1. ELEMENTS OF A SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY

2. EXPOSITION  Time and place is established  Main characters, their positions, circumstances, and relationships to one another are revealed  Sets up the mood and conditions  Act I Exposition

4. EXCITING FORCE  This is what gets the plot going  It begins the conflict which will continue in the play  Also called the complication or initial incident  Act I Exciting Force

6. RISING ACTION  The series of conflicts which lead up to the climax of the play  Acts I, II, and III Rising Action

8. CLIMAX  The turning point of the play  Act III Climax

10. FALLING ACTION  The consequences of the turning point occur  New conflicts may result  Occurs over several acts  Acts III, IV, and V Falling Action

12. CATASTROPHE  The play concludes with the hero’s death  The hero must die for divine retribution  Act V Catastrophe