The greatest tragic plays of William Shakespeare - including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. What is tragedy? The Elizabethans defined it as a and "lofty and " play showing and "personages of great state and " caught up in a and "lamentable and " action that and "beginneth prosperously and endeth unfortunately. and " Whether judged by this or any other standard, the plays selected for this collection are considered to be the four central works of Shakespearean tragedy and must be included in any list of the world's finest tragic literature. And to make these plays more accessible for the modern reader, this edition includes the following special features:- Reliable texts by noted Shakespeare scholars - Texts printed in the clearest, most readable type - Names of each speaker given in full - Detailed footnotes at the bottom of each page keyed to the numbered lines of the text - Textual notes - Updated bibliography