1. SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

2. Tragedy
A drama that presents the downfall of a hero

3. THE TRAGIC HERO, IN GENERAL
Usually, there is only one tragic hero
The so-called "Love Tragedies" are exceptions to the rule

4. THE TRAGIC HERO AND THE TRAGIC "STORY"
The tragic story leads up to, and includes, the death of the hero

5. The suffering and trouble are exceptional and :
happen to an important, probably royal person
are unexpected
are contrasted with previous happiness and/or glory

6. ONLY GREAT MEN QUALIFY AS TRAGIC HEROES
Peasants do not inspire pity and fear as great men do
A Shakespearean tragedy, then, may be called a story of exceptional disaster leading to the death of a man of high status!

7. TRAGEDY, HUMAN FLAWS, AND RESPONSIBILITY
The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent
The calamities of tragedy come from actions…..the actions of tragic heroes…

8. …who are responsible for the catastrophe of their downfalls.

9. THE ABNORMAL, THE SUPERNATURAL, FATE/FORTUNE/CHANCE
Shakespeare occasionally presents abnormal conditions of mind: insanity, sleepwalking, hallucinations…
He also introduces the supernatural: ghosts and witches who have supernatural knowledge

10. Continued
Finally, in most of the tragedies, Shakespeare allows "chance" in some form to influence some of the action

11. TRAGIC CONFLICT: EXTERNAL
There are usually clear protagonists and antagonists…
Usually there are two persons, of whom the hero is one---OR,
Two Groups, one of which the hero leads-

12. TRAGIC CONFLICT: INTERNAL
Shakespeare's tragic hero is at some point torn by an inward struggle
The innner struggle may include the action of "spiritual forces."

13. COMMON QUALITIES OF THE TRAGIC HERO/PROTAGONIST
Tragic heroes are exceptional beings: this is the fundamental trait
Tragic heroes contribute to their own destruction by acts in which we see a tragic flaw in their character

14. Continued Tragic heroes illustrate the the sense of waste–
Tragic heroes need not be "good," though they generally are good