James Jordan writes, “God’s actions in building up the world are prototypes of human actions in continuing to build up and glorify the world.” Tragedies move from grace to wrath, separating their protagonists from their connection with God and other people.
Yet, not all the tragedies I’ve examined lack hope. Below, I consider in brief the transformation wrought in each play’s world.
Julius Caesar – In trying to save the republic, Brutus and Cassius hasten the advent of the empire.
Romeo and Juliet – The Montagues and Capulets reap the wrath of their familial feud. At the play’s end, they end their conflict, but their children are all dead.
Hamlet – Fortinbras rules Denmark as the play ends. Claudius gets punished, but Hamlet dies too. If “flights of angels” sing Hamlet to his final rest, the play plants grace amidst its wrath.
Macbeth – Paul Cantor argues that Macbeth’s reign of terror foreshadows modern tyranny. Malcolm institutes an English form of government as the play ends.
King Lear – William Elton argues the play criticizes Christian providence. Peter Leithart argues that Lear is the quintessential Christian tragedy because it is “haunted by the hope of resurrection.”
As I finish my survey of Shakespeare’s covenantal tragedies, I will return to these summaries and offer a more robust argument for each play.
My tentative thesis is that each play illustrates the wrath-filled consequences of distorting God’s prototype at a key covenantal point.
In Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius see politics as a means of salvation. In Romeo and Juliet, the protagonists try to restructure the world around romantic love without acknowledging that love’s ultimate referent. In Hamlet, the hero fails to distribute justice ethically. In Macbeth, the Scottish warrior incorrectly evaluates the moral consequences of murder. In King Lear, the fathers fail to retire properly.
Experiments in Criticism 