King Lear as an Arthur Miller Tragedy
If we seek to justify Shakespeare's King Lear as a tragedy by applying Arthur Miller's theory of tragedy and the tragic hero, then we might find Lear is not a great tragedy, and the character Lear is hardly passable for a tragic hero. However, if we take Aristotle's theory of tragedy to examine this play, it would fit much more neatly and easily. This is not because Aristotle prescribes using nobility for the subject of a tragedy, but, more importantly, because he emphasizes the purpose of tragedy -- to arouse pity and fear in the audience, and thus purge them of such emotions.
Arthur Miller, in his famous 1949 essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," states the following as the nature of
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Since he himself, not the environment surrounding him, is responsible for his misfortune, there cannot be a struggle between Lear and the society/environment, as Miller describes in his essay.
As for trying to regain his rightful status, King Lear has done little. At first he does not even understand his mistake. In [1.4], when he leaves Goneril because she cut his one hundred knights down to fifty, and then decides to return because Regan will allow only twenty-five [2.2], he is the same foolish Lear in [1.1] who banished Cordelia and believed flowery lies. He has not tried to evaluate himself justly at this point, or even acknowledge his misjudgment.
When he understands his mistake, realizing that Goneril and Regan are both heartless liars, and only Cordelia truly loves him, he starts to go mad. In his better moments he remembers to curse Goneril and Regan and lament his suffering, while in worse moments his utterance hardly make sense. Both are passive reactions to his misfortune, not active struggle for re-establishing his dignity.
Arthur Miller's theory fails to account for the tragicness of King Lear, but Aristotle's Poetics provides us with a much more satisfying justification of the play being a tragedy. In the following section, I will try to demonstrate that Lear has the essence of what makes a tragedy, according to the Greek philosopher, tragedy.
According to
Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing us to feel sympathy for him. If we carefully examine the third scene in the third act, we can see how Othello fits into Aristotle's definition of tragic hero. This passage reveals how much Othello has deteriorated as far as his ability to reason
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, as defined by Aristotle, is “a drama treating a serious subject and involving persons of significance” (Kirszner and Mandell 1086), the success of a tragedy occurs when the audience “feels both fear and pity because they see in themselves the potential for similar situations” (Kirszner and Mandell 1087). Aristotle’s literary theory of tragedy applies only to “imitation of persons who are above the common level, he must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous – a personage like Oedipus, Thyestes, or other illustrious men of such families” (Aristotle) because his theory was developed for application to the literary works of poets and playwrights such as Homer, Aeschylus, and Sophocles, whose works were the interpretations of Greek mythology. This means that one cannot look fully to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero in application to modern literature. Therefore, many scholars and literary critics look to playwright Arthur Miller’s description written in his article Tragedy and the Common Man where he writes, “I believe that common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” (Miller). Miller points out in his article that the common man can exhibit all the same qualities and characteristics as those of a man born into nobility, and that same common man can execute the same actions. But not all tragedies are heroic, there must be specific elements in the creation of a tragic hero that can be difficult to
Lear cannot deny his ultimate role as the king. He desires to maintain his name and his rights as king, but to give control of the kingdom to his daughters and their husbands. However, this cannot work: "We know immediately that he is doomed to painful disillusionment by his assumption that his identity as king, father, and man, being fixed in the macrocosmic scheme of things, must remain unshaken without its worldly supports" (Egan 32). So, King Lear's exercising of this nonexistent power establishes his tragic flaw and the problem of the play: the power of the kingdom must reside in Lear only.
King Lear meets all the requirements of a tragedy as defined by Andrew Cecil Bradley. Bradley states that a Shakespearean tragedy has to be the story of the hero and there is exceptional suffering and calamity slowly being worn in. Also, the current time must be contrasted to happier times. The play also depicts the troubled parts in the hero’s life and eventually he dies instantaneously because of the suffering and calamity. There is the feeling of fear in the play as well, that makes men see how blind they are not knowing when fortune or something else would be on them. The hero must be of a high status on the chain and the hero must also possess a tragic flaw that initiates the tragedy.
In the Poetics, Aristotle provides an outline of how the artist is to portray or represent the perfect Tragedy. A Tragedy, of course, was nothing more than a drama, in which the characters appeared "better" than in real life (in a comedy, they appeared "worse," according to Aristotle). Aristotle's Poetics makes several references to other dramatic works to illustrate his points, but he most commonly calls upon The Odyssey to support his argument for how a dramatic structure should be designed. However, along with the Odyssey, Aristotle extensively references Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Both poetic works were enormously popular in their time (the former had been passed down orally for generations, and the latter won the top prizes at the dramatic festivals). Therefore, Aristotle is comfortable using both to support his viewpoint concerning Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. This paper will analyze the standards that Aristotle sets out concerning the definition of the Tragic Hero and show how Sophocles' Oedipus exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a Tragic Hero.
