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STRUCTURE OF A SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

Shakespeare's Plays

While there is some doubt surrounding it, William Shakespeare is credited with writing 37 plays and over 150 sonnets. His plays can be classified as Histories, Comedies or Tragedies

HISTORIES

HISTORIES

Henry IV, Part 1

Henry IV, Part 2

Henry V

Henry VI, Part 1

Henry VI, Part 2

Henry VI, Part 3

Henry VIII

King John

Pericles

Richard II

Richard III

COMEDIES

All's Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

Comedy of Errors

Love's Labour's Lost

Measure for Measure

Merchant of Venice

Merry Wives of Windsor

Midsummer Night's Dream

Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest

Twelfth Night

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Winter's Tale

TRAGEDIES

Anthony and Cleopatra

Coriolanus

Cymbeline

Hamlet

Julius Caesar

King Lear

Macbeth

Othello

Romeo and Juliet

Timon of Athens

Titus Andronicus

Triolus and Cressida

TRAGIC STRUCTURE

Shakespeare's Tragedies adhere to a Plot Structure that is not too different from Freytag's pyramid.

TRAGIC STRUCTURE

EXPOSITION

The exposition reveals the setting (time and place) and sometimes highlights a theme. It also has the important function of providing the appropraite mood and atmosphere for the play and can serve as a "hook" to engage the audience. Shakespeare rarely introduces his tragic figure at this stage

Mood and Theme

Mood and Theme

the feuding street fight between the Capulets and the Montagues

Character Development

Romeo is sad about Rosaline

Character Development

Setting and Characters

Setting and Characters

Juliet is told he is marrying Paris. This gives us a sense of time and place and shows the wealth/status of the Capulets.

EXCITING FORCE

An incident occurs that introduces the conflict and sets in motion the rising action of the play

EXCITING FORCE

The Moment That Changes Everything

The Moment That Changes Everything

Romeo meets Juliet and forgets all about Rosaline

HAMARTIA

Hamartia translates to "errors in judgement." It is slightly different than a tragic flaw, but the hero's flaw is what leads to the lapse in judgement. Hamartia is directly responsible for for the hero's downfall and leads to the catastrophe of the play.

At this point, the protagonist still seems to control his/her fate.

ERRORS IN JUDGEMENT

ERRORS IN JUDGEMENT

Romeo's impetuous rush to marry Juliet fails to consider the consequences of marrying a member of his family's bitter rivals.

CRISIS

This is the turning point in the fortunes of the tragic hero, the consequence of hamartia serving to compound the situation.

After the crisis, the tragic hero seems more controlled by events than in control of them. The situation is a direct ressult of his/her previous actions.

Turning Point

Turning Point

Tybalt kills Mercutio

Turning Point

Turning Point

Romeo kills Tybalt

TRAGIC FORCE

Following closely after the crisis, the incident intensifies the downfall of the tragic hero and sets in motion the falling action, or denouement, of the play.

Incident 1

Incident 1

Juliet is "dead" (at least that's what Romeo believes)

Incident 2

Incident 2

Romeo gets poison from the Apothecary

MOMENT OF FINAL SUSPENSE

For a brief moment, it appears as if the protagonist will actually escape his or her tragic downfall after all.

MOMENT OF FINAL SUSPENSE

Escape Fate?

Escape Fate?

Romeo notices that Juliet is "lifelike"/her beauty is unchanged after "death."

CATASTROPHE

The death of the protagonist. All of Shakespeare's tragic figures die - their deaths serving as a note of finality to his tragic plays.

This is the end...

This is the end...

Romeo and Juliet both die

GLIMPSE OF RESTORED ORDER

Shakespeare's tragedies never end with the death of the protagonist. There is always the introduction of a new social order, a new harmony in society. For this reason, they are not considered nihilistic or depressing

A new harmony

A new harmony

The Montagues and Capulets end their feud and promise to erect statues of their children in memorial.

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