Shakespearean tragedy

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Like most Western tragedies, Shakespearean tragedy usually depicts a protagonist who falls from grace and dies, along with a fair proportion of the rest of the cast. It has been suggested that Shakespearean tragedy is the polar opposite of a comedy; it "...exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, or even the ironic action of their virtues, or through the nature of fate, destiny, or the human condition to suffer, fail, and die...." In other words, it is a drama with an unhappy ending.

Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career: one of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, and he followed it a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, his most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth (his four major tragedies),and Antony & Cleopatra, along with the lesser-known Timon of Athens and Troilus and Cressida.

Many have linked these plays to Aristotle's precept about tragedy: that the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character. Certainly, each of Shakespeare's tragic protagonists is capable of both good and evil. The playwright insists always on the operation of the doctrine of free will; always, the (anti)hero is able to back out, to redeem himself. But, the author dictates, they must move unheedingly to their doom.

In analyzing a tragedy, one might find it helpful to consider the following concerning the protagonist:

What is his conflict? Is there more than one? Is the conflict concrete or abstract?
What is the tragic flaw?
What mistakes does the hero make that contribute to his downfall?
At what point, if ever, does he recognize his weakness?

Concerning the antagonist, consider the following: