Macbeth's Downfall

William Shakespeare started writing tragedies because he thought the tragic plots of his time were lacking artistic purpose and form. His work was extraordinary in that it was not of the norm for the time. His tragedies focused on the fall of a notable person, with suspense and climax thrown in to capture the attention of the audience. In the plays of Shakespeare, the tragic hero is always a noble man who enjoys some status and prosperity in society but possesses some moral weakness or flaw which leads to his downfall. External circumstances such as fate or supernatural entities also play a part in the hero's fall. Evil agents often act upon the hero and the forces of good, causing the hero to make wrong decisions. Innocent people always feel
the fall in tragedies, as well. His most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608. These include his four major tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.
List of tragedies by William Shakespeare

* Romeo and Juliet * Macbeth * King Lear * Hamlet * Othello * Titus Andronicus * The Tragedy of Julius Caesar * Antony and Cleopatra * Coriolanus * The History of Troilus and Cressida * The Life of Timon of Athens * Cymbeline was listed in the First Folio as a tragedy although most modern readers regard it as a romance.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Hamlet is about an emotionally scarred young man trying to avenge the murder of his father, the king. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to Hamlet, telling him that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has now become the king. Claudius has also married Gertrude, the old king's widow and Hamlet's mother. To buy time to plot his revenge, Hamlet takes on an "antic disposition," acting like a madman and alienating himself from the young woman he loves, Ophelia. His opportunity to publicly reveal Claudius's guilt comes when a troupe of actors come to Elsinore. Hamlet gets them to stage a play which parallels the murder of his father. The play itself reveals that Hamlet knows the truth about his father's death; the king's horrified reaction reveals his guilt. After a series of events, a "sporting" duel between Hamlet and Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, is set up, but Laertes poisons the tip of his sword in order to kill Hamlet during the fight (as he believes that Hamlet had contributed much to Ophelia’s suicide). Meanwhile, Claudius prepares a poisoned cup for Hamlet to drink from. During the fight, Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup and collapses. The swords of Hamlet and Laertes are switched, and both Hamlet and Laertes are mortally wounded. Before he dies, however, Hamlet stabs Claudius and also forces him to swallow the poisoned drink.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Othello, revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio, and his trusted advisor Iago, the villain of the play who plots revenge against Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio because Othello has promoted Cassio to lieutenant, a position to which Iago feels he is entitled. The action of the play moves to Cyprus, where an anticipated military battle is over before it begins. Iago manages to get Cassio drunk at a celebration where he had strict orders to refrain from drinking and to be on guard. When a fight breaks out (again set up by Iago) and the alarm bell is rung, Othello angrily strips Cassio of his title of lieutenant. Cassio is devastated and humiliated by Othello's action, and Desdemona intervenes on his behalf to convince Othello that Cassio's punishment does not fit his crime. Iago begins to imply to Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. He manipulates Othello and causes him to break into a jealous rage. In the final act of the play, Othello awakens Desdemona and accuses her outright of infidelity. Although she denies his accusation and swears her love for her husband, Othello refuses to believe her, suffocating her with a pillow. Emilia, Iago’s wife, soon realizes that the true villain is her own husband. When she blames her husband to the officials who gather at the scene, Iago stabs her in the back and escapes. In anguish, Othello commits suicide. Iago does not die at the end, although he is to be taken away and tortured.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Macbeth is about a noble warrior who gets caught up in a struggle for power.
The play begins by immediately linking Macbeth to the forces of evil and the supernatural in the form of three witches. Shortly afterwards, he and his friend Banquo are confronted by the witches, who tell him that he will be given the title of Thane of Cawdor and will become king. Macbeth realizes that the only way he can become king is to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth, just as ambitious as and more ruthless than her husband, finally goads him into committing the murder. Macbeth goes through with the murder of Duncan, but the act marks the beginning of his descent into guilt, paranoia, psychological disturbance, and tyranny. His worst acts are the hired assassination of his friend Banquo and the slaughter of the family of Macduff, a noble who has been openly opposed to him. Macbeth publicly reveals his guilt when the ghost of Banquo appears to him (and to him only) at a celebration feast; Macbeth's bizarre behavior as he "confronts" the ghost makes it clear to everyone that he has been involved in the murders of Duncan and Banquo. Distraught, Macbeth returns to the witches for more information about his future, and they conjure several apparitions, who tell him to beware Macduff; that "no man born of woman" will harm him; and that he will never be defeated until the trees of Great Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane castle. The witches' last apparition
seems to reemphasize the first prophecy that Banquo's sons will be kings. As the forces of good, led by Macduff and Malcolm (Duncan's son and the rightful heir to the throne), gather strength and prepare to attack Macbeth's castle, Macbeth's world begins to fall apart. Lady Macbeth goes insane, overwhelmed by guilt for the actions that she helped to start. She eventually takes her own life, and Macbeth begins to realize that he has lost everything, including his soul, in his bloody pursuit of power. Macbeth finally comes face to face with Macduff. Desperately clinging to his last hope, Macbeth tells Macduff that no man born of woman can kill him. However, Macduff reveals that he was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, and proceeds to kill Macbeth. Malcolm takes his rightful place as king, and peace is restored in Scotland.

