Maturski

JAVNA USTANOVA GIMNAZIJA OBALA SARAJEVO

HAJRO NADIR 

SHAKESPEAR’S TRAGEDIES

MATURSKI RAD

SARAJEVO, APRIL, 2011.

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Javna ustanova GIMNAZIJA OBALA Sarajevo

MATURSKI RAD IZ ENGLESKOG JEZIKA TEMA – SHAKESPEARE’S – SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDIES

MENTOR

UČENIK 

Žugor Biljana, prof.

Hajro Nadir, IV4

Sarajevo, April, 2011 god. 2

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction……………………………………4 1.1 What Are Shakespeare's Tragedies?.................. 4 2.0. The tragedys of William Shakespeare………....5 3.0.William Shakespeare…………………………...6 4.0 Romeo and Juliet……………………………….9 4.1 Characters List…………………………………10 4.2 The most important characters……………........10 5.0. Hamlet…………………………………............13 6.0 The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar…………………..14 7.0 Macbeth………………………………………...15 8.0 King Lear……………………………………….16 9.0 Coriolanus ……………………………………...17 10.0 Othello…………………………………………18 11.0 Timon of Athens……………………………….19 12.0 Titus Andronicus……………………………....20 13.0 Conclusion…………………………………….21 14.0Literature……………………………………….22

Introduction 3

Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. One of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, 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, along with An tony & Cleopatra, Coriolanus and the lesser-known Timon of Athens and Troilus and Cressida.

What Are Shakespeare's Tragedies? - Shakespeare’s tragedies can be divided into two distinct groups. The love, or “heart,” tragedies of Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra and Othello, involve a pair of lovers torn apart by fate and society. In these three plays, the main characters are not masters of their own destiny, but  pawns pulled along toward death or permanent separation by forces beyond control. Othello and Troilus and Cressida are considered by some experts to be borderline heart/head tragedies, as they combine elements of both genres. - The aging and possibly insane king undertakes a completely different tragic journey in King Lear. In this play, Lear gives away or loses his throne, land, shelter, and even clothes after he fatally misjudges his youngest daughter, Cordelia. King Lear is often considered the most tragic of Shakespeare’s tragedies, as Lear ultimately redeems himself, only to suffer the death of  Cordelia and himself. - The bloodiest of Shakespeare’s tragedies is his earliest, Titus Andronicus, believed to have been written in the 1590s. Titus Andronicus involves a Roman general who sacrifices the son of a defeated enemy. This begins a cycle of vengeful acts, ending with Titus’ daughter having her  hands cut off and tongue cut out, and her attackers baked in a pie and served to their mother. Titus Andronicus is not typical of Shakespeare’s style in any other plays, and is often considered  by experts to be Shakespeare’s attempt to write an Elizabethan Revenge Play, a popular style in his youth - Timon of Athens is perhaps the least

known of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It involves a Greek  misanthrope, Timon, who loses all of his money and chooses to blame the city, rather than himself. Timon dies in the wilderness after paying a rebel to continue his assault on Athens. This  play is generally disliked by scholars, and some even believe it may be the result of a poor  collaboration between Shakespeare and another author.

- Shakespeare’s tragedies usually share several features. Most begin in an ordered society and

move toward chaos, as the hero allows his flaws to rule him. Often, this chaotic change is reflected in the natural world, with storms and strange mists being characteristic. Most importantly, the plays feature heroes whom audiences can identify with and feel sorry for. The  protagonist of Shakespeare’s tragedies are not villains or saints but generally good people destroyed by their own ego or ill fate.

The tragedys of William Shakespeare

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         

Antony and Cleopatra - 1606-07 first performed. It was first printed in 1623 (First Folio) Coriolanus - 1607-08 first performed. It was first printed in 1623 (First Folio) Hamlet - 1600-01 first performed. It was first printed in 1603 Julius Caesar - 1600-01 first performance. It was first printed in 1623 (First Folio) King Lear - 1606 December 26 First recorded performance. It was first printed in 1608 Macbeth - 1611-12 First recorded performance. It was first printed in 1623 (First Folio) Othello - 1604-05 first performed. It was first printed in 1622 Romeo and Juliet - 1594-95 first performance. It was first printed in 1597 Timon of Athens - 1607-1608 first performance. It was first printed in 1623 (First Folio) Titus Andronicus - 1594 January 24 first performance. It was first printed in 1594

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Othello”

“Coriolanus”

