Discuss The Six Elements 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

Tragedy is an element of literature. It is rooted in Greek mythology and ancient Greek society. Its definition is “A literary piece that consists of a courageous noble character who must confront powerful obstacles, either external or from within”, and “the protagonist usually has a tragic

The concept of tragedy has experienced significant change over the last few centuries. Yet despite human fascination with the concept it appears there is no consensus on what defines true tragedy. The classical notion is that a tragedy tells the tale of a tragic hero, a virtuous character who due to a tragic flaw is fated to an unhappy ending (usually death) that inspires fear and pity within the audience. However, there is the argument that tragedy does not have to follow such regulations. A hero need not be virtuous and divine, their tale does not have to be filled with death, and common person struggling in the world can possess a tragic story. There is some validity to both ideas, yet both focus too much on the idea of what characters and specific situations warrant the title of tragedy and not the idea that matters most of all. By the end of a tragic piece the question is whether or not there is despair or hope. Looking at William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House it is clear that both possess certain tragic aspects. The protagonists of both pieces’ experience suffering due to a similar flaw and both plays inspire feelings of pity and fear. Yet the main aspect that separates the two is the defining feeling the audience takes away at the end. While Hamlet ends in despair and unhappiness, A Doll’s House possess a hint of hope for the future. Yet if a tragedy instills a feeling of such possibility, then it misses the defining characteristic of the

Poetics, where he defines what makes a tragic hero. Aristotle suggests that a tragic hero is a

Tragedy is a common genre in many plays especially in Shakespeare works. A tragedy is a play that has a catastrophic event that ends with an unhappy ending or the main

The fifth major point in a tragedy is melody. Melody involves the chorus of the drama. Aristotle contends that the chorus should not be just be an intermission but should add to the plot and character of the tragedy (Aristotle). This is exemplified in “Oedipus Rex” in lines INSERT BOOK QUOTE.

Before beginning, however, it is necessary to examine the aim of Tragedy. A Tragic work, according to Aristotle, was simply one that showed men as better than they typically are in everyday reality. Tragedy served to show mankind at his noblest, without, however, depicting man as unreal or unbelievable. To represent a noble man

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

Plot – these are the events or incidents that take place on the stage. The plot is clearly defined problems that the characters must solve. The plot is very different from the story line and is chronological detailing events that have happened on and off stage. Events that happen off stage are often introduced through a narrative dialogue. The playwrights often create a plot that is sincere and astounding.

    By definition, a tragedy is a story that details the downfall of a protagonist. Most often, the protagonist (tragic hero) is a member of high society who is faced with an oppositional force, be it internal or external. In his Poetics, Aristotle states that "tragedy is the 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 success or failure depends...." This quote illustrates an aspect of tragedy upon which many works are based, including

Tragedy as an element of the human experience has been the subject of many of the great works of literature written in the Western tradition. For some, tragedy embodies the highest form of humanity. It is through suffering that we are able to reveal ourselves most completely. Others see tragedy as an element of morality where we are to learn well the lessons of those who tempt the gods. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, outlined a theory of tragedy as archetypal drama in his classic work, the Poetics. He uses the play by Sophocles, Oedipus the King (hereafter "Oedipus"), as the standard model by which all other tragedies are measured. In Aristotle's view, a perfect

Throughout time, the tragedy has been seen as the most emotionally pleasing form of drama, because of its ability to bring the viewer into the drama and feel for the characters, especially the tragic hero. This analysis of tragedy was formed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, and also noted in his Poetics (guidelines to drama). As a playwright, Shakespeare used Aristotle’s guidelines to tragedy when writing Othello. The play that was created revolved around the tragic hero, Othello, whose tragic flaw transformed him from a nobleman, into a destructive creature, which would inevitably bring him to his downfall. This transformation follows an organic movement of the complex plot from the beginning, middle, to the end of the drama while

Aristotle presents the argument that tragedies are superior to epics. While tragedies and epics are characterized in similar ways they also have their differences. “A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” (Aristotle, 6) A Tragedy is better at arousing emotion in an audience than en epic through the plot, characters, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

The first principle is plot, the most important elements of tragedy. Aristotle defines plot as “the arrangement of the incidents” he says the plot of the play must be “a whole,” which means that the plot must contains a beginning, middle, and end (2).The beginning must start with the cause-and-effect to show the reason of the play (i.e.in Macbeth play we see why the play starts and what is the reason behind). The middle, must be caused by earlier events and itself cause the event that follow it (i.e.in Macbeth killing the king is

Aristotle defines what a tragedy is in his famed piece Poetics. In it, he sets guidelines that all tragedies should meet in order to become the fantastic displays of misery that they are meant to be. Six main elements are present in every tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. The two most important, of course, were plot and character. Both had to be complex but believable, consistent, and possess the ability to arouse pity and fear in the audience. Although both are the top elements that are the focus of tragedy, the other four are imperative to achieve the tone and overall character of one.