Quote: "Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by playwright William Shakespeare."
Focuses on William Shakespeare, and how he contributed to the development of tragedy. This topic should also discuss the different types of Shakespearean tragedy, and what makes them unique.
Elizabethan Theatre: This topic is important as it helps to understand the context in which Shakespeare wrote his plays. It involves knowledge about the theatre's structure, stagecraft, and the audience.
Tragic Hero: The tragic hero is a crucial element of Shakespearean Tragedy. Understanding this concept is essential to identify the protagonist's characteristics that ultimately lead to their downfall.
Tragic Flaw: This is a characteristic of Shakespeare's tragic heroes that brings about their downfall. Examples of tragic flaws are ambition, jealousy, and pride.
Catharsis: Catharsis is an important concept in Shakespearean Tragedy. It refers to the emotional cleansing or release of the audience's emotions when watching a tragedy.
Fate and Free Will: This topic explores the role of fate and free will in Shakespearean Tragedy. It helps to understand whether the protagonist's downfall is predetermined or the result of their actions.
Hamartia: Hamartia is a literary term that describes the protagonist's tragic flaw that leads to their downfall.
Imagery: Imagery is a powerful tool used by Shakespeare to create a mood or express characters' emotions. Understanding the use of imagery helps to identify the deeper meaning of the play.
Irony: Irony is a potent tool used by Shakespeare to create an effect in the play. It is used to express a meaning opposite to the actual meaning of the words.
Themes: Themes are critical to understanding Shakespearean Tragedy. Examples of themes explored in these plays are love, revenge, ambition, jealousy, and betrayal.
Tragic Structure: Understanding the structure and plot of Shakespearean Tragedy is essential to analyze the play's progression and climax. The plot follows a typical structure of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Language: Shakespeare's language is unique to his plays. Understanding the language is critical to fully appreciate the plays' nuances and complex characters. Knowing the difference between prose and verse is also essential.
Dramatic Irony: Dramatic Irony is a literary device that Shakespeare uses to create suspense in the play. It involves the audience's knowledge being superior to the characters' knowledge.
Soliloquy: Soliloquies are monologues given by the protagonist to reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings. Understanding the soliloquies is essential to analyze the character's psyche.
Imagery: Imagery is essential to understand the play's mood and tone. Shakespeare uses imagery to paint vivid scenes and create a sensory experience for the audience.
Religious Aspect: Religion played a crucial role in Shakespearean times. Understanding the role of religion in the plays is critical to interpreting the play's deeper meaning.
Tragicomedy: Tragicomedy is a genre that combines elements of both comedy and tragedy. Understanding this genre is essential to appreciate Shakespeare's ability to intertwine humor with tragedy.
Shakespeare's Life: Knowledge about Shakespeare's life, influences, and interests is essential to understand the context in which he wrote the plays.
Motifs: Motifs are images, symbols or themes that recur throughout the play. Understanding the motifs in a Shakespearean play helps to identify its deeper meaning and theme.
Revenge Tragedy: Revenge tragedy is a sub-genre of Shakespearean Tragedy that focuses on the theme of revenge. Understanding this sub-genre helps to identify the characters and plot's motivation.
Historiography: Historiography is the study of how history is written and interpreted. Understanding the historical context of a play is essential to understand its deeper meaning, as many of Shakespeare's plays were based on historical events.
Quote: "Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the history of England, they were classified as 'histories' in the First Folio."
Quote: "The Roman tragedies—Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus—are also based on historical figures."
Quote: "Shakespeare's romances (tragicomic plays) were written late in his career and published originally as either tragedy or comedy."
Quote: "They share some elements of tragedy, insofar as they feature a high-status central character..."
Quote: "...but they end happily like Shakespearean comedies."
Quote: "Almost three centuries after Shakespeare's death, the scholar F. S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the 'problem play.'"
Quote: "...for plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending."
Quote: "Because they are based on real figures throughout the history of England, they were classified as 'histories' in the First Folio."
Quote: "They share some qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy."
Quote: "...because their sources were foreign and ancient they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories."
Quote: "...they end happily like Shakespearean comedies."
Quote: "Scholars continue to disagree on how to categorize some Shakespearean plays."
Quote: "...plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending."
Quote: "They were classified as 'histories' in the First Folio."
Quote: "Almost three centuries after Shakespeare's death, the scholar F. S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the 'problem play'..."
Quote: "...they are also based on historical figures."
Quote: "They end happily like Shakespearean comedies."
Quote: "Shakespeare's romances (tragicomic plays) were written late in his career and published originally as either tragedy or comedy."
Quote: "Scholars continue to disagree on how to categorize some Shakespearean plays."