“ Tragedy of Shakespeare’’

FINAL DRAFT SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE COURSE

TLTLED-

LAW AND LITERATURE

Submitted by: Submitted to:

AMISHA PRAKASH Dr. Pratyush Kaushik

ROLL NO:2005 (2nd Semester)

B.B.A .LL.B,CNLU,PATNA

Academic session-2018-2023

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Nyaya Nagar ,Mithapur,Patna 80001

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my privilege to record my deep sense to perform gratitude to those who helped me in

completion of this project.

In making of this project many people helped me immensely directly or indirectly. I sincerely
acknowledge the help rendered to by our faculty DR. PRATYUSH KAUSHIK ho had given me
an idea and encouragement in making this project. I also acknowledge the help of library and my
staff and my friends for being cordial in order to make conductive environment of the CNLU
hostel.

AMISHA PRAKASH

2nd SEMESTER

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DECLARATION OF THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work report in the B.B.A LLB (Hons.) Project report entitled “ Tragedy
of Shakespeare’’submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY is an authentic
record of my work carried out under supervision of DR. PRATYUSH KAUSHIK. I have not
submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma . I am fully responsible for my
project report.

SIGNATURE OF THE CANDIDATE

NAME OF THE CANDIDATE ; AMISHA PRAKASH

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ,PATNA

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Contents
1) An introduction to Shakespearean Tragedy ............................................................................ 5
2) Short Biography of William Shakespeare............................................................................... 6
3) Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy......................................................................... 10
4) Difference Between Classical Greek Tragedy and Shakespearean Tragedy. ....................... 11
5) DEATH OF CORDELIA--KING LEAR: ............................................................................ 13
6) Macbeth................................................................................................................................. 17
5.1) Macbeth as tragedy ............................................................................................................ 18
5.2) Macbeth as a Tragedy According to Aristotle's Definition ............................................... 18
5.3) Summary........................................................................................................................ 19
5.4) Tragedy In Macbeth Essay .................................................................................................... 21
7) “HAMLET”- A REVENGE TRAGEDY: ............................................................................ 22
8) Romeo and Juliet................................................................................................................... 24
9) CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 28

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 1) An introduction to Shakespearean Tragedy
Despite their dazzling diversity, the tragedies of Shakespeare gain their enduring power from a
shared dramatic vision, argues Kiernan Ryan.

When we think about Shakespearean tragedy, the plays we usually have in mind are Titus
Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and
Cleopatra and Coriolanus. That core list of nine can be expanded to twelve, however, if we
include the history plays Richard III and Richard II, both of which were also billed as tragedies
in Shakespeare’s day, and Timon of Athens, whose claim to inclusion is more questionable, but
which is listed as one of the tragedies on the contents page (the ‘Catalogue’) of the 1623 First
Folio. So, for that matter, is Cymbeline, though no one could make a credible case for its
belonging there, when it plainly belongs with the late romances – Pericles, The Winter’s Tale
and The Tempest – with which it’s long been grouped. Troilus and Cressida, on the other hand,
despite being advertised in an earlier edition as a first-rate comedy, is also entitled a tragedy in
the First Folio, but not listed at all in the Catalogue and placed ambiguously – as befits its
unclassifiable nature – between the histories and the tragedies.

The more one ponders the question of what qualifies as a Shakespearean tragedy, the more
complicated it can become. So modern studies of Shakespeare’s tragedies tend to focus on the
plays whose right to the title is undisputed, and treat each one separately as a self-contained
tragedy, leaving the question of what unites them unaddressed or unresolved. There’s a lot to be
said for approaching each tragedy first and foremost as a unique work of dramatic art in its own
right. And the temptation to boil them all down to the same generic formula should obviously be
resisted. But it would be equally misguided to rule out the possibility of identifying what the
tragedies have in common without dissolving the differences between them. For that would mean
denying the strong sense most people have, when watching or reading these plays, that there’s
something distinctively Shakespearean about their tragic vision that sets them apart from other
kinds of tragedy.

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 2) Short Biography of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616). English poet and playwright – Shakespeare is widely
considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd April 1564.His father

William was a successful local businessman, and his mother Mary was the daughter of a
landowner. Relatively prosperous, it is likely the family paid for Williams education, although
there is no evidence he attended university. In 1582 William, aged only 18, married an older
woman named Anne Hathaway. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Juliet. Their only
son Hamnet died aged just 11. Aafter his marriage, information about the life of Shakespeare is
sketchy, but it seems he spent most of his time in London – writing and acting in his plays.

Due to some well-timed investments, Shakespeare was able to secure a firm financial
background, leaving time for writing and acting. The best of these investments was buying some
real estate near Stratford in 1605, which soon doubled in value.

It seemed Shakespeare didn’t mind being absent from his family – he only returned home during
Lent when all the theatres were closed. It is thought that during the 1590s he wrote the majority
of his sonnets. This was a time of prolific writing and his plays developed a good deal of interest
and controversy. His early plays were mainly comedies (e.g. Much Ado about Nothing, A
Midsummer’s Night Dream) and histories (e.g. Henry V).

By the early Seventeenth Century, Shakespeare had begun to write plays in the genre of tragedy.
These plays, such as Hamlet, Othello and King Lear, often hinge on some fatal error or flaw in
the lead character and provide fascinating insights into the darker aspects of human nature. These
later plays are considered Shakespeare’s finest achievements.

Some academics, known as the “Oxfords,” claim that Shakespeare never actually wrote any
plays. They contend Shakespeare was actually just a successful businessman, and for authorship
suggest names such as Edward de Vere. Nevertheless, there is evidence of Shakespeare in
theatres as he received a variety of criticism from people such as Ben Johnson and Robert
Greene. When writing an introduction to Shakespeare’s First Folio of published plays in 1623,
Johnson wrote of Shakespeare: “not of an age, but for all time”

Shakespeare the Poet

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William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets mostly in the 1590s. These short poems, deal with issues
such as lost love. His sonnets have an enduring appeal due to his formidable skill with language
and words.

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:”

– Sonnet CXVI .

The Plays of Shakespeare

The plays of Shakespeare have been studied more than any other writing in the English language
and have been translated into numerous languages. He was rare as a play-write for excelling in
tragedies, comedies and histories. He deftly combined popular entertainment with an
extraordinary poetic capacity for expression which is almost mantric in quality.

“This above all: to thine ownself be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!”

– Lord Polonius, Hamlet Act I, Scene 3

During his lifetime, Shakespeare was not without controversy, but he also received lavish praise
for his plays which were very popular and commercially successful.

