9. FUNCTIONS OF HOMICIDE IN SHAKESPEARE'S TRAGEDIES : A READING OF "HAMLET AND MACBETH" Auteur: KLOUTSE Biava Kodjo

Tragedies are known for the bloodshed they encompass. It is therefore essential to examine William Shakespeare's tragedies to determine the role of death in resolving and shaping the plot. Two of Shakespeare's tragedies relevant to this study are «Hamlet» and «Macbeth». Both are characterised by being opened and closed in bloodshed. The current article adopts a semiotic approach grounded in Peirce's observation that an index is linked to its referent. In this view, signs indicate the existence or the process of revealing a matter. In this perspective, signs are predictive elements, and analysing indices leads to conclusions. The current work demonstrates that death has multiple roles in the development of the plays