• Preeti Lata

Shakespeare's comedies, historical dramas, tragedies, and tragic-comedies are only a few of the many plays that feature the interconnected and interdependent topic of power and knowledge. In Shakespeare's writings, knowledge and power are closely correlated. Shakespeare builds his storyline and characters in a realistic manner. He very minutely borrows everything from society and from human behaviour. We are all aware that power and politics are always at play in our society, and that this is true even in our own households. Shakespeare therefore appropriates this power struggle from society and elaborates on it in many of his plays, including his comedies, where we see this power struggle between men and women. Shakespeare does, however, associate power with knowledge, not the physical or military might. Through his plays, he expresses his concept that whomever has knowledge will also have power, and that whoever has authority will unavoidably have some fatal defect. The other characters are able to gain power because they are aware of this terrible weakness. For instance, Lear's tragic defect in King Lear is his overwhelming egotism and uncontrollable rage. We see the same power-knowledge dynamic in both his tragedies and comedies as well as in his historical or chronicle plays. The historical dramas may be divided into two different categories: those that examine kingly frailty and those that examine kingly might. Because knowledge leads to power and power leads to tragic flaw, the power-knowledge relationship in Shakespeare's plays is exceedingly sensitive and fluid. But in his plays, God or some other supernatural force is always the mastermind.

Power, knowledge, republic, dictatorship, tragic flaw and tragedy

"Shakespeare demonstrates how Knowledge produces Power, and Power produces Tragic Flaw", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 4, page no.m726-m728, April-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2304C96.pdf

"Shakespeare demonstrates how Knowledge produces Power, and Power produces Tragic Flaw", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 4, page no. ppm726-m728, April-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2304C96.pdf