His plays have retained an enduring appeal throughout history and the world. Some of his most
popular plays include:

 Twelfth Night
 Henry V
 Romeo and Juliet
 Macbeth
 Hamlet

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  King Lear
 Othello

“All the world’s a stage,

and all the men and women merely players:

they have their exits and their entrances;

and one man in his time plays many parts…”

—As You Like It, Act II,

Death of Shakespeare

Shakespeare died in 1616; it is not clear how he died, and numerous suggestions have been put
forward. John Ward, the local vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (where Shakespeare is
buried), writes in a diary account that:

“Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and it seems drank too hard, for
Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted.”

In 1616, there was an outbreak of typhus (“The new fever”) which may have been the cause. The
average life expectancy of someone born in London, England in the Sixteenth Century was about
35 years old, Shakespeare died age 52.

Shakespeare’s Epitaph

Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare

To digg the dust encloased heare

Blessed by y man y spares hes stones

And curst be he y moves my bones.

Quotes on Shakespeare

“Shakespeare, no mere child of nature; no automaton of genius; no passive vehicle of inspiration

possessed by the spirit, not possessing it; first studied patiently, meditated deeply, understood
minutely, till knowledge became habitual and intuitive, wedded itself to his habitual feelings, and
at length gave birth to that stupendous power by which he stands alone, with no equal or second
in his own class; to that power which seated him on one of the two glorysmitten summits of the
poetic mountain, with Milton’s his compeer, not rival.”

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Popular quotes of Shakespeare

“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”– Polonius, giving Laertes a pep talk. (Hamlet)

“To be, or not to be: that is the question

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;”– Hamlet

“We are such stuff

As dreams are made on, and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.”– The Tempest (Prospero)

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”-Julius Caesar (Cassius to Brutus)

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“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.” – Macbeth (on learning of the death of Queen)1

3) Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy

William Shakespeare! An equivalent to English literature, if I may say so. Shakespeare is great,
not only because of his writing skills but also because of his art of borrowing, combining and
recreating something new with a twist. His true excellence reflects through his tragic plays which
are read and performed even today. The characteristics of his tragedies that made them stand out
from other literary works.
Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think the above quote applies very well to William Shakespeare's works, for he has created
such beautiful pieces of literature in the form of tragedies. However, the attempt of categorizing
his works under a category is quite difficult because every work of art created by him is an
experiment to create something different from the previous one, and he achieved success each
time. However, there are certain aspects that he has followed consistently in each of his tragedies
and we shall be looking at those aspects. There are some other elements that make the play a
complete form of Shakespearean tragedy, which are dealt in detail in further sections.
Shakespearean tragedies are highly influenced by Greek drama and Aristotle's notion of tragedy.
It was Aristotle who had first described the genre of tragedy in his Poetics which is followed
even today to analyze modern drama. Take a look at the following characteristics shared by most
Shakespearean plays. Most of the tragedies written by Shakespeare are revenge and ambition
tragedies. For instance, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth are the dark tragedies showing
revenge and ambition. However, there is an exception to this in the form of a romantic tragedy,
rather the only romantic tragedy written by Shakespeare and that is Romeo and Juliet. Unlike the
revenge/ambition tragedy, there are two tragic characters in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo becomes
impulsive and acts without thinking about consequences, which causes the separation and
ultimately the death of the two lovers. Coming back to revenge/ambition tragedies, there are
some noticeable features which are dealt with, in the following part. Tragic Structure2

A tragic story (Shakespearean) can be divided into four parts and they are as follows:

1
https://www.biographyonline.net/poets/william_shakespeare.html
2
https://penlighten.com/characteristics-of-shakespearean-tragedy

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  Exposition: Exposition is the beginning of the play where the reader/audience gets to
know the characters and their traits, the general setting of the story, the major conflict in
the story and most importantly, the tragic flaw of the hero. Normally, exposition begins
and ends in the first act itself, however, sometimes there are some characters who enter
late into the story.

 Rising Action: Rising action develops through the second act and extends up to the third
and the fourth act. This is the time when the plot gathers momentum and the action
increases. The plot eventually reaches the crisis where the hero makes a decision that
changes the course of the play, sealing his own fate. For example, Macbeth kills Duncan
in act II whereas Lear's foolish decision to divide the kingdom occurs in act I. This is
how the location of the crisis differs from play to play. By the end of the rising action, the
hero is left alone for the rest of the story.
 Falling Action: From the beginning of the fourth act, the opposite forces become active
and start an open resist. They also start 3. plotting the removal of the tragic hero as a
result of which the power of the tragic hero starts declining.
 Resolution: In the last and final act, the opposite forces reach the full power and defeat
the isolated tragic hero. This is the time when the hero recognizes his faults, yet, cannot
do anything about it.

Shakespeare wrote 10 tragedies in all namely, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius
Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens and Titus Andronicus,
out of which the four dark tragedies, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear are
the most admired. Apart from tragedies, important works of Shakespeare include romantic
comedies, historical plays and 154 love sonnets.3

4) Difference Between Classical Greek Tragedy and Shakespearean

Tragedy.
The essence of tragedy, be it Greek or Shakespearean is the rendering of human suffering and a
contemplation of the nature of man’s destiny in relation to the universe. It is here that all tragedy
is one. But an in depth analysis of the features of tragic drama as was in vogue in ancient Greece
reveals that in structure and conceptualization, classical Greek drama has some differences with
the tragedy as practiced in the Elizabethan times, especially by Shakespeare.

A study of the tragedies written by Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus, shows that ancient
Greek tragedy is basically modeled upon an essentially religious weltanschauung. Accordingly,

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file:///C:/Users/Dell-Pc/Downloads/328824106-Characteristics-of-a-Shakespearean-Tragedy.pdf

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Greek tragedy represents the philosophy of men’s puny insignificance in the face of a colossal
divine power that controls and mostly destroys human life. The emphasis here is laid upon the
inscrutable power of Fate or Destiny, capable of bringing about havoc and ruin to human life.
The utter helplessness of men in his struggle against such a malevolent and uncontrollable divine
power is the substance of classical Greek tragedy. The most obvious example is that of Oedipus
in Oedipus Tyrannous who commits a sin in such ignorance that the impression of an
overwhelming sinister destiny that rules and destroys his life is paramount. Similar examples are
Sophocles’ Antigone or Aeschylus’ Agamemnon.

