St. Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions details his life as it pertains to his views on theology and how they were shaped. One of the views noted was his distaste for tragedy. In the first half of the Augustine and Culture Seminar, the Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies was discussed. This essay will explore why Augustine would have an unfavorable view of the work, and also why he might have some leniency toward it. Before Augustine’s view of the Oresteia can be predicted, it is important to understand Augustine’s view of tragedies in general. In his Confessions, he goes into great detail on his opinion of tragedies. In book III, Augustine says “Why is it that a person should wish to experience suffering by watching grievous and tragic events
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He claims that it is altered “by its own consent,” and becomes something “twisted and distorted” (III: 3). Augustine then moves to his own experience with tragedy. He says that he loved to suffer, and that the shows represented his own miseries and “fueled his fire” (III: 2,4). He calls this a “disgusting sore,” a metaphor he uses throughout his discussion of tragedy. This imagery ties in with Augustine’s view of good and evil in general. In book VII, he speaks of corruption as if it were an injury: “There is absolutely no way corruption can injure our God […] since […] what he wills for himself is good” (VII:6). Humans are corruptible, and their corruption is like sores on their body. This implies two ideas that are essential to Augustine’s theology. First, if evil is like a sore on our body, then our body must contrast the sore, in other words it is good, but corrupted by evil. Second, if our sins are like sores, which are part of our body, then our evil actions must somehow be linked to our goodness. Augustine comes to realize both of these over the course of his conversion. …show more content…
Augustine’s view of tragedy has been explored, it can be used to analyze the Oresteia. The first charge discussed is that Augustine sees tragedies as a display of suffering for people to take pleasure in. In order for Augustine’s criticism to be applicable to the Oresteia, this must be its purpose. However, the actual purpose of the Oresteia is different. In the class notes, it is stressed that the Oresteia is not primarily a form of entertainment (Class Notes, 10-24). The purpose of it is not to invoke the feelings of suffering within its audience which Augustine considers wrong, but to teach a lesson on ethics and the nature of revenge. Augustine also charges the actors of a tragedy, saying they gain favor for evoking more emotional reactions out of the audience. In the case of the Oresteia the characters themselves aren’t the focus of the play, but rather the actions are important. This is one of the reasons why the cast wore masks. The actors don’t necessarily need to convey a spectrum of emotions, or to connect with the audience So, from a modern perspective, it seems that this criticism is not applicable. However, the important question is whether or not Augustine would’ve found fault with the trilogy. Augustine likely would not have found fault with the Oresteia. The Confessions makes him appear to be an intelligent and well-educated man. He would be capable of understanding that the Oresteia doesn’t fit perfectly into the genre of tragedy as he
He claims that it is altered “by its own consent,” and becomes something “twisted and distorted” (III: 3). Augustine then moves to his own experience with tragedy. He says that he loved to suffer, and that the shows represented his own miseries and “fueled his fire” (III: 2,4). He calls this a “disgusting sore,” a metaphor he uses throughout his discussion of tragedy. This imagery ties in with Augustine’s view of good and evil in general. In book VII, he speaks of corruption as if it were an injury: “There is absolutely no way corruption can injure our God […] since […] what he wills for himself is good” (VII:6). Humans are corruptible, and their corruption is like sores on their body. This implies two ideas that are essential to Augustine’s theology. First, if evil is like a sore on our body, then our body must contrast the sore, in other words it is good, but corrupted by evil. Second, if our sins are like sores, which are part of our body, then our evil actions must somehow be linked to our goodness. Augustine comes to realize both of these over the course of his conversion. …show more content…
Augustine’s view of tragedy has been explored, it can be used to analyze the Oresteia. The first charge discussed is that Augustine sees tragedies as a display of suffering for people to take pleasure in. In order for Augustine’s criticism to be applicable to the Oresteia, this must be its purpose. However, the actual purpose of the Oresteia is different. In the class notes, it is stressed that the Oresteia is not primarily a form of entertainment (Class Notes, 10-24). The purpose of it is not to invoke the feelings of suffering within its audience which Augustine considers wrong, but to teach a lesson on ethics and the nature of revenge. Augustine also charges the actors of a tragedy, saying they gain favor for evoking more emotional reactions out of the audience. In the case of the Oresteia the characters themselves aren’t the focus of the play, but rather the actions are important. This is one of the reasons why the cast wore masks. The actors don’t necessarily need to convey a spectrum of emotions, or to connect with the audience So, from a modern perspective, it seems that this criticism is not applicable. However, the important question is whether or not Augustine would’ve found fault with the trilogy. Augustine likely would not have found fault with the Oresteia. The Confessions makes him appear to be an intelligent and well-educated man. He would be capable of understanding that the Oresteia doesn’t fit perfectly into the genre of tragedy as he