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William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare For all his fame and celebration, William Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure with regards to personal history. There are just two primary sources for information on the Bard: his works, and various legal and church documents that have survived from Elizabethan times. Naturally, there are many gaps in this body of information, which tells us little about Shakespeare the man. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, 1564. Church records from Holy Trinity Church indicate that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564. Young William was born of John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a landed local heiress. William, according to the church register, was the third of eight children in the Shakespeare household—three of whom died in childhood. John Shakespeare had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the late 1570s. There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to rival that of Eton. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote that John Shakespeare had  placed William "for some time in a free school." John Shakespeare, as a Stratford official, would have been granted a waiver of tuition for his son. As the records do not exist, we do not know how long William attended the school, but certainly the literary quality of his works suggest a solid education. What is certain is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to university schooling, which has stirred some of the debate concerning the autorship of his works. The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage to Anne Hathaway on November  28, 1582. William was 18 at the time, and Anne was 26—and pregnant. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585 and christened at Holy Trinity. Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11, 1596.For the seven years following the birth of his twins, William Shakespeare disappears from all records, finally turning up again in London some time in 1592. This period, known as the "Lost Years," has sparked as much controversy about Shakespeare's life as any  period. Rowe notes that young Shakespeare was quite fond of poaching, and may have had to flee Stratford after an incident with Sir Thomas Lucy, whose deer and rabbits he allegedly poached.

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There is also rumor of Shakespeare working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire for a time, though this is circumstantial at best. It is estimated that Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and began to establish himself as an actor and playwright. Evidently, Shakespeare garnered envy early on for his talent, as related  by the critical attack of Robert Greene, a London playwright, in 1592: "...an upstart crow,  beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country." Greene's bombast notwithstanding, Shakespeare must have shown considerable promise. By 1594, he was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men (called the King's Men after the ascension of James I in 1603), but was a managing partner in the operation as well. With Will Kempe, a master comedian, and Richard Burbage, a leading tragic actor of the day, the Lord Chamberlain's Men became a favorite London troupe, patronized by royalty and made popular by the theatre-going public. Shakespeare's success is apparent when studied against other playwrights of this age. His company was the most successful in London in his day. He had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate of his audiences. Never before had a  playwright enjoyed sufficient acclaim to see his works published and sold as popular literature in the midst of his career. In addition, Shakespeare's ownership share in both the theatrical company and the Globe itself made him as much an entrepeneur as artist. While Shakespeare might not be accounted wealthy by London standards, his success allowed him to purchase New House and retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611. William Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611, bequeathing his properties to his daughter Susanna (married in 1607 to Dr. John Hall). To his surviving daughter Judith, he left £300, and to his wife Anne left "my second best bed." William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, 1616. This is probably more of a romantic myth than reality, but Shakespeare was interred at Holy Trinity in Stratford on April 25. In 1623, two working companions of Shakespeare from the Lord Chamberlain's Men, John Heminges and Henry Condell, printed the First Folio edition of  his collected plays, of which half were previously unpublished.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

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“Romeo and Juliet”

“Romeo and Juliet”

Romeo and Juliet  Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is  based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juielt by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in  Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1582.

Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but, to expand the plot, developed supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare's original. Shakespeare's use of dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character  develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play. Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical and opera. Already in the introduction, we can understand that two prominent families Montecchi and Capuletti are at odds with each other. Therefore, in the main square of Verona brawl breaks out that ends with a warning of Prince Escala. We assume that Romeo is in love with Roslyn, a girl from Capuletti family. Head of the family Capuletti organizes an entertainment, Romeo’s love for Roslyn forces him to come to the party. “BENVOLIO: Tell me in sadness, who is that you love.  ROMEO: What, shall I groan and tell thee?  BENVOLIO: Groan! why, no. But sadly tell me who. ROMEO: Bid a sick man in sadness make his will: Ah, word ill urged to one that is so ill! In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman.”

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At the party Romeo meets Juliet. They fall in love and feel for each other love that is pure and sincere, witho1ut restrictions imposed by the hatred between their families. Romeo only then realizes the true meaning of life. “ROMEO: [To JULIET] If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the   gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.  JULIET: Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion  shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.”

Romeo and Juliet are married in secret. In a quarrel, Tybalt, the nephew of Capuletti, kills Mercuzio, Romeo’s friend. Wanting to avenge the death of his good friend, Romeo kills Tybalt. Then he must flee, because the prince is coming soon. Prince condemns Romeo to exile in Mantova, but his feelings for Julia, prevented him from doing so and he is hiding at Lorenzo’s  place. “JULIET: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.  ROMEO: [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?  JULIET: 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part   Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose  By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,  Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And   for that name which is no part of thee50 Take all myself.  ROMEO: I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth  I never will be Romeo.”

