final exam assignment

LITR 4533 TRAGEDY  Final Exam Samples 2014 (final exam assignment) Essay 2: Special Topics (Topic 9. Teaching Tragedy)

Chelsea Stansell

Teaching Tragedy

I cannot wait to be a teacher, and when I saw this as a possible topic I just knew this was what I was going to write on!  Tragedy can be a very challenging subject to teach because it is just so tragic! I am hoping to teach eighth grade English, and for the most part the only tragedies that they will be familiar with are Romeo and Juliet, and possibly tragic stories they have heard on the news. I really think teaching tragedies would be very rewarding because you are not only teaching writing, and reading, but you are also teaching a beautiful acceptance of appreciating the remains that fall from misfortune. Such wonderful legacies have risen from tragedies, and so much of our culture thrives because of the aftermath of catastrophe.

            In class we discussed Mimesis, and exactly how the “representation or imitation of the real world in art or literature” reflects in what we learn, and that “creative writing is more mimetic in that it creates a world in and of itself”. (Craig White’s Literature Courses Terms/Themes Handout). Opening up student’s brains to the knowledge of art of all kinds, means introducing them to tragedy, because tragedy has always been around, and it has inspired all sorts of masterpieces. Look at the Renaissance era, all the beautiful art and music from this time was because of the strength that comes with rising after tragedy. When we discuss tragedy, we are not only discussing stories, we are discussing current events! Nietzsche says “The idea of the spectator without a play is an absurd one” to whom are we teaching if no one cares? As a teacher, we rely on references and interpretations, to educate ourselves as professionals and to our students as scholars, to create an environment where learning becomes the main goal, and everyone is interested in learning more. There is great knowledge in finding a purpose for the ruins that come with tragedy, because from ruins, cities are built.

            I thoroughly enjoyed reading Oedipus the king, and during my presentation in class, I discussed a few ways in which would be acceptable to introduce this text to a Composition 1301 class, and interestingly, I found that after I had done my presentation, my brain just kept bubbling with ideas. As an educator, it is crucial to keep in mind all of the ways in which we can keep students interested in the classics that shape what society is today, so that they can grow and become open to new interpretations of stories, theories, conventions, philosophies, and viewpoints.

            For instance, a student who understands the dialogues of Plato, is much more likely to ask questions in class because they understand that learning comes from asking questions. Nietzsche says “In order to understand this we must level down, stone by stone, as it were, the elaborate construction of Appoline culture until we can see its underlying foundations”. In order to completely understand literature, and appreciate the complexities and advancements made in society, we must understand tragedy, and understand that teaching it, is not tragic, to ignore it, would be.

“Tragedy does not rely on flash or over exaggerated visual stimuli to prove its point. Instead, it seeks to eliminate nearly all excess in order to present a purer plot. It does not rely on the easy feelings of laughter and happiness to win over its crowd. Tragedy is more focused on the words and choices of characters rather than the gluttony of showiness and excessive breaks of humor. The old cliché holds true with the immensely raw genre of tragedy: with spectacle, less is more”. Whitney Evans had a wonderful point here is the beginning of her paper, “Tragedy and Spectacle, Including the Sublime”.

Looking at Oedipus the King, when he gauged his eyes out, there was immense spectacle, but was it needed throughout to portray a tragedy…absolutely not. With such a beautiful script, and such a wonderful mixture of relationships, tragedy simply strikes during times of prestige. Similarly with Mourning becomes Electra, Electra being so devoted to her father, persuades her brother to avenge Agamemnon’s death. With a sense of loss taking place in tragedies, it is difficult to feel the need to “dress it up” or “add pizazz” because a tragedy is simply a tragedy. I understand that most school age kids these days are accustomed to seeing movies with quite an amount of spectacle, but if we can read a text and discuss spectacle, they will understand when and how it is taking place!

We discussed in class that many classes are now offered online, but the literature courses remain face-to-face because the interaction is so necessary to discuss and make connections with each other. The most beautiful part of a story, is how you feel (the reader) while reading the story. In everyone’s lives at some point, we all face tragedies and loss, and I believe that while reading tragedy, there is a connection being made there, while feeling grief for the characters. Similarly, while watching a comedy, laughing will also bring you closer to the characters. Kids for instance, feel closer to adults who make them laugh. Laugher brings people closer together, just as grieving does as well. Think about large family get-togethers; usually they are over a festive holiday such as Thanksgiving, while eating food and saying grace, or they spent grieving together, over the loss of a loved one, shedding tears and sharing memories. Comedy and tragedy both bring us together, because both of them make us feel immensely human. In order to be a great teacher, I will do exactly what we did in class, and I will find ways to tie these genres together to express their importance and relationship to each other and culture.

When beginning a story, it is easy to get caught up in the monotonous beginning where we all feel almost bored with life and all of its regularity, for instance, in the beginning of Agamemnon, when we read about the watchman and begin to understand his perception of the situation. Or in the beginning of The Bacchae, when Dionysus starts out in disguise, it almost seems too normal, as if something needs to be shaken up in order for chaos to strike, but that is the most beautiful part of tragedy: for it to be tragic, it must feel real, and real life complications always start out a little anticlimactic. By replicating or mimicking a situation that is more relatable prior to tragedy, it intensifies the tragedy. “For instance, Hamlet 3.2 on the purpose of playing [or drama], whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as twere the mirror up to nature” (Craig White’s Literature Courses  Terms/Themes handout). Tragedy is all around us, and showing us things that we already know exist, in a way that helps us relate it to our lives, is always horrifying because it makes it real, even if it is in a story. I would make sure to tie together the connection we made with our texts to the connections my students can make in regards to the texts and their own lives. I would try my best to make sure each students felt that each text we read was important and could find guidance in the quotes, characters, importance, or symbolism in the text. I want to feed the curiosity for literature, and encourage each student that life can sometimes seem to be a tragedy, but in reality, it is a beautiful story with a plot twist just waiting to take-off.