...The term tragedy, both in Greek dramas and contemporary writing alike, is an emotion evoked by the inability of a person to fulfill a goal or potential that is reasonably within reach. When I think of tragedy, images of supremely gifted artists, writers, athletes, and other socially iconic individuals whose lives were cut short come to mind. But as most of us are already aware, tragedy does not solely strike the lives of the young and famous. We are all succeptable to it. Contrary to popular belief, tragedy does not often come in the form of a bolt of lightning, or a sinking ship. It is triggered by wrong decisions, and rather small and seemingly insignificant ones at first. But like a snowball released at the top of a mountain, these wrong decisions pick up momentum, and before we can even recognize the reprocussions of these decisions coming, we are flattened by them. What causes these wrong decisions? Some may blame pride, lust, fear, anger, ignorance, stubborness, or even love. All of these are valid reasons, and unfortunately these are all abundant qualities in every human being. Because of this, writers like Arthur Miller and William Shakespeare have showed us that these tragedies can occur to anyone, from salesmen to soldiers. And although they are horrible to live through, they can also be timelessly entertaining to read about. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is the story of a man, Willy Loman, gone deaf to the outside world. Though many try to help him, he shuts...
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...I think too many times as a young reader we were taught to think that the main character or protagonist was the main force driving the story line or meaning in a story. We were always taught to make connections with the protagonist first and the other characters were just insignificant, being only used to give more emphasis on the protagonist. It now comes a time as adults to explore all aspects of all the characters and not just single one out. This is especially true when reading tragedies. In tragedies people are also so quick to think that the main character is the one that has suffered the most or is the “tragic hero”. The tragic play Ghosts is an excellent example of this premature thinking. Readers are constantly thinking that Mrs. Alving is living a tragedy, but in actuality the tragedy falls upon the two children Regina and Oswald. From the work of Richard Sewall’s “The Vision of Tragedy”, we can conclude that classifying Mrs. Alving as the tragic hero is inaccurate because of her actions in the story and how those actions affect others. As we soon discover, the life of Mrs. Alving is pretty rough. Her husband was a habitual cheater and was almost completely absent when the two had the responsibility to raise their son Oswald. Having nowhere else to turn, Mrs. Alving decided to try to seek refuge in the family pastor, Mr. Manders. Unfortunately, his solution was for her to continue to do her duties as a mother and wife to bring her husband back to her. ...
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...I believe that this statement ‘Tragedy shows us the unspeakable to prepare us for the worst’ is very true especially in relation to the films we have watched in the module course; Old boy, Far North and The Grizzly Man. In this essay I will discuss what is meant by the word tragedy, its origins, and what are the characteristics of this genre. I will also examine how the statement ‘tragedy shows us the unspeakable to prepare us for the worst’ is a true statement especially in relation to the module ‘Tragic Contexts’ and the films we have studied in this module. Though the origins of Tragedy are somewhat obscure it apparently started with the singing of a choral lyric in honour of Dionysus. This choral lyric was performed in a circular stage by a group of men who many have impersonated satyrs by wearing masks and dressing in goat-skins. This is why tragedy is derived from the Greek word tragoedia meaning ‘goat-song’. Scholars suspect that at that time a goat was either the prize in a competition of choral dancing, or the chorus danced around the goat before using it for a ritual sacrifice to the God Dionysus. As Dionysus was the Greek God of the grape harvest, winemaking, ritual madness and ecstasy. This is believed by Athenaeus of Naucratis who claims that the original form of the word tragedy was trygodia from trygos meaning grape harvest, as these events were first introduced during the grape harvest. In 335 BCE Aristotle provides us with the earliest surviving explanation...
