1. Shakespearian Tragedy

2. Classical Tragedy: Aristotle's Poetics
a protagonist of high estate ("better than we")
Falls from prosperity to misery
Reversals and discoveries ="tragic flaw"
error caused by human frailty
Basically a good person
The action (or fable) generally involves revolution (unanticipated reversals of what is expected to occur)
+ Discovery (in which the protagonists and audience learn something that had been hidden)
The third part of the fable = disasters : includes all destructive actions, deaths, etc. 
Tragedy evokes pity and fear in the audience, leading finally to catharsis (the purgation of these passions)

3. Medieval Tragedy: A narrative (not a play)
falls from high to low estate
The Goddess Fortune spins her wheel
In the middle ages = no "tragic" theater per se
Primarily liturgical drama (religious)
teaching scripture to the illiterate (mystery plays)
reminding them to be prepared for death and God's Judgment (morality plays)

4. Renaissance Tragedy
Mix of both medieval tragedy (which randomly occurs as Fortune spins her wheel) and from the Aristotelian notion of the tragic flaw, a moral weakness or human error that causes the protagonist's downfall
Unlike classical tragedy, however, it tends to include subplots and comic relief
Early Renaissance = "violent and bloody plots, resounding rhetorical speeches, the frequent use of ghosts and sometimes the five-act structure"
(Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed., vol. I, p. 410)
In his greatest tragedies (e.g. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth), Shakespeare transcends the conventions of Renaissance tragedy, imbuing his plays with a timeless universality

5. Great Chain of Being Shakespeare's Time
Believed in the Great Chain of Being
Determined natural order of events
Series of hierarchical links
God on top
Each level had own hierarchy
Disruption of hierarchy = disrupt the laws of nature
Causes bizarre events to occur

6. Great Chain of Being The Great Chain of Being has six levels
God
Angels
Humans
Kings/Queens
Duke/Duchess/Thanes
Bishops
Earls/Local Clericals
Priests/Monks
Managers
Merchants/Shopkeepers
Tradesmen
Farmers
Soldiers/Town Watch
Household Servants
Beggars
Actors
Thieves/Pirates
Gypsies
Animals
Vegetables
Minerals
The Great Chain of Being has six levels
Starting with the highest level, God, who is all spirit and no matter to the bottom level which is inanimate objects that have all matter and no spirit.
Each level is subdivided into stations

7. Great Chain of Being

8. Great Chain of Being Two Important Points
1. Divine Right of Kings: basically certain people are Kings because God specifically wanted them to be King.
Note the proximity of Kings to God
2. You cannot move from your station.
For example, if you are born poor you remain poor.

9. Great Chain of Being King Lear disturbed the Great Chain of Being
He removed the ‘God chosen King’ and replaced him with himself
Shakespeare, through King Lear, uses this point to demonstrate part of the conflict/theme
his ambition dominating over human nature
It goes against human nature to disrupt the chain
Great Chain of Being

10. Great Chain of Being
Shakespeare Plays = when the chain was disturbed then the flow of nature was disturbed
when people move out of their rightful place on the Chain of Being, the whole of Nature is upset and in turmoil –
This is the theme of so many of his plays-when the rightful king is displaced Nature cannot function properly until things are put right
It helps to explain why strange things were happening during the murder

11. Element 1
The Tragic Hero

12. Tragic Hero?
Act III
Act IV
Act II
Act V
Act I

13. Only One Tragic Hero #1: Man of High Estate
a king, prince, general, etc.
we will hear about him from others before he makes an entrance in the play

14. His fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire
Man of High Estate
His fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire
Powerlessness of man
Omnipotence of Fate or Fortune

15. THEY ARE EXCEPTIONAL BEINGS
Being of high estate is not everything
Hero's nature is exceptional
raises him in some respect much above the average level of humanity
intensification
Fatal gift = touch of greatness =Virtue
Fierce determination, fixed ideas
Mixed with nobility of mind, or genius, or immense force
Stirs not only sympathy and pity, but admiration, terror, and awe.

16. #2 Tragic Flaw/Virtue A ‘Flaw’ in Character Virtue:
Two sides of one coin
That which is BEST quality turns into his WORST/FATAL quality
Misapplied

17. TRAGIC Virtue Obsession – driving force
Virtue = Driving force within the hero
The flaw often takes the form of obsession
this tragic trait, which is also his greatness, is fatal to him
He errs by action or omission
Inner torment as he follows his obsession
His error + other causes = his ruin/downfall

18. #3 Intrusion of Time and a Sense of Urgency
Inner / outer conflicts intensify
Time becomes more and more important
A sense of urgency (haste) develops
Plot / conflict creates tension
steamrolling inevitability effect
Downfall of hero's
He has put into motion himself

19. # 4 Misreading and Rationalizations
Contributing to, and furthering the obsession and the control of the tragic flaw/virtue are misreadings, supernatural suggestion, and accident or chance
Things happen a split second too late
the hero operates on what he believes to be the case
rather than what he actually knows to be the case
Soon they are one and the same thing to him

20. # 5 Murder, Exile, Alienation of Enemies and Allies
Conflicts arise
death or alienation of all of the hero's former friends, allies, and/or mentor
Removing all forms of support for the hero
He must face things alone

21. #6 Gradual Isolation of the Tragic Hero
Soon the hero is isolated
Brings on new problems:
Sleeplessness
Rage
Confusion
Hallucination
violence

22. # 7 Mobilization of the Opposition
At some point, the opposing forces must mobilize against the hero in order to bring the tragedy to its conclusion.

23. # 8 Tragic Recognition of the Flaw by the Tragic Hero: Too Late
Tragic hero must realize the error/mistake he has made that is bringing about his fall
He must accept that he alone is to blame for his downfall
However, this tragic recognition always comes to late to save the life of the hero

24. #9 Last, Courageous Attempt to Restore Lost Honor/Greatness
While the hero's life is forfeit, he does, after Tragic Recognition, receive some chance to redeem himself - at least a little
A display of courage
Nobility of the heart
Self-sacrifice
Something to show us that while he was someone who needed to be defeated, brought down, or even a monster, he had good in him

25. # 10 Audience Recognizes Potential for Greatness
This is inevitably tied to the hero's attempt to restore his greatness - # 9
The audience must recognize what a tragic waste the death of the hero is
What kind of person he could have been had it not been for his mistakes and downfall

26. # 11 Death of the Tragic Hero
It is a tragedy after all

27. # 12 Restoration of Order
The natural order of The Great Chain of Being is restored

28. Aristotle Hero
Aristotle once said that "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall."
An Aristotelian tragic hero must have four characteristics:
Nobility: (of a noble birth) or wisdom (by virtue of birth).
Hamartia: (translated as flaw, mistake, or error)
Peripetia: A reversal of fortune (peripetia) brought about because of the hero's Hamartia (or tragic virtue).
Anagnorisis: The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions (anagnorisis).

29. TRAGEDY, HUMAN FLAWS, & RESPONSIBILITY
Proairesis- The freedom of choice at the end; the degree to which the Tragic Hero is “free” to choose – rational decision
The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent =
The calamities of tragedy proceed mainly from actions, and those, the actions of men
Shakespeare's tragic heroes are responsible for the catastrophe of their falls.
The hero always contributes in some measure to the disaster in which he perishes