Two Shakespearean Tragedies

THE TRAGEDIES

Most of Shakespeares great tragedies were written in the years between 1598 and 1607, sometimes called his black period. Shakespeare had a son, called Hamnet, who died at the age of ten in 1596. This may have influenced Shakespeares black period, when many of his plays concern fathers and children. Romeo and Juliet, the most famous tragedy of love in all literature, was one of Shakespeares earliest tragedies and it is less complex and philosophical than most of the later tragedies. The major tragedies are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. They are tragedies of revenge, jealousy, family and ambition.
Many of the tragedies have pessimistic endings, where life has lost its meaning, but usually there is some hope for the future. Of all the tragedies, King Lear is the most pessimistic. As an old man, King Lear gives his land and power to two of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, but they treat him badly. His third daughter, Cordelia, who really loves him, is, however, misunderstood by her father. There is no real hope for the future at the end of the play, as Lears words show. His daughter Cordelia líes dead in his arms.