This thesis considered seven aspects of the relationship of the tragic hero with his world in the four major tragedies of Shakespear—Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear—and in four tragedies of Sophocles—Oedipus, Antigone, Ajax and Women of Trachis. All the plays with the exception of Women of Trachis, were found depicting a hero who represented his society and had freedom of choice and action, but whose mistaken view of himself and his role in life led to conflict with the cosmos, to rebellion and a trial by suffering which resulted in a kind of insanity, and finally to self-recognition through submission and purgation.The thesis also discussed Sophocles’ and Shakespeare’s concern with justice as reflected in their use of trial imagery, and Shakespear’s indebtedness to the classic chain of being concept and to the Platonic emphasis on reason and courage in a hero, or leader.

Program--Tübingen (Doktorenverzeichnis der Philosophischen Facultät).

Inaug.-Diss.--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität zu München. / Bibliography: p. 242-246.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität zu München, 1958. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. iii-v) and index.

Thesis--Utrecht. / Vita. Summary in German. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 285-291.

Proefschrift--Utrecht. / "Stellingen" (4 p.) laid in. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität zu Köln. / Includes index. Bibliography: p. 203-216.

Slight revision of the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Passau, Wintersemester 2005/2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-369) and index.

Gothic literary works are characterized as such by their ability to represent and evoke terror. The form this representation takes is varied; often terror originates in the atmospheric effects of settings, in the appearance of mysterious, supposedly supernatural phenomena, and, perhaps most significantly, in the behavior of villainous characters. Shakespearean tragedy participates in just such an exploration of the origins and effects of terror. This thesis will examine three aspects of the Shakespearean Gothic in three of his most frightening and disturbing tragedies: Macbeth, King Lear and Titus Andronicus. All three of these texts represent terror in ways that are significant not only for genre studies but for historicist cultural studies as well. Shakespeare's particular vision of the terrible tends to represent unruly women and ethnic minorities as demonized others who threaten normalized social and moral order, and also evokes a religious dread--a fear of the cruelty or, more radically, the nonexistence of God--that would have proved particularly disturbing for Early Modem Christian culture. This reading of Shakespeare demonstrates both the influence of his vision on later writers and the trans-historic applicability of the Gothic aesthetic. / Graduation date: 2004

Inaugural-Dissertation--München, 1934.