Complete essay samples

Sample 1: "Tragedy and Authority"

Sample 2: "Through this course, I have been delightfully enlightened about the literary term genre." 

Sample 3: "Of all the types of stories humans tell, many of the most deeply affecting and most remembered belong to the genre of tragedy."

Sample 4: "Many readers and movie watchers have knowledge of the definition genre, but they may not know the term 'genre.'"

Sample 5: "Genre is a classification given to a story/movie or literary work referring to its contents."

The world is often seen as an unruly, unstable place, which needs to be controlled and understood.  This drive to have power over the world, and as a result our knowledge, is the driving force behind man’s desire to quantify and label everything.  This desire to classify does not apply only to the scientific and mathematical aspects of life.  It is also apparent in the way we divide the arts.  In literature, we are constantly dividing and subdividing subjects such as drama.  In drama, the basic divisions are tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire.  For most, tragedy is considered the greatest genre of drama and for a more select group, it is the greatest genre of literature.  

According to the American Heritage dictionary 4^th ed., genre is an established class or category of artistic composition, as in literature or film.  Genre can then be seen as the “…exercises [in] the critical act of classification, categorization, or taxonomy” (Dr. White’s genre handout).  Within drama, there are basic categories that can either stay relatively pure or blend in production.  These are representation, narrative, and subject genre.  Representation deals with how many different voices, whether character or narrator, are involved in the story.  This category is probably the least used among the popular audience.  Narrative deals with the kind of plot the story relays to the audience or reader.  This category seems to be close to the subject genre.  Subject deals with the actual content of the story.  This category is the one that most people are most comfortable with.  They know it as whether or not the show is aimed at “chicks” or if it is a “guy” film.   The narrative category is the one that helps us define tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire and then helps us to compare and contrast their elements to decide which subdivision has the greatest merit. . . . [TO]

Though the study of genre “exercises the critical act of classification, categorization, or taxonomy” (says Dr. White of course), it seems that most people have their own ideas as to what a genre actually is. A genre is the answer someone would give to these questions: “What kind of movie do you want to see?” or “What kind of book are you reading?” Comedy, Tragedy, and Romance are the most common and broad genres; however there are no pure genres in literature. . . .

            . . . Tragedy leaves you feeling as though you have experienced the plight of the hero; you sympathize with him and see him as a real character. You watch as he struggles, and then, once all has come to a resolution, you, as the reader, leave the last scene having gained some sort of worldly knowledge. Tragedy is the greatest genre because the characters are so memorable; their written personalities give them life that goes unforgotten. As the reader you seem to pick out the one who deserves to conquer in the end and cheer for them throughout the play.

            Take A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the characters were interesting enough, however it is hard to associate with them. Love is always a good crowd pleaser, but in a week the person who read it will reflect back to the play and ask, “What was the name of that play that took place inside of that play I saw?” Being that this play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is a mixture of many genres including science fiction, it is hard to sympathize with the king of the fairies being that in real life we do not deal, hopefully, with fairies, and certainly not the king of the fairies. The main characters, the four lovers, end up getting married alongside the king. In real life do things ever work out this well when your parents hate your boyfriend? Sure the play ends happily, and readers have a like and a dislike for some characters, but typically sympathy is not felt toward any particular character.

Hamlet on the other-hand is a play that you walk away from with vengeance and sorrow. We see Hamlet confused, sad, and hungering for justice as he fights ‘til his death to prove the truth. As I read and finished this play I felt unresolved at the end. Sure justice was achieved, but why did everyone have to die in the process? Why would Shakespeare kill Hamlet’s mother in the end? Does her death satisfy as payment for an un-welcomed romance with her dead husband’s brother? A great play leaves you asking questions. Things are somewhat resolved within the play, at least enough to end the play without offense, yet you, as the reader, wonder why the play-write does the things he does. Comedy and Romance lack these aspects, thus they place second in the competition for best genre. . . . [JE]

. . . As noted above, tragedy tackles difficult issues that remain relevant across different historical eras. Although “Hamlet” was written in the seventeenth century, the issue of mothers remarrying after a spouse’s death, and children being jealous of the new parent, is still as prevalent in the twenty-first century as it was long ago. This complex plot has opened people’s minds for years and will continue to, because it is a subject that is so often ignored.

