Aristotle stated that tragedy is an imitation, or mimesis of an action, an attempt to capture the essence of reality in artificial form. In his book Poetics, he gives clear instructions as to which elements are considered necessary to conceive a successful tragedy,

“Tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; …from which actions spring ... Hence, the Plot is the imitation of the action- …the arrangement of the incidents. By Character I mean that in virtue of which we ascribe certain qualities to the agents. Thought is required wherever a statement is proved, or, it may be, a general truth enunciated. Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality- namely, Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Song. …These elements have been employed, we may say, by the poets to a man; in fact, every play contains Spectacular elements as well as Character, Plot, Diction, Song, and Thought” (Aristotle, 12).In applying the Aristotelian concept of Tragedy to Hamlet, it can be said that the play contains all six parts:A plot with which includes: a beginning that would start the cause and effect chain leading to the incentive moment,

(from Act 1 to Act 3) a middle, or climax, that would be caused by earlier incidents, (from Act 3 to Act 5) an end, or resolution that would be affected by the preceding events and solve or resolve

the problem created during the incentive moment. It is also called, in modern terminology the dénouement.

Such plot would, according to Bradley, generate immediate interest, “…suppose you were to describe the plot of Hamlet to a person quite ignorant of the play… what impression would your sketch make on him? Would he not exclaim: 'What a sensational story! Why, here are some eight violent deaths, not to speak of adultery, a ghost, a mad woman, and a fight in a grave! If I did not know that the play was Shakespeare's, I should have thought it must have been one of those early tragedies of blood and horror from which he is said to have redeemed the stage'?” (Bradley, 38)Aristotle also states that the plot must be free of deus ex machina, or an external intervention, and, preferably, of a complex kind. By complex he explains that it “ is one in which the change is accompanied by such Reversal, or by Recognition, or by both” (Aristotle 20). Aristotle explains that a peripeteia (Reversal) occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce, while an anagnorisis (Recognition) “is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined for good or bad fortune.” (Aristotle 21) In Hamlet, reversal or peripeteia would happen when Claudius is praying and Hamlet cannot find the strength to murder him, and he says:

“ And am I then reveng’d, To take him in the purging of his soul, When he is fit and season’d for his passage?” (3.3.84-86)

Hamlet’s anagnorisis would take place when he realizes that Fortinbras, his enemy, is seeking revenge. He then recognizes his faults in his soliloquy:

“ What is a man,If his chief good and market of his timeBe but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.” (4.4.33-35)

The second most important element in a Tragedy according to Aristotle is Character. And four basic features must be included: it has to be good, with a sense of propriety, true to life and consistent. Nevertheless if the plot is bound to generate pity or fear in the audience, this character should, according to Aristotle, reveal a “tragic flaw”, or hamartia, that will lead to a downfall or misfortune and change the character’s good quality to a bad one. Hamartia, then,

plays a critical role in setting out what Aristotle calls “the rule of probability or necessity”, which will result in the peripeteia and anagnorisis needed within the plot. Hamlet’s hamartia would be his inability to act, his constant consideration of his doings, in the end, his procrastination. This is how he considers himself: “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” (2.2.505)Diction and Thought come next in importance for Aristotle. They both would deal with the use of language and what is being said and how it is being said. Related to Diction and Thought is also Song, which is also essential in a Tragedy because it contributes to the unity of plot with its “language embellished”. According to Aristotle, “some parts are rendered through the medium of verse alone, others again with the aid of song.” (Aristotle 12). In Hamlet, Shakespeare makes good use of a variety of language resources and arranges in Hamlet a fondness for word plays, puns and turns of thought. For this matter, Bradley states that “To some extent, again, as we may see from the conversation where Rosencrantz and Guildenstern first present themselves (II. ii. 227), he is merely following the fashion of the young courtiers about him, just as in his love−letter to Ophelia, he uses for the most part the fantastic language of Court Euphuism.” (Bradley 62)The last element Aristotle mentions is Spectacle. It deals with the staging of the Tragedy but, for Aristotle, it takes a superior poet to achieve the sense of the spectacular just from the inner structure of the plot itself. He states that “…those who employ spectacular means to create a sense not of the terrible but only of the monstrous are strangers to the purpose of Tragedy…” (Aristotle 25). As for Hamlet, an instance of spectacle would be the sword fight with Laertes in Act V, Scene 2. But for Aristotle the end of the tragedy should be the moment of catharsis of the tragic emotions of pity and fear. As catharsis means “purge” Aristotle uses the term metaphorically to refer to the purgation of such emotions, “for the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes Place” (Aristotle, 25) The final scene in Hamlet would be the cathartic moment of the play, in which all the main characters die-Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes and Hamlet and, with their dying all of Hamlet’s misfortunes disappear.Harold Goddard, in his book The Meaning of Shakespeare, claims that the tragedy is summed up in the contrast between Hamlet’s final words, “The rest is silence.” (5.2.337) and Horatio’s “Good-night, sweet prince/ And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” (5.2.338-339). Then Hamlet after his death would be treated as a warrior, just as his father was. He concludes that “Shakespeare knew what he was about in making the conclusion of his play martial. Its theme has been war as well as revenge.” (Goddard 381)

______________________________________________________________________For Hamlet "the rest is silence." The tragedy is summed up in the contrast between those four mysterious words and Horatio's Good-night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy restl Fortinbras, who has now entered, gazes around him as on a battlefield: This quarry cries on havoc. 0 proud dea1ch!What feast is toward in thine eternal cell,That thou so many princes at a shotSo bloodily hast struck?

And Horatio promises to tell, in explanation,

Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,Of accidental judgements, casual slaught(~rs,Of deaths put on by cunning and forc'd cause,And, in this upshot, purposes mistookFall'n on the inventors' heads.The Ghost's words sounded eloquen[Harold_C._Goddard]_The_Meaning_of_Shakespeare,_Vo(BookFi.org)______________________________________________________________________