1. Tragedy A meditation on death Focuses on an individual
Deals with the problem of failure and death
Attempts to find meaning in death
Individual fails due to some tragic flaw
Gains self-knowledge, but the price is death
Focuses on the world of sin, imperfection, limitations, error, and suffering
Redemption through suffering

2. Two Types of Tragedy Tragedy of Redemption Basically good protagonist
Dies a dignified and heroic death
Reader feels sympathy
Tragedy of Damnation
Psychology of the criminal mind
Protagonist is not a hero. He/she kills his conscience.
Dies a different death – not as a hero

3. Characteristics of the Tragic Play
Concerns the fall of a person whose character is good, believable, and consistent
The fall is caused internally by some error or frailty in the protagonist (not a vice or depravity)
Presented in the form of action, not narration
Arouses the emotions of pity and terror
A single unified action that is serious, complete, probable and of a certain magnitude.

4. The Tragic Hero Belief in his own freedom and free will Supreme pride
Capacity for suffering
Sense of commitment
Vigorous protest
Transfiguration
Impact

5. Irony
The irony in tragedy lies in the contrast between the vision which the tragic hero has of his future and the shocking disaster that befalls him

6. Types of Irony Verbal: the speaker says one thing and means another
Situational: Something unexpected happens (usually with a twist)
Dramatic: The audience shares with the author certain knowledge about which a character is uninformed
Tragedies, in general, and Macbeth, in particular, are full of ironies.

7. What to look for in Macbeth
Contrasts
Irony
Paradox
Think about the contrasts in imagery, characters, theme ideas
good/evil dark/light
order/chaos loyalty/disloyalty

8. Character Foils Deliberate contrast in characters
Character differences highlighted
Leads to a theme

9. Other Details Performed on stage – The Globe Theater
Based on historical Macbeth
Tribute to King James I, so changes historical fact and adds witches
Set in Scotland

10. The Castles, Glamis and Cawdor