The most striking contrast in this fatalistic world view of the Greeks’ is found in
Shakespearean tragedy where the entire emphasis is laid upon the responsibility of the individual
in bringing about his ruin. Though Aristotle has pointed out that the Greek tragedies also
portrayed the mistaken actions of the hero and therefore the Greek tragedies also showed an
element of awareness of tragedy resulting from human flaws, the error of judgment of the hero or
his hamartia is always conditioned by Destiny. That is, however much the hero makes mistakes,
the overall impression is that he is led to committing those errors under the snares and pitfalls of
Destiny. In Shakespearean tragedy the emphasis, however, is upon human action independent of
Destiny where, however, the impression of fate working upon man is also not totally negated.
For instance, there is no doubt that Macbeth’s ambition leads to his sacrilegious murder of
Duncan which results is his doom, but there is also the impression of the witches that precipitate
his murder. Similarly Othello’s tragic destiny is brought about entirely by his misjudgments
resulting in his overwhelming Jealousy, but there is also the impression that Othello is so pitted
against certain evil forces over which he has no control. Actually, the Greeks had a Theo centric
vision while the Elizabethans, motivated by the Renaissance laid stress on the vision of an
anthropocentric universe. Hence crux of tragic action lay with a divine power in Greek tragedies
while the individual hero and his actions were of prime importance in a Shakespearean tragedy.

In matters of structure, the Greeks were much more fastidious about the unity of
action. The unity of action implies that the action represented in a play should be just one single
whole without any digressions what so ever. As a natural corollary the unity of action stood the
unities of time and place. The unity of time implied that the time represented in the play should
be limited to the two or three hours it takes to act the play or at most to a single day of either
twelve or twenty four hours. The unity of place implied that the tragic action portrayed in the
play should be limited to a single location. These three unities were observed for the sake of
verisimilitude, that is, for the achievement of an illusion of reality in the audience.
Shakespearean tragedy completely dispenses of these three unities. A Shakespearean tragedy
takes place often in two or three places, and the time taken is much more than twenty-four hours,
often spurning a month or even more. Moreover, often in plays like king Lear or Hamlet there
are sub plots which run counter to the Greek notion of the unity of action.

The Greeks employed the chorus as a dramatic device. The chorus, as stated by Aristotle, was
often a group of characters who remained aloof from the action and commented upon it by
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singing or chanting verses and performing dance like maneuvers on the stage. They represented
traditional, moral, religious and social attitudes and often took part in the action. In
Shakespearean tragedy there is a complete absence of the chorus. Shakespeare needs no chorus
for commentary while the action is what constitutes the play. But whereas in Greek drama the
chorus offered time gaps between two sets of tragic actions; in a Shakespeare play this is
achieved by comic relief. An ideal example is the Porter Scene in Macbeth. In a classical play
there were no room o comic elements in a tragic actions but Shakespeare so artistically
manipulates characters like Foot in King Lear that they become integral to the tragic action.

Finally, the introduction of ghost, witches, strange visions and fearful phenomena that is the
deus ex machina or the supernatural apparatus, which is so rampant in Shakespeare, is never
made use of in Greek tragedies. The witches in Macbeth or Banquo’s Ghost in the same play, or
the Ghost of Hamlet’s father in Hamlet or Caesar’s spirit in Julius Caesar are all instruments of
horror which the Greeks avoided.

It should, however, be kept in mind that these differences in convention and style
should never blind us from the truth that both Shakespeare and Greek tragedies fulfill the same
purpose of presenting before us the enormous vision of human grandeur that issues from the
struggle of man with in transient forces either at work within him or outside and that both these
two types of tragedies show that heroism lies not in victory or defeat but in courageous
endurance of pain and hostility.4

5) DEATH OF CORDELIA--KING LEAR:

“King Lear” is one of the greatest dramas written by Shakespeare. It is a poetic tragedy in
which the good as well as bad characters play their role. King Lear has three daughters; Goneril,
Regan and Cordelia. Cordelia is the youngest daughter. She is an important character of the play.
In the last act, she is hanged and her death seems unjustified. But it is not true. Shakespeare
changed his source material to give his “King Lear” a tragic ending. Thus there is the defeat of
Cordelia’s army,the imprisonment of Lear and Cordelia, and Cordelia’s murder in the prison.
This tragic end did not find favour with some critics who felt Coprdelia’s death is unjustified.
The other school of thought however feels that dramatic inevitability demands the death of
Cordelia. Before justifying Cordelia’s death, it is necessary to understand some points of her
nature.

In the first Act of the Play, when it is Cordelia’s turn to tell her father how much she loves him,
she surprises everybody by saying that she has “nothing” to say. In this context when asked by
her father if she has really nothing to say, Cordelia repeats the word “nothing”. Lear then tells
her:

“Nothing will come of nothing.”

4
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-difference-between-greek-tragedy-294004

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Cordelia elaborates the reply she has already given. She says that he as her father, has brought
her up and loved her and that in return she has always obeyed, loved and honoured him. She says
that when she gets married, half of her love will go to her husband and remaining half for her
father.

This reply irritates Lear and he disinherits her. Then the Duke of Burgundy refuses to marry her
on being told that she will bring him no dowry at all. Cordelia makes a dignified remark:

“Peace be with Burgundy!

Since, that respect of fortune are his love,

I shall not be his wife.”

We also see that she has a deep love for her father. Later in the play, when Cordelia and Lear are
united, she looks after him in his illness. When Lear says that she has sufficient cause to be
annoyed with him, she says: “No cause, no cause.” It is a touching moment in the play. As a
consequence of a plot hatched by Edmond, Cordelia is hanged, and we then see Lear carrying her
dead body. The death of Cordelia comes as a shock to all of us. To justify her death, we should
look at the weakness of her nature.

The whole conduct of Cordelia in the opening scene shows that she is a woman of few words.
She is by nature reticent. She does not believe in showing off her affections for her father. At the
same time, we cannot deny that this incapacity on her part to express her love for her father is a
fault in her nature. If the old man wanted to gratify his dignity, Cordelia should have come out
with some sort of assurance that she loved her father deeply because sometimes it is better for a
person to express his love in words in order to satisfy the other person. There was no need for her
to be as blunt as she has proved to be. Her father is aware that she loves him the best but he
wants to hear her speak about her love; and her failure to speak annoys him greatly. Thus the
fault is not entirely on Lear’s side; Cordelia cannot completely be exonerated. Her sere nature
proves to be the, cause of Lear’s undoing (ruin) and her undoing too. Later on, when she comes
to fight against the British Forces, she makes it clear that it is not on account of any military
ambition or any desire for conquest that this invasion is taking place but on account of her love
for her father an for the restoration of his rights to him. Thus it cannot be another fault because
she could succeed in her purpose by some other means than by fighting.

