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Shakespeare: Master of Tragedy 悲剧大师

Ambition and desire lead to their final destruction

如果说莎士比亚创作的喜剧多以有情人终成眷属收场的话，那么其悲剧则以主人公的死亡而告终。不过都是那些原因导致一个往往高贵或英勇的人物走向毁灭？

Shakespeare wrote 12 tragedies but the best known are perhaps Hamlet 哈姆雷特, Othello 奥赛罗, King Lear 李尔王 and Macbeth 麦克白。

We focus on Shakespeare's shortest, and some say, his darkest tragedy Macbeth.

Macbeth is one of the most performed tragedies throughout the world.

Why does it have such a universal appeal?

The witches put ideas into Macbeth's mind

What is the message 要传递的信息 that Shakespeare wanted to give to the audience in the 16th century?

How relevant 相关联的 is such a play to modern society?

Yang Li and William Kremer discuss the play with two experts. They also talk about the features common to all Shakespeare's tragedies.

As you listen, try to answer these questions (the answers are at the bottom of this page):

1. What was Macbeth's fatal flaw?

2. Macbeth is shorter than Shakespeare's other tragedies. True or false?

3. Why do people sometimes call Macbeth The Scottish Play?

Today's S Words features the well-known phrase 'to wear my heart on my sleeve' 容易流露感情的。 Do you know where it came from?

大家可以点击下面的链接收听莎翁名言的录音或下载文字稿。

Next week we will look at Shakespeare's contributions to the English language in Shakespeare the Wordsmith.

Answers to the quiz:

1. Ambition

2. True

3. Because of a theatrical superstition