A few days ago, I got home late, feeling tired, extremely stressed, and overwhelmed with everything that I had to do. After a long day at work and a pretty miserable commute, I had a huge amount of additional work waiting for me at home.
By the end of the night, I felt like I had reached my limit and wanted to just shut everything out and curl up in bed. At this point, I obviously turned to Shakespeare. (Don’t we all? And yes, cue the nerd jokes.) I turned on one of my favorite Shakespeare film adaptations. The one I chose to watch was a tragedy. There’s something about it that always really speaks to me and I always feel oddly peaceful after watching it.
As I turned it on and watched the opening scenes, I wondered why I would purposely choose something tragic after a day when all I wanted was a bit of relief and some space to breathe. I’ve heard some people say that they don’t like sad movies or sad books because there is already enough sadness in their life without fictional tragedies adding to it. But from my point of view, tragedies (at least the best of them–which Shakespeare’s obviously are) can be surprisingly therapeutic and comforting. I think there are a few reasons why.
First of all, I think there is an element of, “Well at least I’m not that bad off.” As bad as things may be at a given moment when you’re having a bad day, at least you didn’t just have your eyes gouged out. At least you weren’t killed by one of your best friends. At least you weren’t just overthrown from your position as King.
Secondly, many of these tragic heroes are just that: heroes. In the midst of a horrible week, maybe we like to think that somehow our suffering is noble and that it has a purpose. The question of whether there is purpose in pain is complex and loaded; I don’t know that I will ever be able to articulate a coherent thought about it. But I think most of us want to believe that there is.
Lastly, many of these tragic heroes come to terms with their tragedies at some point, even if it doesn’t last. I think there is something very compelling about watching someone else find some peace within their less-than-ideal circumstances. It gives us perspective. One of the most powerful moments in any play or book or movie I have seen is the end of Hamlet when we watch the title character dying. There is a tremendous sense of peace about his last lines. The only thing he wants is for his friend to tell his story. Likewise, the most powerful lines in Macbeth are the handful of lines that he speaks after learning of his wife’s death. They are a search for meaning – a search for peace.
That is the most powerful aspect of tragedies to me. As much as I love the comedies, I think this is why I don’t know that I will ever feel as connected to them as I do to the Bard’s darker work. And it’s why I turn to Shakespeare’s darkest and deepest works when I am at my worst.
