Beyond Aristotle: Re-Theorizing Tragedy through the Ozidi Saga in Dialogue with Hamlet

Abstract

This study interrogates the adequacy of Aristotle’s Classical theory of tragedy through a comparative analysis of Hamlet and the Ozidi Saga. While Aristotelian Poetics locates tragedy in individual error (hamartia) and its cathartic resolution, this paper argues that such framework is insufficient for interpreting non-western dramatic traditions. Drawing on the Roman tragic model associated with Seneca the Younger and the African metaphysical perspective articulated by Wole Soyinka, the study develops a four-layer theoretical framework that re-conceptualizes tragedy as an evolving and culturally contingent form. Through close textual and comparative analysis, it demonstrates that Hamlet reflects a hybrid tragic structure shaped by Aristotelian and Senecan elements, particularly in its emphasis on psychological conflict, revenge, and moral hesitation. In contrast, the Ozidi Saga redefines tragedy through communal obligation, ritual enactment, and supernatural determinism, where the hero’s actions are governed less by personal flaw than by ancestral and cosmic necessity. The study concludes that tragedy should be understood not as a universal genre grounded in individual experience, but as a dynamic continuum shaped by cultural, philosophical, and metaphysical forces. This reconceptualization contributes to ongoing efforts to decolonize literary theory and to develop more inclusive frameworks for the study of world drama.