Performing genre: tragic staging, tragic walking and tragic speaking

Tragedy is a category of play. But was it, in Shakespeare’s time, a method of acting too? This article explores tragic “black” curtains; the tragic walk (stalking, jetting, strutting, striding) and its accompanying footwear; and tragic speech. It argues that tragedy was often conveyed beyond, beside or without words, and shows how crucial staging was to a play’s genre – and hence its meaning.