|
The classic
discussion of Greek
tragedy is Aristotle's Poetics. He defines tragedy as "the
imitation of an action that is serious and also as having
magnitude, complete in itself." He continues, "Tragedy is a form
of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear. Its action should
be single and complete, presenting a reversal of fortune, involving
persons renowned and of superior attainments,and it should be
written in poetry embellished with every kind of artistic
expression." The writer presents "incidents arousing pity and
fear, wherewith to interpet its catharsis of such of such emotions"
(by catharsis, Aristotle means a purging or sweeping away
of the pity and fear aroused by the tragic action).
The basic
difference Aristotle
draws between tragedy and other genres,
such as comedy and the
epic, is the "tragic pleasure of pity and fear" the audience feel
watching a tragedy. In order for the tragic hero to arouse these
feelings in the audience, he cannot be either all good or all evil
but must be someone the audience can identify with; however, if he
is superior in some way(s), the tragic pleasure is intensified. His
disastrous end results from a mistaken action, which in turn
arises from a tragic flaw or from a tragic error in judgment. Often
the tragic flaw is hubris, an excessive pride that causes
the hero to ignore a divine warning or to break a moral law. It
has been suggested that because the tragic hero's suffering is
greater than his offense, the audience feels pity; because the
audience members perceive that they could behave similarly, they
feel pity. Click here for excerpts from Aristotle's
Poetics.
The medieval
tagedy is a prose or
poetic narrative, not a drama. Tragedy was perceived as a reversal
of fortune, a fall from a high position. This view of tragedy
derives from the Medieval concept of fortune, which was personified
as Dame Fortune, a blindfolded woman who turned a wheel at whim;
men were stationed at various places on the wheel--the top of the
wheel represented the best fortune, being under the wheel the worst
fortune. However, the wheel could turn suddenly and the man on top
could suddenly be under the wheel, without warning.
A distinctly English
form of tragedy
begins with the Elizabethans. The translation of Seneca and the
reading of Aristotle's Poetics were major influences. Many
critics and playwrights, such as Ben Jonson, insisted on observing
the classical unities of action, time and place (the action should
be one whole and take place in one day and in one place). However,
it was romantic tragedy, which Shakespeare wrote in Richard
II, Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear, which
prevailed. Romantic tragedy disregarded the unities (as in the use
of subplots), mixed tragedy and comedy, and emphasized action,
spectacle, and--increasingly--sensation. Shakespeare violated the
the unities in these ways and also in mixing poetry and prose and
using the device of a play-within-a-play, as in Hamlet. The
Elizabethans and their Jacobean successsors acted on stage the
violence that the Greek dramatists reported. The Elizabethan and
later the Jacobean playwright had a diverse audience to please,
ranging from Queen Elizabeth and King James I and their courtiers
to the lowest classes.
Christopher
Marlowe's tragedies
showed the resources of the English language with his magnificent blank verse, as in the Tragedy
of Dr. Faustus, and the
powerful effects that could be achieved by focusing on a towering
protagonist, as in Tamburlaine. In Elizabethan tragedy, the
individual leads to violence and conflict. A
distinctly non-Aristotelian form of tragedy developed during this
period was the
tragicomedy. In a tragicomedy, the action and subject matter seem
to require a tragic ending, but it is avoided by a reversal which
leads to a happy ending; sometimes the tragicomedy alternates
serious and comic actions throughout the play. Because it blends
tragedy and comedy, the tragicomedy is sometimes referred to as a
"mixed" kind.
The problem play
or play of ideas
usually has a tragic ending. The driving force behind the play is
the exploration of some social problem, like alcoholism or
prostitution; the characters are used as examples of the general
problem. Frequently the playwright views the problem and its
solution in a way that defies or rejects the conventional view; not
surprisingly, some problem plays have aroused anger and controversy
in audiences and critics. Henrik Ibsen, who helped to revive
tragedy from its artistic decline in the nineteenth century, wrote
problem plays. A Doll's House, for example, shows the
exploitation and denigration of middle class women by society and
in marriage. The tragedy frequently springs from the individual's
conflict with the laws, values, traditions, and representatives of
society.
Adapted from A Guide to the
Study of
Literature: A Companion Text for Core Studies 6, Landmarks of
Literature, ©English Department, Brooklyn College.
Shakespeare's Theatre ||Shakespeare Page || The
Tragic Vision || Syllabus
Guide to the Study of Literature
|| Core Studies 6 Page || Melani Home Page
|
