What is the tragic form?

Question

Particularly in Shakespeare's Macbeth? Thank you

Answer 1

With the 10 tragedies that Shakespeare penned, there are five acts and five phases of discovery that make up his tragic form. In the first phase there is a predicament (a situation or a problem). The second is a conflict of the soul, in which the protagonist wonders whether he/she should act or not act. Third, there is a turn of events that provokes the hero or anti-hero's actions. Fourth shows the irony of the decisions/actions and pity for the characters involved. Fifth is the catastrophe and consummation of all that has led to the final result.

You can see this pattern quite easily in Macbeth from the time of the witches' prophecy to the loss of his kingship and life.

Answer 2

Tragic form is referring to the fact that Macbeth is a tragic play, as in it is a play that follows the terrible and/or sorrowful events of a tragic hero. The play is not a comedy because there is no happy ending (as most Shakespearean comedic plays ended happily with marriage). Instead, Macbeth is a tragedy because Macbeth is a tragic hero. His own ambition is his own downfall. His ambition to be king leads to destructive choices, from the murder of Duncan and, ultimately, Macbeth's own death.

Answer 3

Shakespearean tragedies are most easily noted by the fact that "everyone dies". There are often times morals to the stories, but in all of the tragedies each main character meets their demise by the end of the play.

In Macbeth, he is responsible for many of the deaths, directly or indirectly, and his belief of superiority is ultimately his downfall when "the forests" come to kill him too.