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Hamlet and Oblomov: A Comparative Study

Received: 4 August 2015     Accepted: 14 August 2015     Published: 10 November 2015
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Abstract

The aim of this research paper is to explore by comparing and contrasting between the two literary characters Hamlet and Oblomov how they are in their essence indecisive that are exploited by William Shakespeare and Ivan Goncharov in different historical ages to project different visions of the human situation. Every author is influenced by his age to certain degrees and if the art of characterization of William Shakespeare is set against that of Ivan Goncharov, it is because of the difference of ideological perspectives. William Shakespeare’s character Hamlet comes from the Renaissance England and Ivan Goncharov’s character Oblomov comes from the nineteenth century Russia. The former is in certain ways different from the latter despite the fact that those traits of the both characters are the same as indecision and procrastination. The comparison and contrast will be highlighted in this paper in terms of Marxist hermeneutics, which is scientific theory and method of analyzing the social and literary types in the context of class milieu. Applying Marxist literary hermeneutics to the art of characterization of both the authors, the present study tries to introduce new portrait and re-evaluation of the personages of the two literary types in an innovative perspective.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17
Page(s) 108-119
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov, Sluggishness, Procrastination, Indecision, Hamletism and Oblomovism

References
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  • APA Style

    Javed Akhter, Shumaila Abdullah, Khair Muhammad. (2015). Hamlet and Oblomov: A Comparative Study. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 3(5), 108-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17

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    ACS Style

    Javed Akhter; Shumaila Abdullah; Khair Muhammad. Hamlet and Oblomov: A Comparative Study. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2015, 3(5), 108-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17

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    AMA Style

    Javed Akhter, Shumaila Abdullah, Khair Muhammad. Hamlet and Oblomov: A Comparative Study. Int J Lit Arts. 2015;3(5):108-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17,
      author = {Javed Akhter and Shumaila Abdullah and Khair Muhammad},
      title = {Hamlet and Oblomov: A Comparative Study},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {3},
      number = {5},
      pages = {108-119},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20150305.17},
      abstract = {The aim of this research paper is to explore by comparing and contrasting between the two literary characters Hamlet and Oblomov how they are in their essence indecisive that are exploited by William Shakespeare and Ivan Goncharov in different historical ages to project different visions of the human situation. Every author is influenced by his age to certain degrees and if the art of characterization of William Shakespeare is set against that of Ivan Goncharov, it is because of the difference of ideological perspectives. William Shakespeare’s character Hamlet comes from the Renaissance England and Ivan Goncharov’s character Oblomov comes from the nineteenth century Russia. The former is in certain ways different from the latter despite the fact that those traits of the both characters are the same as indecision and procrastination. The comparison and contrast will be highlighted in this paper in terms of Marxist hermeneutics, which is scientific theory and method of analyzing the social and literary types in the context of class milieu. Applying Marxist literary hermeneutics to the art of characterization of both the authors, the present study tries to introduce new portrait and re-evaluation of the personages of the two literary types in an innovative perspective.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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    AB  - The aim of this research paper is to explore by comparing and contrasting between the two literary characters Hamlet and Oblomov how they are in their essence indecisive that are exploited by William Shakespeare and Ivan Goncharov in different historical ages to project different visions of the human situation. Every author is influenced by his age to certain degrees and if the art of characterization of William Shakespeare is set against that of Ivan Goncharov, it is because of the difference of ideological perspectives. William Shakespeare’s character Hamlet comes from the Renaissance England and Ivan Goncharov’s character Oblomov comes from the nineteenth century Russia. The former is in certain ways different from the latter despite the fact that those traits of the both characters are the same as indecision and procrastination. The comparison and contrast will be highlighted in this paper in terms of Marxist hermeneutics, which is scientific theory and method of analyzing the social and literary types in the context of class milieu. Applying Marxist literary hermeneutics to the art of characterization of both the authors, the present study tries to introduce new portrait and re-evaluation of the personages of the two literary types in an innovative perspective.
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Author Information
  • Department of English Literature and Linguistics, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

  • Department of English Literature and Linguistics, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

  • Department of English Literature and Linguistics, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

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