Poetic style

COMPARING TRAGEDIES THROUGHOUT TIME By Daniel Konshak What is a tragedy? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tragedy as a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as destiny, and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror. Two such examples of literary tragedies are “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles and “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. Although written over 2000 years apart, there are many similarities between

according to Aristotle’s Poetics, a tragedy. The play centers on Medea, an outsider and wife to Jason, who seeks to punish Jason for taking another wife. The play is considered a tragedy because it contains the three unities as well as the six elements of drama mentioned by Aristotle. Despite the fact that the does the play fits the criteria of what Aristotle considers tragedy, however, Medea is actually not a tragedy but tells the story about a successful revenge. In the Poetics, Aristotle has established

Aristotle describes the tragic hero as having three components which should be present in order to influence the audience. The audience must become involved emotionally with the hero so they become fearful for his welfare or well-being. The concluding suffering of the hero draws pity from the audience. Aristotle describes this emotional transition as “catharsis” which refers to the purging or releasing of emotions. This is what Aristotle believes entices audiences to watch tragedies. The hero

Learning how to improve from one’s failures and being able to repent for them is a crucial characteristic of Greek tragedies. The idea of hamartia or tragic flaw is a predominant motif that can be seen throughout many works from the Ancient Greek time period. Hamartia means to “miss the mark” (Merriam-Webster) and is often what leads to the demise of the tragic hero. In the play Antigone by Sophocles, this proves to be true (comma or this idea proves to be true) as the tragic flaw of hubris leads

certain guidelines to be considered a true tragedy. Such is the case with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, which, while it is fundamental with the text, ends up as a stylized attempt at tragedy thwarted by editorial choices. According to Aristotle’s Poetics, a tragedy is the fall of a great person due to a tragic flaw and the mistakes that come of it, which in turn encourages catharsis, or emotional purging in the audience. It is of epic scope and the downfall of the hero is

Hamlet’s Hamartia Shakespeare 's longest play is Hamlet, which takes place in the Kingdom of Denmark. Hamlet is a tragic tale about the Prince of Denmark and is a drama about revenge. Prince Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost who demands he kill his uncle, Claudius, after Claudius killed Hamlet’s father. Yet despite being “… the son of a dear father murdered, prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,” Hamlet delays enacting vengeance on Claudius (II,2,584-585). This delay ultimately

Sir William Drummond once said “He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave” (Drummond). Everyone has the innate ability to reason through situations and come to a resolution by evaluating the consequences. Everyone, however, does not actively reason to come to an effective solution. Some choose not to reason, while others basically cannot due to their naivety. In any case the incapability to reason turns out to be a flaw, and in the instance of Marcus

In his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man” Arthur Miller redefines the genre of tragedy and the tragic hero. Miller defines a tragedy as a person struggling against an injustice in the world around him to, which he responds forcefully. Miller states that the “wound from which the inevitable events spiral is the wound of indignity, and its dominant force is indignation” (144). The wound originates from the injustice in the environment, but it is perceived by the character as an “indignation” or other

An Aristotelian tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment that ultimately leads to his or her own destruction. An example of a true Aristotelian tragic hero is Creon from Sophocles’ play, Antigone. Creon is the tragic hero because he goes through the five stages of a tragic hero which lead to his destruction. His tragic flaw is him being afraid to admit that he has made a mistake. He is too proud of his power and his ability to make laws which leads to his son and wife committing suicide

Eva Young once said, “To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” The play Hamlet written by William Shakespeare exemplifies this quote as it showcases Hamlet’s never ending battle with procrastination. The story follows the tragic hero, and Price of Denmark, Hamlet, whose father has just been murdered and his mission to get revenge for it. The play opens with the words “who’s there?” (Shakespeare 1.1.1), being a question, this establishes the underlying tone of the play and