Tragic characteristics in Shakespeare`s Hamlet and Miller`s death a salesman

This thesis is a comparative study of William Shakespeare?s Hamlet, Prince ofDenmark and Arthur Miller?s Death of a Salesman in the context of their basic tragiccharacteristics and tragic evolution of these characteristics. It is also a comprehensiveanalysis on tragedy with its different dimensions. The analysis of two significant tragicplays, which are based on in this thesis as monumental representatives of the Elizabethanand modern periods in the historical background of tragedy as a literary form, enables torecognise the way on the basis of a tragic evolution. The focus of this study is theoriginality of these two tragic plays which makes them two of the most remarkableexamples of tragedy during the time. At the same time, William Shakespeare and ArthurMiller are focused as the two immoral playwrights with their basic contributions to tragedyin this thesis. While the Elizabethan tragedy mainly concerned with supernatural elements,divinity and relationships of members from upper class, the modern tragedy mainlyconcerned with realistic aspects of the life like economic crisis, social pressure on acommon man to be successful in the business life and simple relationships of commonpeople from middle class within a familial perspective. Briefly, this characteristic isessentially inferred from the whole discussion of this thesis among others as the moststriking tragic evolution between the Elizabethan and modern tragedy.