A Survey of Tragedy

Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary

Throughout the tragedy by Sophocles, the king Oedipus relies on his personal glory to attain long lasting fame and balks when confronted with anything that might shatter this perception that he is the best. While both characters have done marvelous deeds in the past, their inherent arrogance, which is part of the tragic flaw of each of the characters,

Oedipus the King is a tragedy that displays irony throughout the play. In the play, King Laius and his wife Jocasta learn that in the prophecy their newborn son, Oedipus, will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from occurring, they decide to bind and tie his ankles and then abandoned him. When Oedipus grew up, he eventually learned about this prophecy and decided to leave his parents. What he did not realize was that the parents who raised him were not his biological parents. On his voyage to Thebes, Oedipus ended up in a chariot accident

Aristotelian defined tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself." It incorporates "incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions."

Aristotle’s “The Poetics” describes the process of a tragedy. It is not the guide per se of writing a tragedy but is the idea’s Aristotle collected while studying tragedies. A tragedy, according to Aristotle, consists of six major points. The first and most important is the plot, which is what all the other points are based on. Such points are: character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle (Aristotle). A prime example of the usage of these parts in a tragic drama is evident in Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”.

When hearing the word Tragedy, it would not be surprising if several different individuals would immediately think of several unique examples of the word. Perhaps one is an opera enthusiast who immediately thinks of Puccini’s La Boheme. Another is a war enthusiast that thinks about History Channel’s new episode highlighting the harshest and bloodiest battles of World War One. Even a third one obsessed with Greek mythology could generate a handful of examples of tragedy. Tragedy, like love or comedy is a universal theme that can be used to entertain, enlighten and excite its audiences. William Shakespeare, a world renown writer, was a master of this genre writing works, including Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Hamlet. Another lesser known

Additionally, Aristotle’s’ “Poetics” defined a tragedy more accurately than Miller’s interpretation. Aristotle defined a tragedy as an “imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves, and these- thought and character- are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions again all

Oedipus Rex tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes, while in the process unknowingly fulfilling a prophecy that said he would kill his father Laius, King of Thebes and marry his mother Jocasta, Queen of Thebes. The play is an example of classic tragedy, containing an emphasis on ignorance and it’s role in the downfall of several characters through the tragedy. Oedipus' fatal flaw was his constant lack of understanding in his fate. He never truly understood his fate, even after the Oracle’s prophecy was fulfilled. Oedipus’ duty as king compels him to search for Laius’ killer.

A tragedy can be described and executed in many ways, whether it is through cinema, television or a play for theatre, as long as it has a solemn kind of ending. It is characterized as a very sad event, action, or experience for a certain character in the piece. According to Aristotle’s “Poetics,” a tragedy needs six elements, a plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody, as in many dramas do, but the organization of the plot is how tragedy is brought about. (747) The plot – is the end for which a tragedy exists, and the end or purpose is the most important thing of all. (748)

Classification and definition of tragedy are among many things widely disputed in the all too equivocal realm of composition and literary studies. These erroneous concepts happen to be directly correlated in Aristotelian theory which leads us to his definition of the tragic hero. Aristotle’s conceptualization of tragedy and all that it encompasses is widely revered and accepted; setting the standard previously and contemporaneously. The interpretation of his definition of tragedy is ambiguous, but generally states that tragedy should evoke pity and fear within the viewer for the purpose of catharsis, or purgation of senses sequencing the climax of a tragedy. (Battin) This elicits his definition of the tragic hero, which states that a

Tragedy is seen by most as a circumstance or occasion that outcomes in misfortune and mishap. In cutting edge society, it isn 't uncommon to hear people name something as inconsequential as breaking their telephone screen a Tragedy. Be that as it may, Tragedy is more intricate. Aristotle rethinks catastrophe through the lense of dramatization as "the impersonation of an activity that is not kidding furthermore, as having greatness, finish in itself; in fitting and pleasurable language;... in a sensational as opposed to account shape; with occurrences exciting compassion and dread, wherewith to achieve a purge of these feelings." Through the eyes of Aristotle, a catastrophe incorporates occasions in a play that would bring about pathetic emotions towards the primary character, or shocking saint, to emerge inside the group of onlookers individuals. Not just ought to the gathering of people feel a feeling of pity, yet they ought to feel a feeling of dread amid the movement of the play for the deplorable saint since they can suspect the sad legend 's destruction before the anagnorisis.

Tragedy genre originates from Ancient Greece and was staged as part of a huge festival called the City of Dionysian. Tragedy then was designed to have a sort of purging effect upon the community. In terms of genre, tragedy usually requires a tragic hero, who is often tempted to perform a deed, after which the hero’s fortune suffers a decline. The major elements of tragedy are strongly discussed by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in his well-known book Poetics. According to Aristotle, tragedy starts with order and finishes with disorder. In addition, the plot is the most important piece in tragedy and it is focused on human suffering. Aristotle discusses in details, the notion of catharsis, which is the purpose of evoking pity and fear in the audience and seeking piece by the end of the play. In other words it is very similar to the concept of

After reading this type of tragic play “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles you can see that the author did a very outstanding form of presenting a tragedy that has the characteristics of mimesis and a tragic hero. Specifically, the writer written the play that would leave many readers to be able to relate to and have a character whom characteristics are noble and basically good. A purpose of tragedy is “catharsis”. In other words, the main reason for a tragedy in a play is to purge an individual of

‘Tragedy’ is the term applied to dramatic representations of serious and important actions which eventuate in a disastrous conclusion for the protagonist or the chief character. More precise and detailed discussions of the tragic form properly begin with Aristotle’s (384 – 322 BC ) classic analysis in his

Aristotle is one of the greatest ancient Greek philosophers. One of his best works is Poetics. Aristotle defines what a tragedy is …etc.(what talks abt) A tragedy consists of six component, which are listed here in order from most important to least important. Aristotle’s structure of tragedy was interpreted differently by the neoclassical philosopher Corneille. Corneille argued that “Action can become complete only through several others . . . which, by serving preparation, keep the spectator in a pleasant suspense . . . leave us in the expectation of something which is to take place in the following one . . . into the shortest possible period, so that the performance may more closely resemble reality and thus be more nearly perfect . . .I