Greek And Elizabethan Tragedy In Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

In Ancient Greece, the epitome of the tragic theater was Sophocles’ Oedipus plays, according to Aristotle, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet defined the Elizabethan revenge tragedy. Playwrights today still take ideas from Greek and Elizabethan theater and modernize them in their own plays, such as Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and The Crucible and Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. Undoubtedly, the focus, themes, conflict, and structure of a tragedy has changed and evolved from Greek tragedies and Elizabethan revenge tragedies to a modern version, but even still, they share similar values and takeaways. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman goes through trials and tribulations as a failing salesman shrouded in the illusion of being “well-liked,” but ultimately, his blindness to the truth causes his downfall. The tragedy is not exclusively a Greek or Elizabethan play type. As time moves on, the tragedy evolves to fit the needs and context of a modern audience. Arthur Miller mastered the art of the tragedy as to both maintain consistency with certain aspects of the past while also keeping with the context of his own time. The first example of Miller’s “same but different” style in Death of a Salesman …show more content…
No matter how hard he tries, Biff can never live up to his father’s expectations. When he finally snaps at his father, he tries to break Willy’s illusion of greatness for Biff and he says, crying, “Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” (133) . Although Willy’s death is tragic, Biff finally feels at ease and can finally experience the satisfaction that Willy could never connect with. The freedom Biff feels from his father’s unreal expectations brings about catharsis; at Willy’s funeral, the audience feels at ease because Biff is able to move forward without his father holding him