Tragedy, unlike comedy deals with issues and then finds a solution to them. In the situation of Oedipus, once he realized the sin that he had committed, he gauged his eyes out and banished himself from Thebes. This resolution to the problem is a common characteristic of plays classified in the tragedy genre.  Comedy on the other hand might make a joke or personalize problems, but in the end returns back to normal state. (Greatness of tragedy handout). Although Lysander turned his love from Hermia to Helen in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for a brief amount of time, in the end, rather then ending their relationship, they were married and went to sleep together as if nothing had ever happened. This resolution is what Northrop Frye characterizes as the movement towards a happy ending, delighting the audience that is watching for pleasure, because they see the ending as how it “should be” (The Comic in Theory and Practice handout). In contrast, although comedy may be fun and put a smile on our faces, in the long run we learn nothing from it. Aristotle suggests that learning is what gives us pleasure, and unlike comedy, tragedy confronts social issues and allows the viewer to learn. If Aristotle is correct, it can be assumed that tragedy is indeed, the greatest genre of all literary and theatrical works. . . . [LL]

 . . . Genre can be defined in several ways.  Literature majors, for example, may define genre as simply a form, sort, or class of literature.  On the other hand, others may say they do not know what genre is.  If you ask these same people what kind of books they like to read or what kind of movies they like to see they will know how to answer that question still not knowing that by answering these questions they understand what genre is.  As Dr. White defines it, genre is what you can expect, and the kind of uses you would get from something—sometimes called a “contract with the audience.” [CA]

Oedipus Rex is centered among royals.  Oedipus, King of Thebes, faces decisions which affect the society of Thebes.  Shakespeare’s Comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, focuses on some characters of royalty but has more emphasis on commoners whose actions do not affect a society.  Oedipus announces a edict to Thebes in scene one proclaiming that the murderer of King Laios is to never have assistance from anyone, or to “join in sacrifice, lustration, or in prayer” and if the murderer happens to be himself the “...curse applies no less...” (20, 32).  As a Tragedy, Oedipus dooms himself unknowingly and Thebes is directly affected.  In A Midsummer Night’s Dream,

Theseus, Duke of Athens, explains to Hermia, daughter of Egeus, that if she will not obey her father’s wish for her to marry Demetrius, she will “either to die the death, or to abjure / Forever the society of men” (1.1 65-65).  Theseus also proclaims to Hermia that she can live her life in a nunnery “to live a barren sister all your life” (70, 72).  Comedy gives characters choices and not banishment like Tragedy.  Hermia’s choice will not affect Thebes, only the people associated with her.  Oedipus Rex concludes with the self-mutilation of Oedipus and his banishment from Thebes, the suicide of Queen Iokaste, Oedipus’ wife and mother, and the inevitable shame and fate their daughters will endure for “there are no bridegrooms for you [Oedipus’ daughters, Antigone and Ismene], / And your lives must wither away in sterile dreaming” (Exodus 66-67). 

The dreadfulness of Oedipus’ family is tragic and the kingdom of Thebes forever changes.  One endures Tragedy in remembrance throughout the ages.  Dissimilar to the conclusion of Oedipus Rex, A Midsummer Night’s Dream concludes with singing, dancing, marriage, and Puck’s address to the commoners.  “If we shadows have offended, / Think but this, and all is mended, / That you have but slumb’red here / While these visions did appear. / And this weak and idle theme, / No more yielding but a dream,” (5.1 420-425).  The happily ever after ending contrasts greatly with that of Oedipus Rex.  Through the dissimilarities involving characters, situations, and conclusions, one views the two narrative genres and Tragedy is the superior genre. . . . [TS]