top of his lungs, and was extremely indignant when he could not change his fate.

"Tragedy is an art that strongly impacts emotions, and it is an art that promotes the spirit and purifies the soul. Whether it is fate tragedy, personality tragedy or social tragedy, it is full of lofty and even mysterious significance, and contains life lessons and philosophies. [6] "Let's appreciate the tragedy, touch the tragedy, think about the tragedy, compare and refine it in the magnificent tragic language art.".

References:

[1] Zhou Anhua's General Theory of Dramatic Art, Nanjing University Press, July 2005.

[2] Dong Jian Ma Junshan's fifteen lectures on drama art, Peking University Publishing House, March 2004.

[3][ Ancient Greece] Aristotle's Poetics People's Literature Publishing House, 2002, 1 edition.