Father and mother want Juliet to marry Paris, a prominent, young and wealthy aristocrat. Because of the eternal love to which she vowed to Romeo, she chooses death rather than marry to Paris. The friar Lorenzo, wanting to avert the tragedy, gives Juliet a potion that was supposed to make her sleep, and sends a message to Romeo that she is actually alive. Unfortunately, the messenger  does not come in time to tell Romeo the truth. He goes into the tomb of Capuletti and thinking that his life without Julia is no longer meaningful, he drinks poison and dies. After Juliet awakens, she see that her husband had killed himself from grief, she takes a dagger and takes her  own life. After the tragedy, the other members of both families went to the cemetery. Over the dead bodies of their children they made peace, because they understand that the cause of this was irrational hatred, that has put the limits to true and pure love and with that the hatred has brought a huge sorrow to all. Romeo is a young man from a respectable and wealthy familie Montecchi from Verona. He is in some ways a victim of the conflict of two families, because both Rosalyn and Juliet are from Capuletti family.

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William Shakespeare, „Romeo and Juliet“, William shakespeare, „Romeo and Juliet“,

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Characters List :

Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Mercutio, The Nurse, Tybalt, Capulet, Lady Capule, Montague, Lady Montague, Paris, Benvolio, Prince Escalus, Friar John, Balthasar, Sampson & Gregory, Abram, The Apothecary, PeterRosaline, The Chorus. The most important characters :

Romeo -

The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and  passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud  between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the play he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her and forgets Rosaline. Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to  prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his  beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.

Juliet -

The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet  begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the  Nurse turns against Romeo. Friar Lawrence -

A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a  proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as  being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical  potions and herbs.

Mercutio -

A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed

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with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.

Tybalt -

A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of  courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues. Paris -

A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward her, acting as if they are already married.

Montague -

Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.

- Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support. Lady Capulet

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Hamlet

Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet. The play vividly portrays real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption. Despite much research, the exact year Hamlet was written remains in dispute. Three different early versions of the play have survived: these are known as the First Quarto, the Second Quarto and the First Folio. Each has lines, and even scenes, that are missing from the others. Shakespeare  based Hamlet on the legend of Amleth, preserved by 13th-century chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum as subsequently retold by 16th-century scholar François de Belleforest. He may have also drawn on, or perhaps written, an earlier (hypothetical) Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-Hamlet. The play's structure and depth of characterization have inspired much critical scrutiny, of which one example is the centuries-old debate about Hamlet's hesitation to kill his uncle. Some see it as a plot device to prolong the action, and others see it as the result of pressure exerted by the complex philosophical and ethical issues that surround cold-blooded murder, calculated revenge and thwarted desire. More recently, psychoanalytic critics have examined Hamlet's unconscious desires, and feminist critics have re-evaluated and rehabilitated the often maligned characters of  Ophelia and Gertrude. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language. It has a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others. During Shakespeare's lifetime, the play was one of his most popular works, and it still ranks high among his most-performed, topping, for example, the Royal Shakespeare Company's list since 1879. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has  been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella

The title role was almost certainly created for Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian of  Shakespeare's time. In the four hundred years since, it has been performed by highly acclaimed actors and actresses from each successive age

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The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar 

The Tragedy of Julius Ceasar

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the  play is Marcus Brutus, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship. The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome

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Macbeth

Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was likely Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book for a specific performance. Shakespeare's sources for the tragedy are the accounts of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland familiar  to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. However, the story of Macbeth as told by Shakespeare  bears no relation to real events in Scottish history as Macbeth was an admired and able monarch. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, and will not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead by such names as "the Scottish play". Over the centuries, the  play has attracted some of the greatest actors in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has  been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comic books, and other media.

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King Lear 

King Lear King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, considered to be one of his greatest dramatic masterpieces. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate  between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king. It has  been widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, and the role of Lear has been coveted and  played by many of the world's most accomplished actors. The play was written between 1603 and 1606 and later revised. Shakespeare's earlier version, The True Chronicle of the History of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters, was  published in quarto in 1608. The Tragedy of King Lear, a more theatrical version, was included in the 1623 First Folio. Modern editors usually conflate the two, though others insist that each version has its individual integrity that should be preserved. After the Restoration, the play was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing observations on the nature of human suffering and kinship.

