The Tragedies
In his tragedies Shakespeare adopts the classical Greek definition of tragedy put forward by
Aristotle in his Poetics – they all show a great man brought to a tragic end through the
ineluctable workings of a fatal flaw. The flaw, in some circumstances, could be considered a
strength, but as the plays develop it always turns out to be an Achilles’ heel. For example,
Macbeth’s ambition is a great driving force in his career, but, taken to excess, it leads to his
downfall. With Lear, the tragic flaw is pride; in Othello, it is jealousy (though it was Othello’s
enormous possessiveness towards Desdemona that led to his gaining such a brilliant wife in
the first place); while with Hamlet it is indecision. Seeing both sides of every argument and
questioning the validity of your own motives can be a strength but Hamlet takes it too far.
1 y Macbeth
Quote: ‘Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.’
Dramatis Personae
1
MACBETH
2
BANQUO
1.
generals of the King’s army
3
MACDUFF
4
LADY MACBETH
5
THREE WITCHES
6
DUNCAN, King of Scotland
7
FLEANCE, son to Banquo
Macbeth takes ambition as its central pillar, as King Lear takes pride. The play recounts the
rise of the Scottish nobleman Macbeth in the 11th century AD from leading chieftain in
Scotland, through various bloody deeds, towards kingship. Egged on by both his wife and by
mystical powers, he commits murder after murder, but is finally overcome by the forces of
righteousness.
Three witches prophesy that Macbeth will be king and Banquo will be father to a line of
kings. Lady Macbeth urges her husband to murder the King. Macbeth is crowned and, to stop
the witches’ prophecy being fulfilled, he hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance,
but Fleance escapes. Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo and he seeks out the witches who tell
him to beware of Macduff, and repeat that descendants of Banquo will become kings.
Macbeth has Macduff’s wife and children murdered; Macduff and his men besiege Macbeth’s
castle. Lady Macbeth commits suicide, Macduff kills Macbeth, and Malcolm, the eldest son
of Duncan, becomes King.
2 y Othello, the Moor of Venice
Quote: ‘Oh beware, my Lord, of jealousy It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the
meat it feeds on.’
Dramatis Personae
1
OTHELLO, a noble Moor in the service of the Venetian state
2
CASSIO, his lieutenant
3
IAGO, his servant
4
RODERIGO, a Venetian gentleman
5
DESDEMONA, daughter to Brabantio and wife to Othello
6
BIANCA, mistress to Cassio
Othello is considered by many to be Shakespeare’s most personal play. It shows the marriage
between the black Arab or Moor, Othello, and the white Italian Renaissance virgin
Desdemona. Iago and Roderigo, in love with Desdemona, plot against Othello and his
lieutenant, Cassio, by making Othello suspect Desdemona and Cassio of adultery. At the
close, Othello kills Desdemona, but then realises he has been misled by his evil servant Iago.
Filled with guilt and remorse, he kills himself.
The speed with which Othello becomes insanely jealous and the pressure and the violence of
his emotions, have led many critics to believe that these were emotions that Shakespeare had
personally experienced.
3 y King Lear
Quote: ‘How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.’
Dramatis Personae
1
LEAR, King of Britain
2
FOOL
3
GONERIL
2.
daughters to Lear
4
REGAN
5
CORDELIA
King Lear, like Cymbeline, takes ancient Britain as its stage. The king, Lear, retires and
divides his kingdom between two of his daughters, Regan and Goneril, who have won favour
with him through flattery. As in Timon of Athens, the theme of ingratitude emerges, as the
daughters compete for dominance, reject Lear, and cast him out.
Lear’s other daughter, Cordelia, is married to the King of France without a dowry. Having
refused to flatter her father, she has been cut out of Lear’s division of the kingdom. Hearing
of his plight, Cordelia brings an army from France to rescue him, but she is murdered. Lear,
with the daughter to whom he had been unkind and who had tried to rescue him dead, and
with those to whom he had given everything now rejecting him, goes mad and perishes.
4 y HamletPrince of Denmark
Quote: ‘To be or not to be. That is the question.’
Dramatis Personae
1
CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark
2
HAMLET, son to the late, and nephew to the present, King
3
POLONIUS, Lord Chamberlain
4
HORATIO, friend to Hamlet
5
LAERTES, son to Polonius
6
TWO CLOWNS, gravediggers
7
GHOST of Hamlet’s father
8
GERTRUDE, Queen of Denmark, and mother to Hamlet
9
OPHELIA, daughter to Polonius
10 ROSENCRANTZ
3. Courtiers
11 GUILDENSTERN
12 FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway
Hamlet is a revenge tragedy in which a wronged son seeks revenge against those who have
committed crimes, in this case the murder of his father and the ‘theft’ of the crown of
Denmark. What adds eternal lustre to this particular theme is that Hamlet is too intelligent to
simply carry out the acts of revenge, and constantly questions his own motives. Ultimately he
goes too far in questioning, and obscures rather than clarifies the situations he’s trying to
resolve.
Hamlet is told by the ghost of his father that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, now
King. Hamlet feigns madness while plotting revenge. He organises a play depicting his
father’s death to confirm Claudius’ guilt. While warning his mother, Hamlet kills Polonius,
who is eavesdropping. Claudius sends Hamlet to England to be killed but he escapes and
returns to Denmark.
Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter, once loved by Hamlet, has drowned herself. The King proposes
a duel between Hamlet and the son of Polonius, Laertes. Hamlet is wounded by a poisoned
sword which he then takes to kill Laertes and the King. The Queen drinks poisoned wine
prepared for Hamlet, and Hamlet dies from his own wound.