Common Characteristics in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Common Characteristics in Shakespeare's Tragedies

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , who is the master playwright in the Engilish literature ,is especially known for his extraordinarily well designed , pitiful tragedies .Shakespeare’s tragedies are so perfect that they correspond to the sense of tragic within us.The esence of Shakespeare’s is the expression of the great paradoxes of life. It is the paradox of disappointment. Defeat , torn hopes ,and death face us in the end .He writes his great tragedies in the third period of his career.It is also known as Period of Tragic Gloom .During this period his mood changes ;his joy turns to sorrow.We find that he is interested in moral themes as honour , faithfulness ,fortune. He made them the themes of his tragedies as Julius Ceasar , Macbeth , Hamlet , Othello , King Lear . Each play is especially concerned with one central figure or tragic protoganist.They are also members of high class.They are noble by birth.They have a tragic flaw which is responsible for their catastrophe.Shakespearean tragedy has not only a noble hero ,but also four parts ; exposition , rising action , falling action ,resolution in common.While no play that finishes with the hero alive is, in the full Shakespearean sense , a tragedy;the story also depicts the confusing part of the protoganist’s life. It is essentially a tale of suffering and calamity, leading the hero to death.Only the Love Tragedies - Romeo and Juliet , Antony and Cleopatra - are exceptions to this pattern .In these tragedies , the heroine is at the center of action as the hero.The rest of the plays , including Hamlet, have single hero, so tragic story is mainly concerned with one person.Shakespeare’s almost all tragedies have a lot of qualities in common .Although he gives many precious tragic works during his third period ,his mainly concerned theme and moral remain the same.He is mainly interested in human nature with its all aspects and all flaws ; within the consideration of the concept of fate.His understanding of four -act play also helps him to write so well constructed tragedies.

Firstly, the most clear and important quality is the four-part construction in Shakespeare’s tragedies as in common ,and a five-act play is seen when we look at the chronological order.Components of the tragedies are handled in the way that they occur chronologically.Firstly ,exposition part gives the situation or state affairs , out of which the conflict arises.Thus ,exposition part is the first act.We are made aware of the general looking ,the people , the problems of the play , the conflicts or potential conflicts.There is usually a foreshadowing and a suspence for what will happen in the following parts .The second part , rising action , deals with the beginning ,the growth and the nature of the conflicts ,and form of the bulk of the tragedy ,comprising the second ,third , and fourth acts , generally part of the first act ,and also fifth act.Time and sense of urgency are increasingly important as the speed of the action increases.Then from second act to forward , we see hero begins to be powerfull ,advancing ,scattering the opposition until fourth act , when the reversal of situation takes place. Oppressing forces begin to resist and to make plans for the defeat of the tragic hero , and the protoganist’s power is declining as the restraining power increases, until that point, we are in the falling action .The final part is called as the resolution ;the opposition reaches its full power and destroys the weakened hero.This is where the recognation takes place.Final scenes of the play are such that we become aware again of the greatness of the soul.Hamlet is dead ;Lear is dead ;macbeth is dead; but although we can see the justice of it .The usual satisfaction of feeling at the death of a killer ,for instance Iago , is conspicuously lacking.

Secondly, the tragic hero as Hamlet , is a man of high class , has a flaw in his character .These are other common qualities which are usually found in Shakespeare’s tragedies. His heros are men of rank.But being of high estate is not everything ,the tragic hero’s soul is also exceptional ,and raises him in some respect much above the avarage level of humanly manners Shakespeare’s heros are made of the stuff we find in ourselves. They have adreadfull gift that carries with a touch of greatness ,fixed idea ,determination .When nobility of mind or oppressive force are joined to it,we can realize the power and peak of the soul .The hero falls unexpectedly from a high place. It is a place of glory , honour , joy , and we feel that kind of awe at the depths. According to Shakespearean sense ,a tale of a man slowly worn to death by poverty , disease , sordid vices, would not be tragic.Excessive suffering and calamity then affecting the hero are essential components of tragedy. The pangs of love and the anguish of remorse have the same effect both on a worker and a prince.But , if we mention about a prince ,he has a greatness and dignity of its own is a mistake.It is also significant that every tragedy of Shakespeare has a man because in real life real tragedy is experienced by indivudual man.So we identify ourselves with the protoganist.Traits include intelligence as in Hamlet , foolish vanity as in King Lear , treachery in Macbeth and strength of the character as in Othello. Such characterization is well suited to expressing tragedy.Second characteristic in the life of protoganist is the tragic flaw.This flaw always takes the form of obsession.The circustamces where the hero is placed ,is fatal to him.To meet these situatuons ,something is required, which the hero can not give. His fault ,joining with other causes , brings on hero’s ruin.That fatal imperfection is of differing kinds .At one extreme is the murderous ambition of Richard III .Tragic error involves no conscious breach of right .In Brutus and Othello it is accompanied by full conviction of right.Shakespeare gives to Macbeth extra-ordinary greatness and a conscience so terrifying in its warnings also so maddening in its reproaches that the spectatle compels a horrified sympathy . Hamlet has also well considered ambition Hamlet wants to revenge his father’s murder ,but his success is accompanied by disaster because of the tangled actions.

