The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's TragediesMacbeth clutches an imaginary dagger; Hamlet holds up Yorick's skull; Lear enters with Cordelia in his arms. Do these memorable and iconic moments have anything to tell us about the definition of Shakespearean tragedy? Is it in fact helpful to talk about 'Shakespearean tragedy' as a concept, or are there only Shakespearean tragedies? What kind of figure is the tragic hero? Is there always such a figure? What makes some plays more tragic than others? Beginning with a discussion of tragedy before Shakespeare and considering Shakespeare's tragedies chronologically one by one, this 2007 book seeks to investigate such questions in a way that highlights both the distinctiveness and shared concerns of each play within the broad trajectory of Shakespeare's developing exploration of tragic form. |
Contents
| 7 | |
Titus Andronicus | 25 |
Romeo and Juliet | 40 |
Julius Caesar | 52 |
Hamlet | 65 |
Othello | 77 |
Timon of Athens | 91 |
King Lear | 103 |
Macbeth | 114 |
Antony and Cleopatra | 126 |
Coriolanus | 140 |
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Common terms and phrases
actor Antony and Cleopatra Antony’s Apemantus Aristotle audience Aufidius become blood bond Brutus Capulet Cassius chorus classical clown comedy comic confirm conflict contemporary contrast Core scene Coriolanus death defined definition Desdemona drama earlier Elizabethan emblematic Emilia English excess fear figure film final finally find first first scene fit fly friends Ghost Gloucester’s Gorboduc Hamlet handkerchief honour human Iago influenced Julius Caesar kill kind King King’s Lady Macbeth Lavinia Lear Lear’s lovers Macduff manhood Marcus mark antony Martius masculinity moral murder opening scene Ophelia Othello parallel performance play’s Plutarch political Portia protagonist question represented response rhetoric ritual Roman Rome Romeo and Juliet sacrifice Saturninus scripts seems Seneca Shakespeare Shakespeare’s play Shakespearean tragedy shows soliloquy Spanish Tragedy speaks specific speech stage direction story suggest Tamora theatre thee thing thou Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus tragic hero villain violence virtue wife women words
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare's Tragedies Cambridge Introductions to Literature |
| Author | Janette Dillon |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2007 |
| ISBN | 1139462431, 9781139462433 |
| Length | 169 pages |
| Subjects | › › Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / Shakespeare |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |