Bradley+1-2

 2 The calamities of tragedy proceed mainly from actions. These (actions) lead by apparently inevitable sequence to a catastrophe. The reader regards these equally as something which happens to the persons concerned and something which is caused by them. The hero must always contribute to the disaster that leads to his death. Although the deeds are the predominant factor in a Shakespearean tragedy, these deeds are a result of the actions of the person. However, although Shakespeare focused on this aspect, he very rarely discusses the psychology of mankind unless it contributes to the tragedy. Shakespeare often includes three factors in addition to the “Characteristic deeds ” and the “ sufferings and circumstances ” of the persons. a. abnormal conditions of mind ; however these conditions are never introduced as the origin of deeds of important drama. A person who suffers from these abnormalities ceases to be a tragic character. b. Ghosts and witches who have supernatural knowledge. These can never be explained as just an illusion in the mind of the character. They give a confirmation to forces that are already present and exerting influence on the character. The supernatural will never remove the character’s capacity or responsibility for dealing with his problem c. The influence of chance or accident. This is defined as an appreciable influence at some point in the action. a. In __Hamlet,__ fate takes place with the pirate ship attacking Hamlet’s ship. To say that chance or fate has any large part in the tragic sequence would weaken or destroy the connection between character, deed AND catastrophe. <span style="margin: 0in 0in 0.25in 1in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">b. Most accidents of fate really have a connection with character and usually happen when the action is well advanced. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">Sometimes the conflict may be described as more fully between persons or the group or the passions or ideas animating these groups. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">However the major conflict will always be the conflict that exists within the hero. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">Bradley describes the “spiritual force” as the forces that act in the human spirit to drive a man’s soul. Sometimes these forces are in conflict and create disturbances in the hero’s soul. <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times','serif'; font-size: 18pt;">