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...These are the role of the gods, the difference between good and evil and human responsibilities. All three of these tragedies reveal the importance of the role the gods play to mankind. The gods have control over mankind and sometimes use them as pawns to achieve their ambitions; the gods also ensure that each individual’s fate is secured. The tragedies also reveal to the audience the difference between good and evil; quite often the individual’s good intentions are misconstrued and in turn cause them to do evil. Another common theme in the tragedies is the responsibility of humanity; although often tempted or controlled by the gods individuals need to learn to control their emotions and take responsibility for their own actions. The role the gods play is an essential part of the Greek tragedies and without them the stories would be drastically different. The role of the gods is to watch over the people and ensure that they fulfill their destiny. In the ancient times, they believed that each person’s life was determined by destiny or fate, which they could not escape; no matter what a person does to avoid their fate, the gods made sure that their destiny was fulfilled. An individual’s destiny is planned and organized, and it is the role of Zeus to supervise the mortals and ensure that each individual follows their destiny. In the book The Poetry of Greek Tragedy, Richmond Lattimore comments regarding Zeus, “he is the armed master, supreme because he possesses, and can wield...
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...The classic tragedy, as defined by Aristotle, has six major parts. These parts include a plot, characters, theme, melody, spectacle, and language. All stories, according to Aristotle must have a beginning, middle, and end, and must follow a logical sequence according to these six elements. The plot is the series of events, or sequence in which the action of the play occurs. Plot must follow a cause and effect relationship, which follows a logical pattern. Characters are the people in the play, who have certain qualities that can be determined by what they say, do and what others say about them. The theme of the play is the general feeling or statement made by the author that presents an observation or thought to the audience. Melody is the musical quality of the play, which includes a change of pitch by the voice, musical instruments , and also includes the high and low points of the play giving it an overall melodic quality. Spectacle includes the visual elements of the play, anything that is observed by sight. Often in modern movies and plays spectacle can be overdone, especially if a reason for the spectacle cannot be found. Language is the dialog or speech that makes up the story, and is used by characters to present the play to the audience. Aristotle lays out a very specific definition of what a tragedy should include, and how each element should be presented. He tells us that the tragedy must include these six elements and that they must be laid out in a logical manner...
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...Hamlet Essay Tragedies commonly involve disasters, horrible mishaps and death. The great Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that a tragedy must have action which is pushed along by the character flaw of a “great” man. This idea of a “great” man or a person of high ranking being the protagonist in a tragedy is perpetuated in all of Shakespeare’s work. This leaves to speculate on the average person. The average person is not completely safe from the misery of tragedy. A supporting character is just as likely as any main character to experience tragedy. According to Arthur Miller, the “common” person is just as suitable for tragedy as any “great” person. The ideas of Aristotle and Miller contrast each other however both elements are noticeable in the play Hamlet. When a “great person” or the main character goes through a tragedy, it is rather evident. Ophelia and her father Polonius are considered “common” characters in the play that also experience great tragedy. In Miller’s essay, he outlines three main aspects that a “common” person would exhibit in a tragedy which makes their circumstances tragic. Firstly is the presence of a character that is ready to lay down their life to secure their personal sense of dignity. Next is the fear of being displaced and torn away from ones chosen image of their self. Lastly is being capable of victory. Ophelia and Polonius have chosen images of themselves and what their lives should be like and are willing to lay down their lives for their...
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...The Tragedy of Hamlet A tragedy can be defined as a literary work in which the main character or characters suffer extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavourable circumstances. William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a well known play that falls under the genre of a tragedy because it’s very dramatic, contains numerous murders and has an overall suspenseful atmosphere throughout the play. Hamlet follows the elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy such as the tragic hero, a tragic flaw, and a tragic story. Hamlet is the quintessential tragic hero, he begins with good intentions but by the end he does not survive to see the full outcome of his actions. Hamlet possesses positive traits and demonstrates those traits throughout the play but Hamlet was incapable of defeating his own greatest flaw, his inability to take action which led to the demise of not only himself, but many around him. The third element is the tragic story, which leads up to and results in the death of the hero, the suffering that usually befalls the hero is unusual and disastrous. Hamlet follows all elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy with Hamlet as the tragic hero, his tragic flaw, and the tragic story that results in death. Tragic heroes often begin at a high position of nobility, as Hamlet is the prince of Denmark; he has a lofty position to fall from. When he is first introduced in Act 1 Scene 2, He is a young prince who...