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Coriolanus

Coriolanus This play concerns a legendary Roman hero from the 5th century B.C. named Caius Marcius. Marcius is very proud of his deeds and considers himself better than all other men, though he  prefers to be fairly anonymous about it. He lead the Roman army to attack the city of Corioli, held by the Volsces, who are led by Lucius Aufidius. Marcius considers Aufidius to be his only worthy opponent. Single-handedly, Marcius defeats the Volscan defenders of the city of Corioli, and nearly beats Aufidius in hand-to-hand combat, though Aufidius flees. For his deeds, Marcius is named Caius Marcius Coriolanus. When Coriolanus returns to Rome, the noble class (the Patricians) wish to make him a tribune (representative) of the common people (the Plebeians). Though Coriolanus' friend Menenius and Coriolanus' fellow army generals Cominius and Titus Larcius support Coriolanus, the evil tribunes Sicinius Velutus and Junius Brutus fear Coriolanus has become too proud and too popular, and may become too powerful. Sicinius and Brutus convince the common people to condemn Coriolanus to death. Coriolanus, outraged, refuses to submit to death (Coriolanus claims he has killed over 20,000 men in his lifetime, and a few Roman citizens would be little match for himself), and instead flees Rome, leaving his wife Virgilia and mother Volumnia in Rome without him. Out of rage, Coriolanus heads to the city of Antium to find Aufidius to help Aufidius and the Volsces defeat the Roman Empire and seize Rome itself. Led by Coriolanus, the Volsces seize and plunder all of the outlying Roman towns and approach Rome itself. Menenius tries to dissuade Coriolanus from attacking his own people and family in Rome. Though this does not work, Volumnia succeeds in convincing Coriolanus to make peace rather than attack. Volumnia uses Virgilia and Coriolanus' own son to play on Coriolanus' emotions. After making peace, Coriolanus does, however, return to Corioli with Aufidius. Aufidius, furious because Coriolanus did not attack Rome and because Coriolanus has become more powerful than Aufidius himself  with Aufidius' own armies and men, murders Coriolanus in a fit of rage in front of the Lords of  the city of Corioli. Aufidius, though pleased that Coriolanus is dead, orders that he be given a noble memorial.

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Othello

Othello The play, Othello, beings with a soldier, Iago, arguing with a wealthy Venetian, Roderigo, who  paid him to spy on Othello since he wished to take his girlfriend, Desdemona. However, Roderigo suspects Iago has not been keeping his end of the agreement. Iago admits his hatred of  Othello for choosing Cassio as his officer and not himself. To regain Roderigo's trust, Iago informs Desdemona's father, Brabantio, of her relationship with Othello, frustrating Brabantio. Othello explains of how he and Desdemona fell in love and plan on marrying. Othello is then ordered to Cypress to fight the Turks. At this time, Roderigo gives up on his quest for Desdemona  but Iago convinces him otherwise. Iago plans his revenge on Othello and suggests Cassio to sleep with Desdemona. Iago tells Roderigo he still has a chance with Desdemona but Cassio is in his way. Iago tells Othello of Cassio's affair with Desdemona before having Roderigo attack Cassio. The attack backfires as Cassio wounds Roderigo. Cassio is demoted. Iago suggests Cassio should speak with Desdemona, he does so and it results with Desdemona putting a good word in for  Cassio until he is an officer once again. Othello complains about a headache to Desdemona, having her drop a handkerchief he gave her as a gift. Iago makes Cassio find it. Othello demands  proof of Desdemona's affair from Iago. Iago tells Othello that he saw Cassio wipe his brow with Desdemona's handkerchief. Once Othello is convinced, he promotes Iago to lieutenant and orders him to kill Cassio. Desdemona worries of the handkerchief. She is asked about the handkerchief   by Othello, but she can't find it. Iago suggests Desdemona shared her bed with Cassio. Iago then talks to Cassio about his mistress Bianca, however Othello is hidden and listens in to think Cassio is talking about sleeping with Desdemona. Bianca arrives and angrily gives . Desdemona back her handkerchief. Othello decides to kill Desdemona in her bed, which was Iago's idea. We then learn of Iago pocketing Roderigo's gifts for Desdemona. Fearing Roderigo will learn of it, Iago tells him that Cassio must dieDesdemona is ordered by her husband to wait for him in bed. Depressed, Desdemona recants a song of a maid who was abused by her husband. Iago tells Roderigo how to kill Cassio. Roderigo attacks Cassio, but Cassio wounds Roderigo once again. Iago from behind, stabs Cassio, wounding him in the leg. Iago then stabs Roderigo in "revenge" for wounding his friend Cassio. Bianca arrives, leaving Iago to blame Cassio for  injuries on her. Othello arrives and tries to convince himself that killing his wife is for her own good. Desdemona awakens, and asks what she has done wrong, her husband tells that she gave Cassio his handkerchief. Desdemona pleads her innocence, saying Cassio can prove her  innocence. Her husband tells that Cassio confessed to having done the deed and is dead, then kills Desdemona. Emilia reveals Iago killed Roderigo. Othello then tells Emilia that he killed Desdemona. Emilia, despite several attempts of Iago trying to stop her, reveals she found the handkerchief and gave it to Iago. Iago stabs Emilia, she begins to die. Iago is captured, but Othello stabs him, but is not dead. Lodovico learns of the plot against Cassio. Iago confirms that Cassio found the handkerchief because he wanted him to. Othello realizes what he has done and

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commits suicide, lying on top of his wife. Cassio is then placed in charge of Iago. Lodovico then leaves to discuss the matter.

