Friedrich Niezsche, "The Birth of Tragedy"

In Friedrich Nietzsche's essay he places much emphasis on the Dionysian state and the Dionysian man, so it is necessary to look at these two further before responding to the essay. According to the Free Dictionary by Farlex, Dionysian is of an ecstatic, orgiastic, or irrational nature; frenzied or undisciplined. According to the History Guide, the Dionysian man is one of two central principles in Greek culture. Drunkenness, madness, and all forms of enthusiasm and ecstasy are considered Dionysian because they break down a man's individual character. Nietzche claims that the Dionysian man resembles Hamlet because they have both "gained knowledge" but make no action because it could not change anything in the eternal nature of things. I agree that Hamlet resembles the Dionysian man in his act to lose his mind, but I don't agree that "knowledge kills action." Hamlet has knowledge but even as he encounters the ghost and hears its story he vows to avenge its murder, which would be considered taking action despite the fact that not much would change in the larger picture of the world. In this way I agree with Nietzche's comparison of the character and the idea, but I do not believe that they are completely parallel in every way.