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...Elianne El-Amyouni Dr. Sabah Ghandour English 244 Comedy and Tragedy in Drama “All tragedies are finished by a death. All comedies are ended by a marriage,” (Byron, N.D.). To some degree, Byron is somewhat correct. Of course, there are dramatic texts considered under the category of “tragedy” that do involve death while there are also those that do not. In Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, the play tragically ends with the death of one of the main character’s daughters. On the other hand, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, although including tragedy and sadness in the ending, did not involve death. Likewise with comedies, although some classics do end in marriage as in Chekhov’s The Brute, comic endings can vary greatly. Moreover, plays over time have varied greatly in their morals, structure and form, and belong to a much larger scale than only death and marriage. Musical Greek dramas, biblical re-enactments of Medieval drama, pastoral drama of 16th century Italy and the “Theatre of the Absurd” are all contributors to the definition of drama. While Byron may not have been completely serious when coming up with this saying, it is unfair to limit the end of all tragedies to death and of all comedies to marriage, especially since the categories of drama vary greatly. First of all, a common genre in dramatic plays is tragedy. Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba is an ideal example of Byron’s “tragedy”. The play discusses the sexually repressed lives of a group of young women...
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...Greek Tragedy Medea and Oedipus Rex are two of the most persuasive plays to exist in this world. They set out the establishments of what a catastrophe should be, and are contemplated everywhere throughout the world today. There are various correlations to be drawn between the two, in light of the fact that they vary, and are comparable, in various captivating ways. Before contrasting the two, in any case, it is essential to recognize what a catastrophe is. Aristotle gave what is currently apparently the most definitive meaning of disaster. As per him, a disaster was an impersonation, or "mimesis", of this present reality. He accepted that a disaster is the higher and more philosophical than even history itself. Additionally, he thought of it as the higher type of show, rather than satire, and utilized his definition to separate between diverse types of verse (epic and verse), and in addition dramatization (parody and catastrophe). Likewise, Aristotle recorded the six principle elements of a disaster, which are – Plot – Plot is the most critical of the considerable number of components, and is accordingly the first standard to be taken after. It is not the genuine story, but rather essentially the route in which the occasions of the catastrophe are displayed to the crowd. Character – This is an imperative component, and Aristotle composed an extraordinary arrangement about what makes a genuinely shocking character. As indicated by him, a terrible legend ought to be an aristocrat...
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...Carlton Francis Professor Powley ENC1102 4 April 2012 Word Count: 362 An Ironic Tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a drama in which King Oedipus suffers a tragic fate. He leaves his country in order to avoid killing his father and sleeping with his mother (Sophocles 1327). In his attempt to prevent his foretold fate from coming to pass, he unknowingly brings it to fulfillment. After speaking to a shepherd, he realizes that the woman he is married to is his mother and that her former husband, whom he murdered, is his father. Sophocles uses several types of irony in the story of Oedipus’ fate. For instance, verbal irony is used in this drama. Oedipus Rex pronounces a curse on the “criminal” who has murdered King Laius (Sophocles 1314). This is ironic because he “curses the murderer of Laius and it turns out that he has cursed himself” (Knox 1383). Verbal irony is seen also in Oedipus’ conversation with the prophet Teiresias. Oedipus calls Teiresias “sightless,” and Teiresias calls Oedipus “blind” (Sophocles 1317-1318). The irony of this conversation is that Oedipus becomes physically blind when he repeatedly strikes his eyes with golden brooches after seeing his dead wife (1340). Also, the usage of irony of situation is present in Oedipus Rex. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife and mother, believes that her son is dead (Sophocles 1325). The discrepancy lies in the fact that her son is alive and that her son is Oedipus. Irony of circumstance is seen again in Oedipus believing that...
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...Unit 1 Ancient Greek Tragedy Lesson 1: How do past narratives influence today’s ideas? Notes: Tragedies often deal with a lot of love, lost, pride, abuse of power, problematic relationships between humans and gods. Protagonist often commit a terrible crime without realizing how foolish or arrogant they have been, then the world crumbles around them. Satyr plays performed by half goat half men creatures called satyrs who often made fun of the plots and characters of tragedies. Satyrs play at intermissions of tragedies to give the crowd a fun break from the misery they've endured. Tragedy is derived from the greek term tragos oide, tragos meaning goat oide meaning song, Oides are often songs that singers would sing in competitions much like todays televised singing contests, but the top prize was a goat. Because they were a popular offering. Aristotle was a famous greek philosopher who had good ideas why people enjoyed tragic plays, he believed they were important because they show how good ordinary people can make terrible mistakes that can lead to their downfall. These events cause the protagonist to suffer or gain insight. The goal of the tragedy is to evoke fear and pity to the audience. Why wouldn't the audience endure a play that makes them feel all these painful emotions? Aristotle explain that pity and fear are natural human responses to pain and suffering. By the end of the play these feelings are replaced by another feeling called catharsis which is an...
