Universal aspects of Shakespeare's tragedies
Tragedies share a lot of characteristics-- some found in almost all tragedies,
others not so universal-- but I think that for Shakespeare, the big divider
between what's called a comedy and what's called a tragedy is whether it ends
with the important sympathetic characters alive and well or with the important
sympathetic characters, especially the one the play's named after, dead.
I think the minimum that all tragedies have in common is that someone's life
gets ruined. Also nice to have in a tragedy: he was a very important person, he
dies, it's the fault of a specific decision he made, he decided the way he did
because of the very aspect of his own character that helped him to greatness in
the first place, the audience is struck with pity and terror, it was
inevitable, it all happens in a single day.
1) Tragic hero: The hero has to be of a certain status, reason of which will be
discussed further on. Characteristic of Shakespeare is the noble hero with a
fatal flaw, which will eventually lead to the hero's downfall. E.g: Othello:
jealousy, Hamlet: procrastination, Macbeth: ambition, Lear: pride, etc.
2) Circumstance. The hero's downfall comes from the combination of
chance/fate/circumstance/supernatural and the tragic flaw which would lead the
hero to commit acts that he would otherwise not do. As a consequence, hero
suffers, eventually dying. In context of Shakespearean tragedy, hero redeems
himself just before death. Fate: very important factor in Shakespearean
tragedy.
3) The upset of nature. The hero's status is important. Due to his greatness,
the consequences of his actions would reverberate throughout society, natural
order in 'imbalance': notably in Macbeth, Hamlet.
4) Catharsis, beyond the character. We feel a sense of loss and waste at the
fate of the tragic hero. With Hamlet, arguably, we feel the loss of idealism,
Caesar, the loss of Brutus' nobility, Othello, the loss of the sense of
greatness, etc.
5) Order must be eventually restored, by the death of the hero. Typical in
Shakespeare. Read all the last scenes of all the major tragedies.
This criterion is extremely huge actually. But I'll see that, essentially the
tragic flaw and the role of fate are the major points of note. It separates the
great tragedies from R & J for instance.
