Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
edited by Willard Farnham

Penguin (New York): 1970. Mass-market paperback: 178 pages. ISBN-10: 0-14-071405-7 Suggested retail price: $3.95 (US) Tags: Classic; Denmark; made into movie; murder; poison; royalty; suicide; swords; Tragic Drama Tactical strength: [8/10]

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I read Hamlet as a class assignment specifically looking for applications of Aristotle's Poetics on this text. For example, does Aristotle's definition of tragedy fit the Elizabethan model and what changes would have to be made to Aristotle's definitions in order to encompass the various ideas of tragedy?

While the accepted Aristotelian idea of the "tragic flaw" provides a convenient means to discuss the characters in Hamlet, none of the characters actually demonstrate the "tragic flaw" as defined by Aristotle. Aristotle described his tragic figures as having made some choice in ignorance that later proved to be their downfall. He doesn't seem to have room for a character's tragic outcome due to a psychological flaw.

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