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...'Death' , 'Revenge' , 'Unhappy endings' come to my mind When I think about the word 'tragedy'. What is tragedy? Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing.(Banham 1998, p. 1118.) Then what are Shakespearean tragedies? "Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." (F. Scott Fitzgerald) I also think this quote applies very well to William Shakespeare's works, for he has created such beautiful pieces of literature in the form of tragedies. There are several elements of Shakespearean tragedy. For example, Tragic hero, Tragic(Fatal) flaw, Internal and external conflict, Comic relief, The supernatural, The abnormality, Revenge, and Death etc. I am going to take a look at some of the elements of Shakespearean tragedy used in very famous plays, 'Hamlet' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. First of all, a 'Tragic flaw', by definition, is a personality trait that leads to the downfall of the protagonist. Hamlet is well aware of his fatal flaw from the beginning, he constantly questions himself on why he continues to delay the fulfillment of his duty. Hamlet finally acts to kill Claudius only after realizing that he is poisoned. But by putting off, his tragic flaw, leads to multiple death such as Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Laertes, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern and himself, too. Second, Use of 'supernatural' elements is one of common characteristics of the Elizabethan drama. In Hamlet, the ghost of...
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...In Arthur Miller’s article, “Tragedy and the Common Man,” he discusses the idea surrounding one’s position in society and the level of regard that is held around their death. According to Miller, people are becoming more skeptical about the idea of “heroes” existing, and only consider the demise of significant figures like kings to be “tragic.” But, he refutes this idea with an argument claiming that the common man can be held to the same standing. Using references to Greek mythology and Shakespeare, Miller asserts that anyone willing to sacrifice himself is to be considered a “tragic hero.” In addition, Miller states that “the underlying struggle is that of the individual attempting to gain a "rightful" position in his society,” essentially...
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...Edmond Mak Professor Bradley ENGL-103-192 27 April 2011 Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedy When one thinks of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy, some works that might come to mind include Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, or the many works written by Shakespeare such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, or Macbeth. A common feature that all of these works share is that they were all written around and/or before the sixteenth century. One might be surprised, however, to discover that stories are still being written in today’s societies that follow the elements of Aristotelian theory. One story written in relatively recent history is that of "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. which in many aspects, can be considered a Aristotelian tragedy. Aristotle described a tragedy as a story that consisted of a tragic hero and a plot that would generate fear and pity in its audience. In this story, fourteen-year-old Harrison Bergeron valiantly attempts to break free from an equality-based society, but is quickly denied by the authoritative force of the government. The most important element in Aristotelian tragedy is the plot of a story. Aristotle states in Poetics that a story must consist of a beginning, middle, and end (Aristotle, 7). "Harrison Bergeron" fits this description very well because the beginning, middle, and end can be clearly identified while reading the story. The story opens by giving a description of what the society people live in is like. "THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody...
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...During the Renaissance period, which spanned between 14th century and 17th century, an old genre of literature was reinvented into a newer form that was closer to the mentality and the social development of the time, that being the tragedy. This type of literature has its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman tragedy, which emerged around 2,500 years ago, in the 6th century BC. Tragedy, by its definition, is “a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in audiences” (qtd. in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy). Tragedy is considered to have been invented for the worshiping of Dionysus , which they considered to be one of their deities . In Greek, “tragedy” is called “tragodia”, which means goat song, being composed of the words “tragos” which means “he-goat” and “aeidein” which means “to sing” which is believed to make a reference to an old custom of offering a goat in competitions of choral dancing or using it for ritual sacrifices, but not before dancing around it. The three big representatives of Ancient tragedy are Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Their work further represented the inspiration for the medieval tragedy which developed during 14th century Middle Age, inside cathedrals, a highly...
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