A comparison of the tragic patterns in King Lear and Hamlet

Abstract

The following presentation is a suggested approach to the Shakespearean dramas, King Lear and Hamlet, both of which have always been considered tragic masterpieces in the traditional conception of the term tragedy. Whereas King Lear does follow the Aristotelian pattern of Greek tragedy, the ultimate effect in Hamlet results from the imposition of the Christian patter on the traditional form.