Shakespeare's tragedies

[minjaeyang]

Shakespeare wrote many tragedies of which include Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Both of them are stories where the main characters all die and have a sad ending.

Therefore, I was wondering why people read tragedies. What do you think attracts people to tragedies? Why do you think people read them?

I think people read tragedies because the plots are interesting. Furthermore, it gives people a lingering feeling of sadness and an indirect feeling of sadness that they do not get to experience in everyday life.

[jinwooprk]

Maybe because tragedies are events that do not happen normally, therefore, tragic events stays in our memory for a long time maybe?.. When we read something shocking and abnormal and sad at the same time, we tend to get affected by it.. like for example, when we see a movie that is so sad that makes us cry, we tend to feel sad for few days.. It might be that people in ShakSpeare time kind of liked that aftereffect of watching tragic plays.

[sojounggg]

I agree with jinwoo's idea.
for example korean dramas for ¾ÆÁܸ¶a jum ma and ¾ÆÀú¾¾a ju cci watches dramas that does not make sense.
because it is memorable, fun, unusual and interesting to read.

[stormy44]

We have our ups and downs. It's safe to say that everyone in this world goes through hardships. We all experienced an event that was tragic, and that's when we can understand the emotions from sad novels or movies. When a person just recently lost her beloved one, reading a novel or watching a play that depicts a similar situation would remind her that she's not the only one struggling. I feel like watching a sad play makes us empathize with the world better and understand that we're not the only ones having a hard time in life. Tragedies might actually help readers with their own problems and hard feelings.

[juliekim]

I think people like them because we can easily relate to what's happening to them. Although we don't all end up dying, we all have those sad moments/experiences in our life. We all face tragic dilemmas, whether it be because of our own decisions or because of outer circumstances. People like reading tragedies because they can sympathize with the characters and know how hard it must be for them to go through the things they're going through.

[cathysjun]

I think people like them because it is so unexpected. People usually expect the protagonist to survive no matter what because the immediate response that most people have is that without the protagonist the story can not continue. So because the plot itself is so unexpected, the plot becomes interesting and extraordinary. Hence attracting people.

[ginayang]

I think people are attracted to tragedies because it is not the same old story with a happily ever after. Shakespeare's tragedies usually revolve around a flawed character or system and that flaw eventually results in death or destruction. This can truly touch people's heart and make a connection. Thus, even though the ending is sad, the plot line is fascinating and out of the ordinary.

[hannahs]

I don't really get people that like them because it's so depressing. But like other people said maybe people like it since it's so different from the typical story of everything working out in the end. But isn't Shakespeare's tragedies pretty typical in themselves since all the characters die in the end? I feel like the only people that like Shakespeare's tragedies are English teachers and that the only people that read them had to for English class.

[sarahlee2]

People read them in the olden days because they didn't have as many options as we do now so I think its understandable. Maybe people read it nowadays because it is interesting and it makes for a good story and entertainment to pass their time. I personally like happy books better but Shakespeares tragedies can be interesting. These days I feel like no one really reads Shakespeare for fun. They read it because it is required to do so in classes.

[seongrae]

I think in every book that have tragedies give some lesson that people can learn. For example, in Hamlet, this book shows that whenever people try to revenge someone it only brings tragedies. Therefore, people are attracted by these lessons and also for people who are very emotional like to read books that have many emotions and feelings that they want to feel which do not happen every day in our society.

[davidh]

I think some people don't really realize even if the story might be tragedy and even if they know,they read it because it's interesting or the story is famous for having odd story line. For me, I really don't like tragedy and if I fine the story tragedy, I stop reading it because I don't really like it. I prefer happy ending.

[jessicak016]

People might want to that there are some people out there, who go through worser pains and deal with bigger hindrances than them but still have the courage to endure them even though they end up dying most of the time. Especially during that time, where many people from lower class watched plays from Shakespeare. Those tragedies might encourage them that there are worser situations and they should be thankful that they do not have those.

[jinseong]

Maybe they read because it is more realistic?.. Many stories have happy endings that are not realistic. Maybe the author tried to express the protagonist's state of mind through out the story of tragedy, hatred, love, revenge these emotions might be well suited in the story of tragedy.

[jessicashim2013]

I guess tragedies can give us some connections with our own life. We all experience some hardships in love once in a life time. This appears a lot on tragedy dramas, movies, and novels. So we feel what the character is feeling. In addition, there are many stories that end with happy ending. Therefore tragedy can leave some lingering feelings as minjar mentioned.

[junaen0416]

I would say people read tragedies because of its complexity which indirectly relates our lives. We can easily relate to the protagonist of how we feel and how we think. Due to these connection, we can easily find a flow to read and as a result, enjoy reading tragedies.