Bradley rightly points out that Cordelia suffers from a tragic imperfection. It is true that she is
deeply wronged by Lear in the opening scene, but we cannot assert that she her was wholly rig in
her behaviour. At a moment, when a momentous issue is under discussion, Fate makes on her the
one demand which she is unable to meet. It is a demand which other heroin of Shakespeare’s
plays could have met. They could have made the old, unreasonable king feel that he was loved
fondly by them .But Cordelia could not do so because she is Cordelia. We neither blame her, nor
justify her completely; we simply experience the tragic emotions of pity. It is noteworthy that

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Cordelia is not always reticent; she is not always tongue-tied as several passages show in the
play. But tender emotion, for her father makes her dumb as she says:

“Unhappy that I am; I cannot heave

My heart into my mouth.”

But this particular trait in Cordelia’s nature is n the only cause of Lear’s rage in the opening
scene. When he asks her to mend her speech a little, she gives him a lengthy answer saying that
half of her love will go her husband and that she cannot “love her father all”. Now even if she is
speaking the truth here, she is not speaking the absolute truth because to give love to a husband
cannot mean taking away any part of love from a father. Her responsibility for tragic events
cannot be denied. Through her tragic imperfection, she contributes something to the conflict.
While the tragedy is largely due to Lear’s own fault, it is in no small measure due to a deficiency
in Cordelia.

As the dying Lear gives us a perfect picture of her nature in a few Words: “Her voice was ever
soft; gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.” She is a loving daughter as in the play it has
been said:

“Thou hast one daughter,

Who redeems nature from the general curse

Which twain have brought her to.”

Mrs. Jameson compares Cordelia as the heroine of filial tenderness, with the self-devotion of
Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, saying: “To Antigone, we give our admiration; to Cordelia
our tears.” Dr Johnson felt that the tragic ending of “KINGLEAR”, especially the death of
Cordelia, violates poetic justice (the virtuous to be rewarded and the wicked to be punished).
Besides, he felt that is the play, the wicked prosper, and the virtuous miscarry (be unsuccessful).
The very conception of a Shakespearean tragedy cannot be squared with such a simple theory of
poetic justice of the reward due to virtue. The wages of sin is always death though the reward of
virtue is not always happiness. Cordelia’s death is a final crushing blow inflicted upon the
repentant King. A tragedy in which everything can be explained and justified is not a tragedy at
all. Dr Bradley is of the opinion that the end is to be tragic, it is bound to be completed with the
death of Cordelia.

It was not possible for Shakespeare to have given King Lear peace and happiness at Cordelia’s
fireside. We cannot dissociate Lear from Cordelia and think of one surviving the other. Lear’s
fate, therefore, involves the fate of Cordelia. Her death is sacrificial, and upon such sacrifices
whatever gods there may be pour their incense. Goodness and wickedness are each its reward
and a true reward--- that reconciles us to the close of tragedies in which the great suffer, Lear and
Cordelia are more victims than offenders.

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The death of Cordelia constitutes an appropriate ending for the play. Some critics are of the
opinion that this death makes the play too sad. Nahum Tate went to the extent of altering the
event at the end in order to give it a happy ending. But a happy ending to the play would not
really be suitable.

Cordelia’s death seems to be gratuitous (uncalled-for) but in tragedy, the suffering of a good
character is always excessive. Therefore, if Cordelia meets her death in spite of her being
innocent, we should not protest against the author’s judgment.

The divine forces are not unjust. It should be remembered that it is human error that has brought
about the sufferings of Lear and Cordelia; fate has little role in the matter. Cordelia’s dumbness
caused all her suffering--- that indeed is a concept of justice few can quarrel with, and her death
makes her character memorable.5

One reason as to why King Lear could be seen as the best tragedy is because its ending is unclear
in terms of its tragic implications. On one hand, the ending could be seen as profoundly moral
because it cleanses. Everyone that has been touched by the ethical and moral corruption in the
drama is killed off, enabling something new and restorative to emerge. In this sense, drama
purifies and forces an evolution in both character and audience. On another level, the ending
could be seen as the most despairing in that no one is spared the condition of death. In this
vision, there is no hope in the play's ending of total annihilation. The drama ends when they all
die. One view of the tragedy is more ancient and the other is more modern. King Lear can be
seen as the best tragedy because it straddles both conceptions of the tragic condition of humanity
as well as both understandings of tragic art. Few other works can hold both competing visions
together, and King Lear is able to do so.

Another reason why King Lear can be seen as the best of tragedies is because it is a tragedy
about love. King Lear forces both the characters on stage and the audience witnessing them to
examine what love is. When Cordelia says, "I love your majesty According to my bond; no
more nor less," she conveys a universal condition of love that poses the question that strikes at
the heart of all being: What is love? Not to sound like a song from Haddaway, but King Lear is
one of the best tragedies because it takes the most basic of sentiments that exists between human
beings and forces an examination of it. When we have to ask what love is and how we know it
exists, Cordelia's words, especially when pitted against her sisters', strikes at our very
being. When have we, like King Lear, been persuaded by contingent and superficial
demonstrations as opposed to the sincere expressions of love? This is tragic in its nature
because, like Lear, we realize that we have made terrible errors when we thought our decision
making in the realm of love was sound and cogent. Few other dramas get to the essence of love

5
file:///C:/Users/Dell-Pc/Downloads/19652575-The-Death-of-Cordelia-in-King-Lear.pdf

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and no other drama forces such an intense examination of this human experience. It is for this
reason that King Lear would have to be considered as one of the, if not the, best tragedy.6

6) Macbeth
Macbeth ;Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts
by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made thane
of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous
one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once he commits
his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing
ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue,
because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response to every
problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such as Iago in Othello and
Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is unable to
bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position.
Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her
husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady
Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her
conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she
and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply
that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world,
occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to
each another.7

The Three Witches - Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth
using charms, spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order
the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves
the witches’ true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are servants of Hecate, we know
little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who
impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using
their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.

Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will
inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not
translate those thoughts into action. In a sense, Banquo’s character stands as a rebuke to
Macbeth, since he represents the path Macbeth chose not to take: a path in which ambition need
not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately, then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not Duncan’s—

6
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/lear/character/cordelia/
7
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/character/lady-macbeth/

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that haunts Macbeth. In addition to embodying Macbeth’s guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also
reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy. 8

King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown,
murders. Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death
symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s line,
in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne.

Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually
becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the rightful
king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of
Macduff’s wife and young son.

5.1) Macbeth as tragedy

Macbeth is true soap opera in every sense even today! Here we have a General, a brave and
powerful soldier that is led to wicked thoughts by three witches that tell him he will inherit the
throne of Scotland. Macbeth kills King Duncan, a kind benevolent man, that when he dies it
symbolizes the disorder of Scotland. Macbeth is not a virtuous man and is tempted by his
ambitions and commits his first murder by killing the king. Once you start that path, you
continue in a life of crime. Macbeth like any soldier is more fitted for the battlefield than for
politics.

Besides Macbeth going crazy about killing the king, his wife that urged him to kill, also goes
buzerk and commits suicide herself. That shows how ‘crime doesn’t pay’! I feel that the three
witches, are symbolic to the point that they placed the ‘bad’ ideas in Macbeth’s head with their
mischief. They could be the people who can influence others to commit crime, then when the
manure hits the fan, they bail.

The big tragedy is how many people had to die in the name of GREED. Often, people will kill
for money and power. Like Macbeth, he was a soldier, not really wanting to rule Scotland,
however, he listen to the witches, including his own greedy wife, and did not take the time to
ponder and do the right thing.

5.2) Macbeth as a Tragedy According to Aristotle's Definition

While the genre of some works of literature can be debated, Macbeth written by William
Shakespeare seems to fit into a perfect mold. Aristotle's definition of a tragedy, combining seven
elements that he believes make the genre of a work a tragedy, is that mold. Displaying all seven
aspects, Macbeth fits the definition precisely.

Key elements in the play substantiate the fact that Macbeth is a serious story, the first elements
of Aristotle's definition. From the first lines of the play, the mood is set featuring witches whom

8
https://englishsummary.com/banquo-character-analysis/

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speak of witchcraft, potions and apparitions. Not only do the three witches aid in making this a
serious story but also, they appealed to Elizabethans whom at the time believed in such
supernatural phenomena. War for centuries has represented killing and feuding, thus, the war
taking place between Scotland and Norway provided a dark component. The Thane of Cawdor's
rapidly approaching execution due to his deceiving the king also plays a role in this grim work.
Murder throughout all of Macbeth is an essential aspect when dealing with the seriousness of the
play. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to do anything to overthrow King
Duncan, whom is the king of Scotland, the role Macbeth desperately yearns for. During the
excursion to become king, Macbeth successfully murders King Duncan, Macduff's wife and
children, and with the help of a group of murderers Banquo; a brave general who will inherit the
Scottish throne. Through the whole play, while such dank occurrences are used to create deep
mood, Shakespeare also uses strong language and words. Such as when Lady Macbeth calls upon
the gods to make her man-like so she will have the fortitude to kill King Duncan herself in this
quote, "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here… Make my blood thick…
Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunest smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the
wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark."9

5.3) Summary
Aristotle proposes to study poetry by analyzing its constitutive parts and then drawing general
conclusions. The portion of the Poetics that survives discusses mainly tragedy and epic poetry.
We know that Aristotle also wrote a treatise on comedy that has been lost. He defines poetry as
the mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and harmony, separately or in combination.
Poetry is mimetic in that it creates a representation of objects and events in the world, unlike
philosophy, for example, which presents ideas. Humans are naturally drawn to imitation, and so
poetry has a strong pull on us. It can also be an excellent learning device, since we can coolly
observe imitations of things like dead bodies and disgusting animals when the real thing would
disturb us.

Aristotle identifies tragedy as the most refined version of poetry dealing with lofty matters and
comedy as the most refined version of poetry dealing with base matters. He traces a brief and
speculative history of tragedy as it evolved from dithyrambic hymns in praise of the god
Dionysus. Dithyrambs were sung by a large choir, sometimes featuring a narrator. Aeschylus
invented tragedy by bringing a second actor into dialogue with the narrator. Sophocles innovated
further by introducing a third actor, and gradually tragedy shifted to its contemporary dramatic
form.

Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics: (1) it is mimetic, (2) it is serious, (3)
it tells a full story of an appropriate length, (4) it contains rhythm and harmony, (5) rhythm and
harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, (6) it is performed
rather than narrated, and (7) it arouses feelings of pity and fear and then purges these feelings

9
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/apply-aristotles-theory-tragedy-macbeth-258151

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through catharsis. A tragedy consists of six component parts, which are listed here in order from
most important to least important: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

A well-formed plot must have a beginning, which is not a necessary consequence of any
previous action; a middle, which follows logically from the beginning; and an end, which
follows logically from the middle and from which no further action necessarily follows. The plot
should be unified, meaning that every element of the plot should tie in to the rest of the plot,
leaving no loose ends. This kind of unity allows tragedy to express universal themes powerfully,
which makes it superior to history, which can only talk about particular events. Episodic plots
are bad because there is no necessity to the sequence of events. The best kind of plot contains
surprises, but surprises that, in retrospect, fit logically into the sequence of events. The best kinds
of surprises are brought about by peripeteia, or reversal of fortune, andanagnorisis, or discovery.
A good plot progresses like a knot that is tied up with increasingly greater complexity until the
moment of peripeteia, at which point the knot is gradually untied until it reaches a completely
unknotted conclusion.

For a tragedy to arouse pity and fear, we must observe a hero who is relatively noble going from
happiness to misery as a result of error on the part of the hero. Our pity and fear is aroused most
when it is family members who harm one another rather than enemies or strangers. In the best
kind of plot, one character narrowly avoids killing a family member unwittingly thanks to
ananagnorisis that reveals the family connection. The hero must have good qualities appropriate
to his or her station and should be portrayed realistically and consistently. Since both the
character of the hero and the plot must have logical consistency, Aristotle concludes that the
untying of the plot must follow as a necessary consequence of the plot and not from stage
artifice, like adeus ex machina (a machine used in some plays, in which an actor playing one of
the gods was lowered onto the stage at the end).

