The Nature of Trust in Three Shakespearean Tragedies

Abstract

Shakespeare was one of the greatest dramatists that ever lived in the tide of time. Shakespeare, though dead, still lives on through his works. His literary works have received massive scholarly attention than those of any dead or living poet. The nature of trust is an essential element in every relationship. Research has shown that when trust no longer exists, teamwork, leadership positions and relationships are bound to fail. Shakespeare's tragedies are woven around the nature of trust to establish the conflict in the plays. The trust could be betrayed in the case of young Hamlet or could be manipulated to trust a wrong person or a wrong council in the case of Othello and Macbeth. This study seeks to highlight the various constructions of the betrayal of trust in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth and the various manipulations employed to break the trust in the existing relationship between the tragic heroes and their loved ones. And also to critique the social institutions which make these constructions possible and showcase the often negative consequences of the betrayal of trust in the lives of characters. This study is a qualitative one; the study's significance is in the quest that Shakespeare's tragedies are woven around the nature of trust and trust is key in every sphere of human life and this work will also open a new window of scholarship in Shakespeare's tragedies.