Studying The Tragic Element In Tchaikovsky's Music

Tragic element is one of the typical characteristics in Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's music, and it is the artistic generalization as well as the vivid portrayal of his life. The profoundly affecting tragic element in his compositions is based on the society and his personal life. Besides, the strong attachment to his mother, Oedipus Complex, grips him constantly, forming one of the main founts of the tragic element fully filled in his music. Fantasy overture Hamlet is the representative work of Tchaikovsky's Oedipus Complex. Through the affirmation of the resonance between Tchaikovsky and Hamlet from the drama in Oedipus Complex, it is easy to grasp the motivation for the creation of the work and the composer's feelings implicit in it. Thereby, one of the sources of the tragic element in his music can be classified, and the goal of understanding his music more deeply and profoundly can be fulfilled.According to the collection, classification, and analysis of the materials relating to Tchaikovsky's life, emotions, and music compositions, the paper takes the fantasy overture Hamlet as the research project, centers on the resonance between the composer and Hamlet from the drama, and intends to analyze more clearly the tragic elements in Tchaikovsky's music from the perspectives of psychological analysis and related knowledge along with theories in literature.This paper falls into three parts.Part one summarizes the tragic element in Tchaikovsky's music. It concentrates on the reviews of the tragic element in Tchaikovsky's music, including the social background, the cultural background, and the marital status.Part two deals with the resonance between Tchaikovsky and Hamlet, and reveals the hard fact that Tchaikovsky's Oedipus Complex is one of the main reasons for the tragic element in his music. Driven by this resonance, the fantasy overture comes into being. This part details Hamlet's Oedipus Complex, Tchaikovsky's Oedipus complex, and the tragic sense brought by this emotion.Part three interprets the tragic element of Tchaikovsky's fantasy overture Hamlet—the birth of the resonance. By utilizing music analysis (the related background and creative techniques), this part gives a detailed analysis of embodiment of the tragic feeling in the composition which is caused by the Oedipus Complex, and accomplishes the interpretation of this work.