Biography

Born in England, Married Anne Hathaway and had 3 children. Started his career as an actor, writer, and part owner of a play company.

The King & Queen of England loved his work, He wrote 37 plays and 154 Sonnets. (give or take) He wrote plays like “Macbeth” & “Hamlet” His plays fell under 3 categories - Tragedies - Comedies - Histories

1- The Tragic Hero There is usually only one tragic hero Only great men are tragic heroes The audience must desire the defeat of the tragic hero and the tragic hero contributes to their own destruction. The tragic hero doesn’t always have to be good as their life could be a mystery.

2- A tragic flaw A quality in a tragic hero that leads to his downfall. The flaw is often an obsession.

-3 The tragic story The tragic story usually ends with the death the tragic hero. The death is unordinary in which they are responsible for their own falls.

-4 The abnormal, the supernatural, fate, fortune and chance. Shakespeare usually portrays his characters as insane with a character often having hallucinations involving ghosts and witches who have supernatural knowledge. Shakespeare allows chance to influence the actions of most tragedies.

-5 Tragic Conflicts The tragic hero usually deals with external or internal conflicts which cause other problems to arise. There is 2 people or groups involved in the conflict, one being the tragic hero.

6-The Tragic Pattern A man of high estate A flawed character Misreading's and rationalizations Isolation of the tragic hero Murder, exile, and alienation

7-Tragic Structure in Plays Exposition is the general time place and opening conditions in the play. Initiating incident is the action that starts the conflict. Rising Action is a series of actions that usually last more than one act. -The hero of the play is the force trying to make things work out. Climax is the point where the protagonist reaches a change in him as well as the direction of the play.

Falling Action covers several scenes and shows events that go against the main character. Moment of final suspense is the moment when the play seems to go for the protagonist, most common in the end of plays and makes the hero believe the tragedy will be avoided. Catastrophe is the complete downfall of the protagonist. It is an event usually seen as good thing because of punishment towards the villain.