Shakespeare

1
Shakespeare

• Wrote four kinds of plays
• ComediesMidsummer Nights Dream
• HistoriesRichard II
• RomancesWinters Tale
• TragediesMacbeth

2
Tragedies

• Four big-time tragedies Hamlet (not the Dr.
  Seuss version which included Green Eggs),
  Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth
• Macbeth was the last of his tragedies. Many
  consider it his best.
• King Lear, however, is most often considered his
  best play of any category.
• Romeo and Juliet, also a tragedy, is considered
  of lesser quality than the big four.

3
Classical Tragedy

• requirements of a tragedy as set out in
  Aristotles Poetics
• tragedy is when bad things happen to good people
• protagonist is high-born
• protagonist has a fatal flaw
• the tragedy of the play flows from this fatal flaw

4
Classical Tragedy cont.

• at some time (usually at the end) the protagonist
  has a moment of realization where he or she
  discovers what has happened and why they are
  responsible
• the action (according to Aristotle) should take
  place in a day or less. In later times, this
  meant a constriction or concentration of time.
• the tragedy will have an antagonist (or, if male,
  an uncletagonist)the bad guy