Literary Analysis: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Flaubert's Bovary

Literary Perspectives: Tragedy and Realism

Hamlet: Shakespeare's Tragic Vision

Shakespeare employed a diverse range of language, from vulgar to more solemn, adapting it to the dialogue's context, character, and social class. For the author, importance lies in the expression of feelings; the entire work revolves around the protagonist's thoughts. Another characteristic of the author's style is the coexistence of tragic and comic elements. Regarding the work itself, it reflects sixteenth-century Danish society. It also portrays the world as a meaningless chaos dominated by passions and delusions.

Madame Bovary: Flaubert's Psychological Realism

The author focuses all his interest on the psychological analysis of the protagonist, Madame Bovary. While Flaubert claimed it was a pure invention, literary tradition suggests the novel was inspired by a true story.

All studies agree to recognize a parallel between Don Quixote and Madame Bovary, as both characters possess an unbridled imagination fueled by their reading.

Flaubert, like Balzac, admired imagination. His purpose was to create a work in which events are replaced by ideas, and characters are conditioned by their environment.

The writer tends towards the universal, for genius resides not in the heart but in reflection.

Further Literary Analysis

Shakespeare's Hamlet: Thematic Elements

The typical genre of Elizabethan drama is the tragedy of revenge, as vividly reflected in Hamlet.

Heartbreaking contradictions give rise to tragedy; the fate characters face is a defining characteristic. A key tragic element of Hamlet is the understanding that the final victim will be Hamlet himself.

The presence of the supernatural, specifically the intervention of the ghost, is a characteristic tragic feature that triggers the entire tragic story. Comical elements also appear, serving to relax the tragic scene, such as Hamlet's feigned madness, which functions as a humorous element within the work. Thus, a mixture of tragic and comic elements exists.

Madame Bovary: Style and Narrative

The predominant style in Madame Bovary is indirect. Its most characteristic feature is the long and detailed descriptions provided by the author regarding the environments where events unfold, as well as the feelings and actions of the characters. These descriptions aim to capture the essence rather than merely the physical form.

In this fragment, we observe a highly descriptive narrator and observer, meticulously examining and analyzing every action or detail.

For each social stratum, a specific kind of language is used, expressed in a formal way through the indirect style. Here, we see the figure of the omniscient narrator reflected, who knows everything that happens, including all the characters' feelings, recounted from an external, third-person perspective.

Fundamental features include the exact reproduction of reality and the rejection of sentimentalism. The novel illustrates the relationship between the character and their socio-economic environment.

The author aims to denounce the evils afflicting society.