“And let me speak to the yet unknowing world

How these things came about.So shall you hear

Of carnal , bloody , and unnatural acts ,

Of accidental judgements , casual slaughters,

Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,

And , in this upshot , purposes mistook

Fall’n on the inventors’ heads.”

Hamlet V ii [1]

Thirdly , there are three elements , which are both closely connected with one another and commonly found in every Shakespeare’s tragedy; supernatural elements , abnormal conditions ,and the factor of fortune /fate .First of all ,supernatural elements can be explained as an illusion in the thought of the protoganist.It makes contribution to the action , whereas it is placed in the nearest space with the character.It confirms a distinct type to inward movings already present: to the half-constructed thought or memory of the guilt in Macbeth and to suspicion in Hamlet. Then we come to the abnormal conditions which are also connected to the mind of the character .They are never introduced as the origin of deeds of any dramatic time .Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking has no influance on the events that follow it.Macbeth would not murder Duncan because seeing a dagger in the air;he would see a dagger in the air because of beeing about to murder Duncan.Lastly the factor of fortune /fate is a prominent fact of the life.Hero may start the event but can never calculate or control the way which is indeed in the hands of fate.It is a tragic fact.Shakespeare uses accident to make us feel it. For instance ,accidentaly Romeo get Friar Lawrece’s letter ,that accident gives inevitable way to the play.It is inherent in his tragedies that the tragic hero is responsible for the exceptional nature of catastrophe itself .

Finally , there must be a real reason and a good explanation for all these complicated situations which come and find our unfortunate hero .It is mainly about hore’s innerside.There is mentioned about internal and external conflict of hero .Shakespeare catches that point and makes use of it in his each tragedy.Internal conflict means that tragic hero in Shakespearean tragedy is torn by an inerside struggle.It is mainly about spiritual forces like ghost .Whatever forces act in the human soul ,whether good or evil ;doubts ,scruples ;these are spiritual forces generating the internal conflict for the hero. Treasonous ambition in Macbeth with the laws of hospitality , loyalty , patriotism in Malcom ; collide in the soul of Macbeth ; here is the inner conflict .It is a combination of inner and external struggles that make Shakespeare’s tragedies . The difficulty is that the spectator desires the destruction of the protoganist. He contributes to his own defeat by acts or by tragic error.External conflict arises when there are two persons one of them is hero himself. Two parties , or groups are also seen in Shakespeare’s tragedies as sources of external conflict which brings hero’s downfall in the end.For instance , in Romeo and Julliet ; there are two families The Montegues and The Capulets. They were rival families in Verona , being external conflicts , they prepare the death of two main characters in the play. In Richard II , the King and the Henry Bollinbroke are at opposite sides.In these cases , conflict between external forces ends with the catastrophe of the protoganist.

To sum up, the most distinguished characteristic commonly found in every tragedy of Shakespeare is four-part construction which contains exposition ,rising action ,falling action resolution and also events are developed in five-act; that is the common quality which is mainly about the structure or the form of the tragedy by Shakespeare.Another one is about the protoganist of the play; he must be a member of high class ,usually a king or a prince.Generally we will hear about him before he enters to the play.Firstly we are given the first impression of the greatness of the hero through the eyes of other characters or the narrator himself.In the first two acts we are aware of a removing force within the protoganist’s soul ,his hamartia.We also see the nature of the inner torture he goes through.We can see both Macbeth’s potential for charity and his ambition .At the same time Othello as a human being he is near to the perfectness , but when it comes to the jealousy ,he is an obsessive one.Time becomes more and more important.While the protoganist is pursuing his course , the inner and the outer conflicts appear in front of him.Plot and the sense of urgency develop at the same time.These conflicts not only create tensions but also creates an effect of a kind of stream -rolling.The urgency usually rises in the third act.Furthermore the obsession and the control of the hamartia are misreadings, accidents or chances.But ,the difference among these three things has no meaning for the protoganist ;they are all the same.As misreadings and the flaw go on ,new complications and conflicts arise .In other words ,the death of the protoganist is brought about.So he has to face the opposing powers and the responsibility for his previous actions all alone.Through this process of isolation and alienation we see as internal forces ,suffering , rage , hallicunation , confusion ,sleeplessness .Also at some parts of the tragedy the opposing forces start to mobilize agains the her oto bring the conclusion . Usually the protoganist is confronted by an enemy in the fifth act; for instance Macduff in Macbeth as an enemy of Macbeth creates that scene.At this point the hero realizes the mistake which brings about his catastrophe.Unfortunately he knows that he is the real responsible and he alone is to blame.It is too necessary in Shakespeare’s tragedy.It is also called as tragic recognation When there is no no opportunity to correct the mistake , tragic recognation takes place.Firstly , recognation appeares then catastrophe follows that action.The protoganist generally gives us a particularly moving display of courage .We are left with the feeling that indeed Macbeth is a monster. Since he should have been destroyed. According to Shakespeare ,tragedy is the form of the mystery since ,the greatness of the spirit is the highest peak in our minds.It also makes us realize clearly the worth of what is wasted.Shakespearean tragedy is the combination of all these steps.As father of English tragedy ,he uses perfect style , charactarization , theme for each of his tragedy.