셰익스피어의 암살자들

Abstract

We can find many murderers in Shakespeare’s tragedies and histories. Death by murder is the most common dramatic means to make tragic ending, and to lead the audience into emotional agitation. However, assassination is a special kind of murder. The usual purpose of assassination is a political subversion or usurpation of power. We can easily find such assassinations in Shakespeare. The assassins in Shakespeare can be divided into two types: the first can be the high-class characters, who plan and commit assassination for power, such as Macbeth, Claudius, Richard III, and the party of Brutus; the second can be those who are just hired by the first. This second type characters are usually low class, and a few lines are given to them. But their actions and lines often carry important meanings compared with those of the main characters. This study attempts to classify the assassins in some of Shakespeare’s tragedies and histories, and to observe their roles through which Shakespeare’s vision of human society is presented. Although Shakespeare doesn’t give up his romantic hope of human being and society, he also expresses how hard it is to get hope. Shakespeare’s assassins commonly murder their kings secretly. They feel pain and fear out of guilty conscience, but Shakespeare presents that they can’t give up their desire. Assassination is a significant dramatic means to express this kind of dangerous and immoral desire. But Shakespeare shows that this power doesn’t last long. New powers soon replace them. Especially the main high class characters who commit assassination for ambition are portrayed more cruel and corrupt than the hired low class assassins. The hired assassins play the role of emphasizing the main characters’ greed and cruelty.