Keywords

Catharsis, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Contemporary Music

Abstract

The definition of catharsis has changed since the time of Aristotle. A person does not only experience catharsis out of pity or fear from theatric tragedies; they also experience it through laughter, love, and simply immersing themselves into the emotions presented by different forms of media. This essay reviews the catharsis one can experience through contemporary music and Shakespeare as they become submersed in the emotions and spectacle of each respective media. In this essay, I compare and contrast contemporary music and Shakespeare text and performance in order to relate them to this new definition of catharsis by including different genres of Shakespeare’s work and contemporary music with different meaning This new definition of catharsis will aid readers in fully enjoying Shakespeare as they can relate to the different stories and characters represented in his literature by immersing themselves into his work and allowing themselves to experience that release of emotions.