best Shakespearean tragedy?

[DemPGH]

There is some really beautiful writing in Macbeth and Hamlet. Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow" speech is really sobering.

Hamlet is the most interesting of his tragic characters. He chooses to test people and run little experiments to verify his hunches rather than take direct, immediate action. Really interesting.

Toss-up between those two.

[DemPGH]

Richard III.

As a Ricardian, I take exception to that one! But it's a fine example of really awful Tudor propaganda.

[DemPGH]

Well, accepting Shakespeare's decided Tudor/Lancastrian bias, it is very debatable whether or not he was even trying to write history when he wrote Richard III. Evidence points to the fact that he was trying to serve up a bad guy, and his portrayal of Richard as a rampaging, scheming hump-back with a withered arm that was shorter than the other one is quite grotesque and not supported by anything. It's a total invention like Macbeth and the witches. Also, the formal title of it is actually "The Tragedy of King Richard the Third." I think it defaults into his History plays because he wrote about real people around the same time who are portrayed in a way that is far more reasonable, notably Henry VI.

Shakespeare's depiction of Bosworth is laughable. Henry actually kills Richard in the play after Richard says something like, "It seems I have defeated seven Richmonds today, and still he keeps coming!" Rather, Henry hid behind a whole retinue of people while two noblemen betrayed Richard, and still Richard killed Henry's standard-bearer, unhorsed his personal bodyguard, and got to within feet of Henry. Richard would have made quick work of Henry had he been able to get to him. Henry had never been in a battle and was raised on courtly protocol. Richard meanwhile successfully led one of Edward IV's divisions at Tewkesbury when he was like 18 or 19. The thing is, even Henry's propagandist, Polidoro Virgili, gave Richard credit for fighting well and bravely, etc. The whole "my kingdom for a horse!" seems to have been the opposite as well. Richard turned down a chance to flee.

In short? Shakespeare's history is biased, yeah, but in this case outright fiction. I'm trying to think of a modern day equivalent. Maybe Abe Lincoln, Vampire Hunter or whatever that stupid thing was.