Shakespearean Tragedy

A Shakespearean Tragedy is a tragedy that is attributed to William Shakespeare and depicts the downfall of a noble protagonist through a combination of personal flaws, external pressures, and often supernatural influences.

• AKA: Shakespeare Tragedy, Shakespearean Tragic Play.
• Context:
  • It can typically feature a Noble Protagonist with a shakespearean tragic flaw who experiences a shakespearean downfall leading to a fatal conclusion.
  • It can typically depict a Shakespearean Tragic Hero who possesses a shakespearean fatal flaw (hamartia) such as shakespearean ambition, shakespearean jealousy, or shakespearean indecision.
  • It can typically follow a Shakespearean Tragic Structure with shakespearean exposition, shakespearean rising action, shakespearean climax, and shakespearean catastrophe.
  • It can typically incorporate Shakespearean Tragic Language with shakespearean verse, shakespearean prose, and shakespearean rhetorical devices to heighten emotional impact.
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  • It can often feature Shakespearean Soliloquy to reveal a character's shakespearean inner thoughts and shakespearean psychological turmoil.
  • It can often include Shakespearean Dramatic Irony where the shakespearean audience knows more about the shakespearean tragic outcome than the shakespearean characters do.
  • It can often utilize Shakespearean Supernatural Elements such as shakespearean ghosts, shakespearean witches, or shakespearean prophecy that influence the shakespearean tragic plot.
  • It can often depict Shakespearean Court Intrigue involving shakespearean political machinations, shakespearean betrayals, and shakespearean power struggles.
  • It can often explore Shakespearean Moral Dilemmas that force shakespearean characters to make shakespearean difficult decisions with shakespearean tragic consequences.
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  • It can range from being a Historical Shakespearean Tragedy to being a Fictional Shakespearean Tragedy, depending on its shakespearean source material.
  • It can range from being a Roman Shakespearean Tragedy to being a British Shakespearean Tragedy, depending on its shakespearean setting.
  • It can range from being an Early Shakespearean Tragedy to being a Late Shakespearean Tragedy, depending on its shakespearean composition period.
  • It can range from being a Simple Shakespearean Tragedy to being a Complex Shakespearean Tragedy, depending on its shakespearean plot structure.
  • It can range from being a Personal Shakespearean Tragedy to being a Political Shakespearean Tragedy, depending on its shakespearean thematic focus.
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  • It can have Shakespearean Tragic Dialogue that employs shakespearean verse, shakespearean prose, and shakespearean rhetorical devices to express shakespearean character psychology.
  • It can have Shakespearean Tragic Imagery that utilizes shakespearean nature metaphors, shakespearean animal symbolism, and shakespearean cosmic references to reinforce shakespearean thematic elements.
  • It can have Shakespearean Tragic Scenes that build shakespearean tension, reveal shakespearean character motivations, and advance the shakespearean tragic plot.
  • It can have Shakespearean Tragic Subtext that communicates shakespearean social critique, shakespearean political commentary, and shakespearean philosophical inquiry.
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  • It can be performed in Shakespearean Theater settings ranging from shakespearean original staging to shakespearean modern adaptations.
  • It can be studied through Shakespearean Literary Analysis focusing on shakespearean textual interpretation, shakespearean character study, and shakespearean thematic exploration.
  • It can be researched within Shakespearean Historical Context examining shakespearean elizabethan society, shakespearean jacobean politics, and shakespearean renaissance worldview.
  • It can be interpreted through Shakespearean Critical Theory including shakespearean feminist readings, shakespearean psychoanalytic approaches, and shakespearean postcolonial perspectives.
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• Examples:
  • Shakespearean Royal Tragedy examples, such as:
    • Shakespearean King Tragedys, such as:
      • King Lear (Shakespearean Tragedy) depicting a shakespearean monarch's shakespearean descent into shakespearean madness after dividing his kingdom.
      • Macbeth (Shakespearean Tragedy) showing a shakespearean thane's shakespearean corruption through shakespearean ambition and shakespearean supernatural influence.
      • Richard III (Shakespearean Tragedy) portraying a shakespearean royal villain's shakespearean rise and shakespearean fall.
    • Shakespearean Prince Tragedys, such as:
      • Hamlet (Shakespearean Tragedy) featuring a shakespearean danish prince's shakespearean psychological conflict and shakespearean revenge quest.
      • Titus Andronicus (Shakespearean Tragedy) depicting a shakespearean roman general's shakespearean vengeance cycle and shakespearean gruesome downfall.
  • Shakespearean Romantic Tragedy examples, such as:
    • Romeo and Juliet (Shakespearean Tragedy) portraying shakespearean star-crossed lovers caught between shakespearean family feuds.
    • Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespearean Tragedy) showing shakespearean political leaders undone by shakespearean passion and shakespearean conflicting loyalty.
    • Othello (Shakespearean Tragedy) depicting a shakespearean military leader destroyed by shakespearean jealousy and shakespearean manipulation.
  • Shakespearean Political Tragedy examples, such as:
    • Julius Caesar (Shakespearean Tragedy) exploring shakespearean political assassination and its shakespearean consequences.
    • Coriolanus (Shakespearean Tragedy) examining shakespearean political pride and shakespearean class conflict.
    • Timon of Athens (Shakespearean Tragedy) showing shakespearean misanthropy resulting from shakespearean betrayal by shakespearean false friends.
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• Counter-Examples:
  • Shakespearean Comedy, which features shakespearean humorous situations, shakespearean romantic complications, and shakespearean happy endings with shakespearean reconciliation and often shakespearean marriage, unlike the fatal conclusions of shakespearean tragedy.
  • Shakespearean History Play, which dramatizes shakespearean historical events and shakespearean historical figures with a focus on shakespearean english monarchy and shakespearean national identity, rather than the primarily fictional narratives of many shakespearean tragedies.
  • Shakespearean Romance, which blends shakespearean tragic elements with shakespearean comedic components and shakespearean fantastical elements, typically ending in shakespearean reconciliation and shakespearean redemption rather than shakespearean catastrophe.
  • Modern Tragedy, which often focuses on ordinary protagonists rather than the noble protagonists of shakespearean tragedy, and typically explores modern social issues rather than the courtly settings of shakespearean tragedy.
  • Greek Tragedy, which predates shakespearean tragedy and follows stricter formal conventions including greek chorus, unity of time, unity of place, and unity of action that are not strictly observed in shakespearean tragedy.
• See: Shakespearean Drama, Elizabethan Tragedy, Jacobean Tragedy, Revenge Tragedy, William Shakespeare, Aristotelian Tragedy, Renaissance Theater, English Literature.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespearean_tragedy Retrieved:2016-2-22.
  • Shakespearean tragedy is the classification of drama written by William Shakespeare which has a noble protagonist, who is flawed in some way, placed in a stressful heightened situation and ends with a fatal conclusion. The plots of Shakespearean tragedy focus on the reversal of fortune of the central character(s) which leads to their ruin and ultimately, death. Shakespeare wrote several different classifications of plays throughout his career and the labeling of his plays into categories is disputed amongst different sources and scholars. There are 10 Shakespeare plays which are always classified as tragedies and several others which are disputed; there are also Shakespeare plays which fall into the classifications of comedy, history, or romance/tragicomedy that share fundamental attributes of a Shakespeare tragedy but do not wholly fit in to the category. The plays which provide the strongest fundamental examples of the genre of Shakespearean tragedy are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.

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