LITR 4533 Tragedy UHCL 2008 index to midterm samples

My own personal experience with the term genre has consisted of the types of books I have read, or the kind of movie that I tend to check out when I go to the local video store. My knowledge on the term has been given a more concrete explanation, as well as a sufficient amount of examples based on what we have read and discussed in class so far. At home my movie collection is sorted based on what is funny to me, scary, romantic, action packed, or simply animated for children. This type of classification coincides with the subject of a genre, which is the content or type of audience the movie appeals to. There are two other categories that branch off from the term which includes representation and narrative based on Objective 1 from the class handout. I associate representation to the video examples we watched in class: a crime drama usually has two or more detectives trying to solve a problem with back and forth discussion/dialogue, while in an informational broadcast or cooking show the speaker is directing their questions and answers straight to the camera/audience. Narrative tells a story or describes a plot; to me this is what draws the audience in. Here is where feelings, emotions, and sentimental attachment come to the forefront. This is considered the “good stuff” we like to see in a movie. . . . [Lindsay Groth]

As a student of literature, I generally thought that I had conquered at least the basics of the term genre. My own interpretation was one that described genre as simply a classification or type of literature or film that had a particular set of rules. For example, within the genre of tragedy, in each tale a great man experiences a fall from grace due to his tragic flaw which usually results in his death and the death of many others as the story resolves itself in a bloody ending leaving the audience feeling rather morbid or morose and in a state of despair regarding the human condition. While this particular storyline may show itself to be true of many tragedies, one would be remiss to apply such a uniform definition to genre as a whole. This course does not define genre with such strict rules. Instead “genres” of literature are seen as, “adaptable conventions of subject, narrative, and representation,” (handout). While systematic, these categories are very broad as the characteristics of many types of literature have a tendency to overlap. . . .

So, one could say that genre is a many splendored thing. It is stratified, yet flexible enough to allow for overlapping and combination. It is comprehensible, but by no means comprehensive. Defining it within these three categories has allowed me to extend my knowledge on the subject of genre far beyond strict classification, and into interpretation. [Adrian Holden]

Primarily, genre as a term used in literature, allows students, readers or any who divulge into literature and differentiate between styles such as the subject, representational, and narrative genres. While not specifically bound to these categories, we most often find works to fall into at least one, or perhaps all three of these categories. [Brian McDonald]

Psychology . . . is another interesting aspect one can find in Tragedy that might be lacking in Comedy and Romance. Complexes such as the Oedipal complex and the Electra complex are two strong examples. In comedies or romances there is usually a problem, but not as detrimental as the problems in a tragedy. In How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days the dilemma was that both lover’s were unknowingly using the other as a test subject. Compare that to Oedipus’ situation when he finds out that his own mother is his wife and mother of his four children. This complex projected here, that every boy subconsciously desires his own mother, is an aspect to tragedy that can never be obtained in comedic character development. Lavinia’s hatred for her mother and obsession for her father exemplifies the Electra complex. This situation could be brought out in a comedic way, but the tragedy is in sight as the hatred between mother and daughter over father is vividly pronounced. [Ashley Bedford]