Timon of Athens

Timon of Athens

This drama is one of the great tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. Timon of Athens is a man who enjoys to please his friends and he does this by lavishing gifts on them. His 'friends' rush to gain his favour. They buy him small gifts and he repays them with big gifts. He ignores the warnings about false friends from the philosopher Apemantus and his extravagance catches up with him in the end and he is faced with unpaid bills. His 'friends' ignore his requests for help. He sends invitations to the Athenians to a 'banquet' and uses the occasion to berate them for being false and he then leaves Athens. Timon then discovers gold and becomes rich once again and befriends General Alcibiades who has also been treated  badly by the Athenians.

He provides the money for the General to wage war against the Athenians and seek  revenge for their falseness.

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Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus By S. Clarke Hulse's count, Titus Andronicus is a play with "14 killings, 9 of them on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or 2 or 3, depending on how you count), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity and 1 of cannibalism--an average of 5.2 atrocities per act, or one for every 97 lines." Reviewer  Mike Gene Wallace adds, "This is a great play. We're talking fourteen dead bodies, kung-fu, sword-fu, spear-fu, dagger-fu, arrow-fu, pie-fu, animal screams on the soundtrack, heads roll, hands roll, tongues roll, nine and a half quarts of   blood, and a record-breaking 94 on the vomit meter." Really, there's not much more to say; that is the essence of the play. Titus Andronicus is a non-stop potboiler catalog of abominations (with the poetry itself counted as a crime by many critics). Titus Andronicus, Roman general, returns from ten years of war with only four out of twenty-five sons left. He has captured Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moor. In obedience to Roman rituals, he sacrifices her eldest son to his own dead sons, which earns him Tamora's unending hatred and her promise of revenge. Tamora is made empress by the new emperor Saturninus. To get back at Titus, she schemes with her lover Aaron to have Titus's two sons framed for the murder of Bassianus, the emperor's  brother. Titus's sons are beheaded. Unappeased, she urges her sons Chiron and Demetrius to rape Titus's daughter Lavinia, after which they cut off her hands and tongue so she cannot give their  crime away. Finally, even Titus's last surviving son Lucius is banished from Rome; he subsequently seeks alliance with the enemy Goths in order to attack Rome. Each new misfortune hits the aged, tired Titus with heavier impact. Eventually, he begins to act oddly and everyone assumes that he is crazy. Tamora tries to capitalize on his seeming madness by pretending to be the figure of Revenge, come to offer him justice if Titus will only convince Lucius to cease attacking Rome. Titus, having feigned his madness all along, tricks her, captures her sons, kills them, and makes pie out of them. He feeds this pie to their mother in the final scene, after which he kills both Tamora and Lavinia, his own daughter. A rash of killings ensue; the only people left alive are Marcus, Lucius,

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Young Lucius, and Aaron. Lucius has the unrepentant Aaron buried alive, and Tamora's corpse thrown to the beasts. He becomes the new emperor of Rome.

Conclusion.

While doing research for thin assignment I came to found out a lot of new information about William Shakespeare and his work, which helped me to understand his tragedy Romeo and Juliet better. Also I have realized he was quite an interesting person and that is why his tragedies are hard to understand. When I got the book, I thought it was a story about that already knows everything. Then I  began to read and so, page by page, I realized that she was special and now, more so  because the time we live in has too much hatred in the world around us. What makes this  book special is that from the start we sense an unhappy end and this foreboding feeling in the happiest moments in the story. That is the irony of all this work. This story will always re-vitalize all generations who felt the love. She will always be youth and excitement in people's hearts. I have tried to present as much information as I could about William Shakespeare and his tragedies. I hope that after reading this paper people will come to appreciate and love William Shakespeare and his Tragedies even more.

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Literature : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/romeo_and_juliet/ http://www.shmoop.com/romeo-and-juliet/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Andronicus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timon_of_Athens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolanus http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/lear/ http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/julius_caesar/ http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/ http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/shakespe.htm http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/122

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