The Characteristics of a Tragedy Play Shakespeare was a well known playwright.Some of his most famous plays were tragedies.A tragedy involves the decent of a great man like a king or warrior from the most fortunate success to the to total defeat and death.The plays Hamlet and Macbeth have many of the characteristics of a tragedy.The characters Hamlet and Macbeth are the tragic heros in the plays.Hamlet and Macbeth are well known tragedies and the main character in each play is a tragic hero. Before discussing the plays Hamlet and Macbeth, one must know the characteristics of a tragedy.Two types of tragedy plays are:a major tragedy, and a minor tragedy.