What is tragedy? Elizabethans defined it as a 'lofty' play showing 'personages of great state' caught up in a 'lamentable' action that 'beginneth prosperously and endeth unfortunately'. The plays in this collection-Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth-are considered to be the four central works of Shakespearean tragedy and must be included in the list of the world's finest tragic literature.
