Tragedy

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; seperated from law and justice he is the worst.” The play, Antigone, displays both sides of man. Antigone is an Ancient Greek tragedy. As an Ancient Greek tragedy, the play follows a tragic hero and how his hamartia, fatal flaw, eventually causes his or her downfall. In Antigone, Creon, the tragic hero and king of the story, has declared that one of his nephews should be buried, while the other, should be…

“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is complete and whole… (Aristotle 31)”. This theory conveyed by Aristotle in his renowned work Poetics expresses the idea that a successful tragedy consists of specific principles that reoccur in classic literature. The theory emphasizes that a tragedy represents reality and universal truths rather than historical particulars. This is achieved by creating a tightly-woven cause and effect chain or “unity of action” that centers around the plot rather…

Many critics, dramatists, and readers alike usually consider tragedy to be superior to comedy. I agree and believe that these people are correct. Comedy does attract a large field of viewers and of a much younger and older age but the tragedy affects many more people. The tragedy gives a person a suspense that they usually cannot get from the comedy. The tragedy can be about something that is unrealistic or something in the future with a major event and a major plot. People are attracted to…

Drama Paper A tragedy is “a dramatic form, [which] is designed to evoke powerful emotions..through catharsis, to serve a salutary political, moral, and ethical purpose.” (1031). In my eyes, a tragedy is when the protagonist suffers some hardship, leaving the drama with no happy ending. Aristotle, who is a good source of information since “no one before or after Aristotle has had more firsthand knowledge of Greek tragedy” (1028), follows a criteria for a tragedy piece, which contains many…

In Tragedy and the Common Man by Arthur Miller, Miller argues that the classifications of a tragic hero need to be modernized due to the fact that common folk are capable of tragedy. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero states that in order to be classified as such one must be higher than ordinary moral worth. Miller, however argues that common folk are as or more capable of tragedy than those of high rank and has a vastly different definition to Aristotle of whom a tragic hero should be.…

Oedipus Essay Written by Sophocles, Oedipus The King is a magnificent example of an Aristotelian tragedy. The protagonist, Oedipus, is challenged with a numerous amount of ordeals and a horrible fate. Fate is usually described as a power that preordains the course of events. No matter how hard characters try, they are unavoidable. The concept is based off the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe. Character’s fates are already decided before they even know it. Trying to…

4. MACBETH In this chapter, I will elaborate on Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy Macbeth. This is one of my favorite tragedies since it is about the psychological effects of ambition on those who strive for power for its own sake. “In the play Shakespeare depicts the tragedy of a man torn between an amoral will and a powerfully moral intellect. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a study of the evil that is in every human heart and of one man’s downfall as he willfully gives way to its temptations”.…

for a tragedy involves three main subjects: values, characters, and a conclusion; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth incorporates these critical topics. The values are supernatural powers which determines what is right and what is wrong. The character in a tragedy must be noble by birth and by action. In the conclusion, the character must understand why he or she fell, accept punishment, and order must be restored. By including these, Macbeth fits Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy. In a tragedy,…

By defination,the beginnig is that which does not presuppose anything else to have gone before it. Although Sophocles' play focuses attention only on the last day of Oedipus' long rule over Thebes, we do not feel the need of any information about what has gone before, when we read the prologue of the play. In fact earlier events are related by Jocasta and Oedipus in the liter part of the play. The middle is that which is necessary and logical sequence of the beginning. The first episode of…

The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare’s theory of tragedy is one in which the protagonists are led to their untimely death, usually because of inescapable fate, character flaws and harrowing sorrow. The well-known tragedy, Romeo and Juliet is one of many that fulfil this definition. It incorporates fate as well as character flaws and great sorrow. Fate in Romeo and Juliet plays a central role in many of the character’s lives. The audience is presented with the idea that the lives of the…