Aristotle discusses thought and diction and then moves on to address epic poetry. Whereas
tragedy consists of actions presented in a dramatic form, epic poetry consists of verse presented
in a narrative form. Tragedy and epic poetry have many common qualities, most notably the
unity of plot and similar subject matter. However, epic poetry can be longer than tragedy, and
because it is not performed, it can deal with more fantastic action with a much wider scope. By
contrast, tragedy can be more focused and takes advantage of the devices of music and spectacle.
Epic poetry and tragedy are also written in different meters. After defending poetry against
charges that it deals with improbable or impossible events, Aristotle concludes by weighing
tragedy against epic poetry and determining that tragedy is on the whole superior.10

10
https://www.gradesaver.com/macbeth/study-guide/summary

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5.4) Tragedy In Macbeth Essay
Many people believe that Shakespeare's plays all have a tragedy to them. There are very good
arguments that support this theory. Macbeth is one of the many tragic plays that Shakespeare has
written. There are many incidents that take place in the play of Macbeth, which prove that this is
a tragic play. There are the murders of many innocent people. There is the murder of King
Duncan, who is killed by Macbeth. There is the murder of Banquo, which is set up by Macbeth.
There is the murder of Macduff's wife and son, which is also set up by Macbeth. These
meaningless killings are what make Macbeth a tragic story. The first tragic murder in the play
was that of King Duncan. Duncan was a respected man by all in Scotland. Duncan had no
enemies within his kingdom. He was a good leader and good father to his sons and to Macbeth as
well. People were shocked to discover the murder of Duncan had taken place. Duncan was liked
by everyone in Scotland, which made it hard for the people of Scotland to come up with a
conclusion as to why Duncan was murdered. This is best summarized by Banquo's reaction
towards Duncan's death," Fears and scruples shake us. In the great hand of God I stand, and
thence against the undivulged pretense I fight " here Banquo is saying that no one person can be
suspected for committing this crime and that this murder has a hidden purpose . Duncan was
killed for a very terrible reason. Macbeth killed Duncan because Macbeth was greedy and was
desperate to be become king. Macbeth wanted to be in control and knew that if he killed Duncan
he would be able to receive it. An innocent man is killed because of the greed of another man.
Such a tragedy is inhuman. Others have also been killed

because of Macbeth. The second tragic murder in the play was the brutal killing of Banquo.
Banquo was an innocent man that had no flaws whatsoever. Banquo was always kind to
everyone and respectful to Macbeth, even though he knew Macbeth killed Duncan. Banquo was
also a loving father. Banquo had a son named Fleance whom he loved very much. When
Macbeth sent the murderers out to kill Banquo and Fleance, Banquo sacrificed his own life so
that Fleance could get away. Banquo never suspected that Macbeth would do such a cruel thing,
to try to kill him and his son. Macbeth tried to kill them because the witches had told him that
Banquo's sons would become kings. Macbeth was scared of losing the kingdom and the power.
Therefore, he had sent murderers to kill both of them, but Fleance escaped. We know Fleance
escapes when the third murder recites, "There's but one down ;the son is fled."11

11
Macbeth as a Tragedy According to Aristotle's Definition.StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Macbeth-Tragedy-According-Aristotles-Definition-15846.html

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 7) “HAMLET”- A REVENGE TRAGEDY:
It is evident that in writing “Hamlet”, Shakespeare, to some extent, adopted the dramatic
tradition of Revenge tragedy. Revenge implies the wronged individual taking the law into his
own hands in order to satisfy an inner passion though in civilized society, this function of
punishing the wrong doer is entrusted to the government or the state. The motive of revenge is a
primitive emotion to be found in natural man, though it is a dangerous emotion. Revenge proved
a popular theme for dramatists for it enabled them to depict human passions, render rhetorical
speeches, and present violent action. The dramatic value of these fighters was great in the secular
theatre. Early dramatists are as well as early audiences considered vengeance to be a pious duty
laid on the next of kin; it was wild justice, but for drama to be satisfactory and successful.

The old law claimed an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, vengeance demanded both the
eyes, a jaw full of teeth, and above all, the victim should go straight to hell there to remain in
everlasting torment. A perfect revenge required, therefore, a great artistry. The theme of earlier
tragedies of revenge was the punishment of an evil doer through some one who had suffered
because of him.

Revenge tragedy is especially associated with the name of Seneca, an ancient Roman dramatist.
All the ten tragedies written by him deal with incidents taken from Greek mythology. But,
instead of exercising the restraint of classical Greek tragedy, Seneca produced the tragic effect
by horrifying incidents, bloody actions and ranting speeches. The revenge theme was very
popular during the Elizabethan age. The revenge theme deals with exciting plots which arouse
the people’s emotional excitement. Such plots are found in the revenge tragedy, and they have an
immediate appeal for the audience. Hence Shakespeare, in his play “Hamlet” adopted the
dramatic tradition of the revenge tragedy. During the Elizabethan era, the Greek and Latin
classics were of much interest. Kyd’s “The Spanish Tragedy” and Shakespeare’s own “Titus
Andronicus” are the best examples of the dramatic use of this revenge theme in the early
Elizabethan age.

The chief features of the revenge tragedy are the following:

 It deals with crime, usually murder, with varying motives.

 The duty of vengeance is laid on the next of kin or near relative.
 Invariably, a ghost is involved, generally the ghost of the dead, which reveals the crime
committed and lays upon the hero the duty of avenging the murder.
 The duty is accepted as something sacred.
 There is much blood- shed and crude physical horrors and when the murder is avenged,
the avenger and all others closely concerned perish together in one gory ruin.
 The language is generally astounding and bombastic.

Hamlet, no doubt confirms to the tradition of revenge play in the light of these points.

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Hamlet is enjoined by his father’s ghost with the duty of avenging his father’s death. When it
finds him inactive, it appears again to whet his action and exhort to a speedy revenge, as

it says:

“Do not forget. This visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.” He considers the
entrusted work of the ghost as something sacred but he also thinks about the action required of
him. Hence he avenges the murder at the cost of his own life as well as the lives of many others.
Thus revenge becomes the central theme of “Hamlet” and the supernatural element is fully
exploited.

The theme of revenge is extended beyond the main character. There are other revenges also.
Fortinbras wants to take revenge on Denmark, for the losses sustained by his father in a duel with
Hamlet’s father. Laertes too seeks to avenge his father’s death and the insanity of his loving
sister Ophelia. He succeeds in punishing the murderer at the cost of his own life. Hamlet wants
to take revenge against Claudius, the murderer of his father, the usurper of his rights to the
throne and the seducer of his mother. He too avenges the death of his father at the cost of his
own life due to his irresolution and inactiveness. Thus there is the element of murder, adultery,
incestuous marriage, insanity and faithfulness --- all elements of revenge tragedy. Apart from the
above mentioned elements. There is the melodramatic element also. There is bloodshed and
violent, terrifying scenes are described in keeping with the revenge tragedy tradition, “Hamlet”
has all elements of Seneca’s revenge play. However his treatment of the revenge theme makes
the work much more than a mere revenge tragedy. Though it is a tragedy of “blood and horror”,
the treatment of the theme is not as crude and gross as that of other revenge tragedies. The
supernatural element is not crude but acts as an instrument of justice to punish the evil-doer.
Again Shakespeare’s treatment of the theme of duty, a son’s duty, of avenging his father’s death
is more complex than others. In other plays, the material considerations act as impediments. But
in “Hamlet” it is Hamlet’s own conscience that is the impediment. Above all, the language
lessens the tone of cruelty and violence making “Hamlet” a higher work of art.