Your browser may not support display of this image.King Lear is a tragic story of an old man's descent into madness as his world crumbles around him.
It is also a tale of Lear's pride and his blindness to the truth about his three daughters and others around him. As the play opens, Lear, a well-respected King, wants someone to take over his duties. He announces that he will divide his kingdom among his three daughters on the basis of how much they can gush about how much they love him. The two eldest, Goneril and Regan, say what they must in order to win a big share of his wealth and power. The youngest daughter, Cordelia, is the most sincere and true to Lear, and instead tells him that she "loves his majesty according to her duty, neither more or less." Lear sees this as ingratitude, and cuts Cordelia off entirely, along with Kent; a friend of Lear’s who tries to intervene. The King of France comes to Cordelia's rescue by offering to marry her. Lear decides to divide his time equally between Goneril and Regan, living with each daughter and her husband for a month at a time. Lear lives first with Goneril and her husband, the Duke of Albany. However, Goneril soon tires of the burden and sends Lear off to Regan. Regan, too, wants no part of caring for her father, and she and her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, leave to stay at the castle of the Earl of Gloucester. At Gloucester's castle, Goneril, Regan, and Lear engage in a bitter confrontation. Infuriated by Goneril and
Regan's repeated attempts to strip him of his knights and his dignity, Lear realizes that Cordelia was the only daughter who actually loved him, and he runs out. Cornwall, Goneril, and Regan shut the doors of Gloucester's castle against the frail old man, leaving him to fend for himself against a violent storm. In the next act, Cornwall and Goneril pluck out Gloucester's eyes and leave him for dead because he has confessed his sympathy towards Lear and Cordelia. Cornwall is also mortally wounded in this scene, stabbed by a servant who tries to stop his attack on Gloucester. Hearing that her father is in trouble, Cordelia comes from France with an army to fight against Goneril, Regan and their husbands. With the help of Kent, she is reunited with Lear, though in the battle between England and France, the forces of Albany and Cornwall are victorious, and Lear and Cordelia are taken prisoner. Edmund, bastard son of Gloucester, who has allied himself with both Goneril and Regan and has led each to believe he will marry her, secretly orders that Cordelia and Lear be killed in their prison cells. Albany reveals his true nobility when he betrays Goneril and accuses her of treason, along with Regan and Edmund. Edmund’s guilt is to be determined by duel, with an unknown warrior representing Albany. This warrior is Edgar, Edmund’s half-brother. His true identity is not revealed until he has won the fight and Edmund lies dying. Edgar then tells Albany his account of the period of exile with Lear. Edmund appears to be moved by Edgar's story of compassion and suffering, and when Kent arrives on the scene, Edmund suddenly remembers his order for the deaths of Lear and Cordelia. At almost the same moment, Albany is informed that Goneril has taken her own life and has also poisoned her sister as a result of their bitter rivalry for Edmund's affections. Tragically, Edmund's "recollection" is too late; Lear enters carrying Cordelia's body. Lear himself dies in the final moments of the play, a heartbroken man.