Throughout the tragedy, Lear, at times, seems to only be capable of heinous volitions. His malevolent actions extend especially to his daughters. While angry, Lear tells his daughter, Goneril, that she is “More hideous when thou show’st thee in a child / Than the sea monster” (1.4.268-269). After not receiving his way, Lear refers to his daughters as “unnatural hags” (2.4. 280) because they would not let him keep all of his knights. He then threatens Goneril and Regan by letting them know that he “will have such revenges on [them] both” (2.4.281). Lear’s scathing cruelty shines through in his unnecessary name calling and threatening approach to his daughters. Lear also tells his fool that “[they will] have [him] whipped” (1.4.178) as a showing of his cruel nature. If Lear were able to keep his preposterous actions in check by learning to not be so cruel, much of the sorrow and destruction that occurred would not
‘Othello’ was written between 1601 and 1603. It was first performed in the Elizabethan courts during the Christmas season. The idea of a ‘perfect’ tragedy is the idea that the tragedy is faultless; it does what is expected; so makes the audience feel empathy and sympathy for the characters who suffer. There are two different types of tragedy: classical tragedy and Shakespearean tragedy. The tragic hero in this play is the main character, Othello. Othello's misfortune comes about because of his jealousy, trust, and his pride. This essay aims to look at, and compare, how Shakespeare wrote his tragedy, and how other tragedies are written. I will mainly compare ‘Othello’, for Shakespearean tragedy, and ‘Oedipus Rex’, by Sophocles, for
The division of Lear’s kingdom constitutes a new social organization. It is therefore reasonable that his personality would adjust accordingly. Aside from aging, Lear’s sanity is deeply rooted in the regret and disappointment he feels after banishing his once beloved and loyal
Aristotle describes a tragic hero as being someone from a noble status who makes a mistake that ultimately ends up in their underserved demise. King Lear being a King already has a noble rank and makes an unwise decision of dividing his land equally between his daughters. King Lear’s main flaw is arrogance, so to decide which daughter got the most land he made them say how much they loved him. His deceitful daughters, Goneril and Regan, played into his arrogance to achieve the most land, but his youngest, Cordelia, did was truthful. She simple said that her love could not be put into words. His ego was hurt by her response and he exiled the only daughter who truly loved him. His hot headed decision left the two evil daughters to split the remaining land. Regan and Goneril proceed to maliciously torture their father until he is eventually murdered by them. Lear in “King Lear” exemplifies the tragic hero that Aristotle describes in a variety of ways.
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
As Regan and Goneril show their disdain and, thereby, expose their `natural' selves to Lear, his recognition of them and the wrong he did to Cordelia are also expressed with the language of nature; of Cordelia he says, "O most small fault, how ugly dids't thou in Cordelia show! That, like an engine, wrenched my frame of nature from the fixed place" (I.iv. 262-265). And when Lear realizes that both Regan and Goneril have deceived him, he calls them "unnatural hags" (II.iv. 276).
King Lear, one of William Shakespeare 's greatest tragedies, depicts a society in grim circumstances. As with all tragedies, there exists a tragic hero [1] , one who possesses a fatal flaw that initiates the tragedy and all the sufferings that follow. In this play, the tragic hero is undoubtedly the title character, King Lear. The plot is driven by the power and consequence of losses, more specifically, the losses of Lear. In the course the play, King Lear, because of his flaws, loses his authority as a king, his identity as a father, and his sanity as a man. One loss builds on another, but moreover, his greatest loss, and what distinguishes this tragedy from all others, is his chance of redemption. Unlike other tragedies, there is no
In the eyes of many, the world might appear to entail solely happiness and prosperity. Beyond the oblivion is arguably a more practical depiction of real life, filled with cold truths and merciless mistakes. Few figures in history have captured this essence of reality to such a high degree as Aristotle, a revolutionary thinker whose ideas shaped Greek tragedy. Within his theory of tragedy is the concept of the tragic hero, whose great, ironic flaw leads to his own downfall. The tragic hero is of an elevated position in society but should, all the same, be a character with whom the audience can relate. The hero undergoes a massive revelation and experiences dramatic enlightenment. The tragedy of King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, illustrates the story of a proud and self-centered king, whose obtuse judgement shapes his demise. Lear’s impulsive actions catalyze a chain of events, inspiring emotion from the characters and the audience alike. On the surface, King Lear fits the description of Aristotle’s tragic hero. Discrepancies in Lear’s tale, however, contradict the idea of an idyllic relationship between Lear and the philosophies of Aristotle. Lear’s faults correspond to those of the audience, but their extremity proves to be unique. One might think King Lear becomes cognizant of his decisions, but his fall to insanity acts in conflict. The lack of catharsis in King Lear also precipitates the build-up of negative sentiment. Although King Lear is meant to be
The full title of the play itself The Tragedy of King Lear puts the play in the tragic genre. As with all tragedies, there exists a tragic hero, one who possesses a fatal flaw that initiates the tragedy and all the sufferings that follow. King Lear, king of England, would be the tragic hero because he held the highest position in the social chain at the very beginning of the play. His social position gave him pride as he remarked himself as "Jupiter" and "Apollo". Moreover, according to the definition of a tragic hero, one must be born into nobility, endowed with a tragic flaw, fail to judge, fall from great heights, being aware that they have made an inevitable mistake, and faces and accepts death with honor. King Lear meets all of these qualities. King Lear was a tragic hero that was born into nobility, endowed with a tragic flaw and fails as he makes a serious mistake in judgement. "He owned vast amounts of land and ruled over many people. Give me the map there. know that we have divided In three our Kingdom."