final exam assignment		 LITR 4533 TRAGEDY
 Final Exam Samples 2012
Essays & Excerpts for Part B:
Special Topics

Kat Henderson

Forms of Tragedy: From Aristotle to the Modern World 

 

When looking at tragedy throughout time, it is impossible to miss that it has changed since the time of Aeschylus and Sophocles. Because of this, it can be difficult to decipher the conventions of tragedy. However, tragedy always contains high characters that are facing an ethical, moral, or social dilemma of grand proportions. The specifics of how these conventions are used vary greatly throughout the different historical phases of tragedy.

Going to the beginning of tragedy leads one to Greek or Aristotelian tragedy. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides are the three classic tragedians of this time. Their plays feature a hero with a fatal flaw that must be overcome somehow in the course of the plot. This is generally referred to as hamartia. Normally this flaw is something along the lines of pride, honor, or vanity. The hero’s conquest over his own flaw is the climax of a Greek tragedy. Aristotle thought that this lead to the ultimate goal of tragedy which was catharsis—the purgation of emotion that allows humans to be rid of their “excessive passions.” After this purgation, audiences are able to return to their normal lives with a lighter heart. An example of this would be the peace that can be found at the end of The Eumenides where the Furies become the “Kindly Ones.”

Greek tragedy differs from that of Senecan tragedy of the first century. This form of tragedy largely features themes of madness, ghosts, and revenge. They are based on the work of Lucius Annaeus Seneca, who was a Roman Stoic. Continuing forward in the development of tragedy, we come to medieval tragedy. This form of tragedy is based on the idea of fortune. Every man is somewhere on the wheel of fortune and at any time they can go from being on top to the bottom. Both Senecan and medieval tragedy were highly influential in the development of Elizabethan tragedy.

Elizabethan tragedies were a distinctive combination of the previous conventions of tragedy combined. Probably the most well known of these tragedians is Shakespeare. He pulled from all three of the mentioned forms of tragedy in his plays. A good example of Senecan tragedy’s influence can be seen in his Hamlet. Not only is Hamlet visited by the ghost of his father who demands revenge on his murderer, but the internal struggle this creates in Hamlet leads to his initially faked madness then questionable sanity. Shakespeare also showed influences of medieval tragedy. In King Lear, the character Edmund not only talks about fortune, but goes from the bottom of the wheel to the top by plotting against his half-brother, only to ultimately slide back down to his figurative and literal death. 

Finally we come to modern tragedy which is a conglomeration of all the previous conventions and more. While previously spectacle was kept to a minimum in tragedies, it can now be a large part of the narrative. For example, Titanic is a tragic spectacle. The last hour of the movie shows the ship sinking and the varying human responses to the catastrophe. Still, some narratives, like the novel A Walk to Remember, keep the spectacle of the main character’s young death to a minimum, instead emphasizing the value placed in her relationships and effects on the lives of those around her. While these two examples seem to have fallen far from the metaphorical tree of tragedy, some modern works show connections to their roots. Works by O’Neil that are updates of Greek tragedies take place in modern times, allowing them to be more relevant. He also uses spectacle, but keeps it under careful control.

When looking at tragedy, it is important to understand that the genre is like all other narrative genres. Its boundaries and conventions are guidelines more than hard set rules, and the stylistic interpretation of these can be fluid. Full understanding of a tragedy is easier when we look at the historical setting in which it was written and who its intended audience was. As Brian McDonald said in his 2008 final, “It is important to examine with each the cultures and reference to time that makes each a more appropriate tragedy.”