In “Hamlet” Shakespeare presents a revenger who is both ruthless and reluctant. As a revenger
he must act but he says:“The time is out of joint, o cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it
right.” Goggin’s remarks on “Hamlet” that it is not to be regarded as a tragedy of revenge but as
a tragedy of human soul is true, for Shakespeare has portrayed Hamlet as a man of irresolution.
Whenever he is called to act upon the ghost’s injunction, he vacillates due to conflict which, is
going on within his mind. Only in his soliloquies do we come to know his real nature.

Hamlet is not a simple revenge tragedy. In the play, Shakespeare has woven complex threads of
contrast of characters. The theme of revenge is contrasted in case of Fortinbras and Laertes.
Fortinbras, the son of a dead king and nephew of a reigning king is all hot for action. He finds a
quarrel in a straw while Hamlet delays his revenge of father’s death.

When he kills Polonius in mistake for Claudius, the second revenge action is ready to begin.

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Laertes is a typical revenger, while Hamlet is not. Laertes says:

“To cut his throat in the church” but Hamlet spares the king at prayer. If Hamlet feels,
“conscience does make cowards of us all”, Laertes consigns conscience to the devil and declares:
“I dare damnation”. The theme of revenge is seen in no narrow sense in “Hamlet”. The Question
of revenge is caught up with issues of good and evil. Thus the theme of revenge becomes a part
of the fundamental conflict the play exhibits in Hamlet.

However, in the last act, there comes a change. In the final contest, we find two sons avenging
their fathers, punish one another and die forgiving one another, The avenger who kills Claudius
when he has himself received his own death wound at last fulfill his dual role.

To conclude, we may say that, to call “Hamlet” a revenge tragedy would be to do the work a
great injustice; it would ignore the play’s artistic superiority over the other plays of this genre. It
is only fitting that its avenging hero Hamlet dies to the beautiful heavenly benediction of
Horatio, “Flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” rather than to the satisfied gloating of a ghost as
in the other revenge plays. As G.B Harrison remarks on “Hamlet” as a revenge tragedy,
“Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”…. it seems almost profane to say, it belongs to the common and the
popular type of the drama known as the play, where the dramatic motive is not whether the
avenger will achieve his object, but how and when.”12

8) Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy of two families, the Montagues and Capulets, who are against the
marriage of the two lovers. Romeo has killed a relative of Juliet against his own will and has
been banished while Juliet is buried alive as a trick. Thinking that Juliet is really dead, Romeo
kills himself.

Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan period. It follows
the story of two ‘star-cross’d lovers’. It is set in Italy in a city called Verona which has been
corrupted by a feud between two families that both have equal status in society. Verona has been
turned into a violent society because everybody has become caught up in the feud between the
Montagues and the Capulets; there has been a breakdown of divine order which creates a chaotic
and corrupt society. The Elizabethans believed in a divine order of people. The play’s main
characters are two young people who fall in love with each other ;unfortunately their love is
unattainable according to their society, as they belong tothe rival families. The play shows us all
the different kinds of love which may be possible and how they fail in healing the rift between
the two families.According to Shakespeare, only the love that exists between Romeo and Juliet is
pure enough to heal the rift between the two families. We could say that only Romeo and Juliet
were still pure of any rivalry resulting from the feud and them falling in love also symbolises

12
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/context/literary/revenge-tragedy/

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religious love as only clean hearts and souls can heal according to religion, as was widely
believed in the Elizabethan period.

The prologue of Romeo and Juliet is a sonnet. It gives us a brief overview of whathappens in the
play so we are not surprised when the lovers take their lives.Shakespeare keeps us in the loop
about what happens. Through the use of dramaticirony, tension is built. Because of the sheer
hatred that exists between the two houses,the love that exists between Romeo and Juliet will not
be allowed to blossom.

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’

The quotation above tells us that there has been a civil war in Verona for years now; it has
embroiled all the inhabitants of the city. There are no surprises because from the quotation
Shakespeare has told us that both Romeo and Juliet end up dying for love.

The prologue also tells us that both the Montagues and Capulets have the same socialstanding in
Verona and nothing so far has succeeded in healing the rift between them;till the deaths of their
children. Shakespeare exposes the inadequacy of the other types of love to overcome the long-
standing feud.

‘From ancient grudge break new mutiny’

Although the feud has been going on for a long time, the violence has subsided. It was
unfortunately brought up again in Act 1 scene 1; it is during this surge of new violence that
Romeo and Juliet take their lives.In Act 1 we are immediately thrust into an argument between
the Capulets and the Montagues. Two servants from the house of Montague, Sampson and
Gregory instigate the argument by inflaming Abram who is from the house of Capulet. Sampson
and Gregory use extremely explicit language to describe what they would do to any Capulet
woman who may stray into their territory. Their conversation centres around sex and
Shakespeare uses crude puns to show how much hate exists between both houses. The play starts
with sexual violence and lust;this according to society is the lowest form of love that exists. They
also speak in prose to express their views on love. Sampson and Gregory also use stichomythia
to communicate in scene 1.

The first reference to the feud was through Sampson, ‘‘a dog of the house of the Montague
moves me.”

This is a very degrading sentence and it is full of sexual innuendo. Sampson is saying that one of
the cursed Montagues has sexually aroused him, probably a maid as he clarifies in his later
sentences. Before the Montagues arrive, the conversation between Sampson and Gregory is
centred exclusively around sex and what they plan on doing to any Montague women that
happen to cross their paths unescorted. This also shows that the feud has permeated to the lowest

25
levels of society.We meet Romeo who is suffering from false, courtly love. He is posing as a
love sicyoung man and his affection is centred on Juliet’s cousin Rosalind. It has become his

morning routine to wander around in the dark and shuts himself in his room when day breaks.

“With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew adding to clouds more clouds with his deep
sighs”

The hyperbole above indicates Romeo’s unhappiness may be exaggerated as he tries to fit into
the lovesick role he’s supposed to be playing. Romeo’s parents seem to genuinely care about him
unlike Juliet’s parents who seem to just pay her a passing glance. Both of them have had
different examples of love and even though their views on love differ they both connect perfectly
when they meet each other In Act 1 scene 5

In scene 3 of the play, we are introduced to Juliet and we learn that her relationship toher parents
is not as easy-flowing as Romeo’s to his parents. She plays the part of atypical daughter who
only exists to please her parents, she strives to be the perfect child. A good example of this is her
reply when her mother asks her if she can love Paris, below.

“I’ll look to like, if looking liking move; but no more deep will I endart mine eye than your
consent gives strength to make it fly”

Juliet is saying that she will not love Paris anymore than her parents tell her to love him. This
sentence shows us that she strives to please her parents in all ways. An arranged marriage
between Juliet and Paris was set up by Juliet’s parents and she does not seem to care.

“No more deep will I endart mine eye”

The Elizabethans believed that love entered through the eye and Juliet’s statement says that she
will not look too deeply into his eyes. When Romeo and Juliet met for the first time they looked
into each other’s eyes and fell in love. In the Baz Lhurmanversion of the film, their eyes meet
while looking into a fish tank. The fish tank is are presentative of tranquillity in the midst of the
chaos they call life, the fish tank was also used as a safe haven for both Romeo and Juliet. It was
through the fish tank that they fell in love. Lhurman’s camera technique is also very effective on
the audience, in the scene before they met the camera technique had been violent and chaotic,
which could also be a representative of the Feud and how it has affected everything to do with
both families; the moment the fish tank comes into focus the camera technique immediately
becomes gentle and soft.

Love is also represented as a kind of madness in Mercutio’s long speech, referred to as the
Queen Mab speech. Queen Mab is portrayed as sexually provocative and Mercutio’s extreme

26
manifestation of cynical love is maniac and it shows how he holds love in contempt. Mercutio’s
love for Romeo can also be described as homoerotic.

“Some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date”

This is Romeo’s remark as he approaches the Capulet party. He has a premonition about
fate/destiny about to come into play. He feels that something major that will change them
individually is about to happen and he is proven right in the end of the play.

Romeo and Juliet’s meeting is set apart from all the madness of the feud and Verona’s society in
a calm oasis, away from all the polluting forms of love so far seen. The love between them is a
combination of two kinds of love, both physical and spiritual; the ideal kind of love. The sonnet
they both share is binding; they complete each other’s sentences and are perfectly attuned to each
other. Their unity is self evident from the first line of the sonnet, compared to the other types of
love already shown in the play. The saying of the sonnet also verbally seals the relationship
between them. The language of their sonnet is a representative of the spiritual love existing
between them as it is infused with religion.

“For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss”

It is a religious sentence and it has harmonious lines. As we read further into the sonnet we
realise that the sonnet is not just religious but contains language describing physical love and
interaction, in the Elizabethan period sonnets were the poetry of love. They were the highest
form of poetry in Shakespeare’s time. Romeo and Juliet communicate in sonnets showing how
complex their relationship is and how total their love for each other is.

After they meet the world infringes again on their personal oasis, they are wrenched violently
apart showing how unacceptable their love for each other is. Above all the discriminations and
over all the obstacles in their paths their love survives. Due to the failure of society and all the
other types of love only Romeo and Juliet’s love seems to be able to triumph over the feud, this
is eventually what heals the rift between the two families. Their love illuminates everything
around and in the end of the film version their tomb is lit with candles, symbolising peace, love,
forgiveness and hope. Their love is the ideal love and though it heals the feud it does not bring
back the dead ‘star-crossed lovers’.

In Romeo and Juliet, the elements of tragedy originate from external forces, not from the
qualities of the characters themselves. There is really no contradiction within Romeo and Juliet’s
psychologies nor are they in conflict with each other. The situation that drags them into death
springs not from their personalities, but from deep enmity between their parents. If the sworn

27
enemies, the Montagues and Capulets get on well with each other, there would be no tragedy.
They have no deficiencies which lead them into mischance, no matter what happens .13

9) CONCLUSION
Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by playwright William
Shakespeare. Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but
because they are based on real figures throughout the History of England, they were classified as
"histories" in the First Folio. The Roman tragedies—Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and
Coriolanus—are also based on historical figures, but because their source stories were foreign
and ancient they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's
romances (tragicomic plays) were written late in his career and published originally as either
tragedy or comedy. They share some elements of tragedy featuring a high status central character
but end happily like Shakespearean comedies. Several hundred years after Shakespeare's death,
scholar F.S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the "problem play," for plays that do not fit neatly
into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending. The classifications
of certain Shakespeare plays are still debated among scholars.

Shakespeare's tragedies often hinge on a fatally flawed character or system, that is, a flaw
ultimately results in death or destruction.

Scholars divide the plays into periods. A first-period tragedy (from 1590-1594) is Titus
Andronicus. Shakespeare's greatest tragedies come from his second and third periods. Romeo
and Juliet is an example of a second-period tragedy, as is Julius Caesar.In the third period,
Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra.

Titus Andronicus, about a Roman king whose daughter is raped, is full of violence and comedy.

Romeo and Juliet is about teenage romance and how it can be stopped by feuding families.

Julius Caesar is an historical tragedy concerning the ethics and consequences of political
assassination.

Hamlet is about a tortured young prince who is obliged to kill his uncle to avenge his father's
death.

Othello is about a Moor who is deceived by the machinations of his servant Iago, and his love for
Desdemona.

King Lear is about a king who divides his kingdom between three daughters, two of whom turn
on him and the third, who truly loves him, is unrecognized. This is considered to be
Shakespeare's darkest tragedy and was not performed for many years.

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Antony and Cleopatra is about two great lovers and nobility is an important theme in it. So are
the relations between two very different cultures: Egypt and Rome.

Macbeth, set in Scotland, is about an ambitious Thane who murders the King in order to ascend
to the throne.

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Bilbliography

 https://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480326
 https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/globaldrama/hamlet
 https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/discuss-hamlet-by-shakespeare-
tragedy-about-550-269390
 http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/kinglear/kinglearps.html
 https://www.storyboardthat.com/shakespeare-plays/king-lear
 https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3349450-an-excellent-conceited-
tragedie-of-romeo-and-iuliet
 http://www.shakespeare-
online.com/plays/romeoandjuliet/questions/romeotragedy.html

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