LITR 4370 TRAGEDY Final Exam Samples 2015 (final exam assignment) Model Answers to Part 1. Finish Genre Definition

Part 1. Finish genre definition and example(s) from Midterms 1 & 2: Using Introduction to Genres page, redevelop, revise, and improve your "working definition" of your chosen genre in all three categories (Subject / Audience, Formal, Narrative) and use them to describe and analyze the genre  you began in Midterm1. Cite, explain, and analyze two or more examples of your genre from your reading, viewing, or listening experience and  and 2 research sources from course website or beyond. (total length: 6-8 paragraphs, 3+ double-spaced page equivalent)

Alejandra Ayala

May 8, 2015

The “Happily Ever After” Genre

           Throughout the years, the meaning of genre has evolved. According to Dr. White, “genre is a very flexible, adaptable term or concept” (Genres). Genre helps categorize things, such as movies, music, and novels. By categorizing a work of art like those previously mentioned, it gives the audience an idea of what the work is about. Jorge Lozoya stated, “knowing the type of genre a piece of work happens to be can often offer a synopsis of what the audience can expect to happen”. However, this can be confusing when one looks at genres such as, romantic comedy or romantic tragedy, like the play Mourning Becomes Electra, because these genres contain more than one genre. Having various genres in a movie or book can sometimes dissatisfy the audience because the audience may be expecting the work to have more of one genre than another; for example, one might watch a romantic comedy movie and expect the movie to have more romance than comedy, when in fact the movie actually has more comedy than romance.

          We have learned throughout this course the different characteristics for each genre, tragedy, satire, comedy, and romance. We have learned to identify these genres by analyzing the readings we have been assigned in this course. This course has taught me so much more about the romance genre and now I will be applying what I have learned in Dr. White’s class by analyzing romance aspects in popular films like Abduction and Bride Wars and the assigned readings for this class such as, Agamemnon, Oedipus at Colonus, Hippolytus, and Desire Under the Elms.

Genre is divided into three different parts, which are subject/audience identification, formal genre, and narrative genre. Subject/audience, as stated in Dr. White’s website, can be defined as “the content, subject, ‘special interest’ or ‘audience appeal’ of a text” (Genres). This part simple identifies the piece of work, subject/audience identification tells the audience what the novel, show, or movie is about. A few examples of subject/audience genre include historical fiction, science fiction, gothic stories, and so on. For example when looking at Abduction the subject/audience genre would be thriller or suspense. The second form of genre is formal genre, which refers to the voices in the piece of work.  Tamara Valencia stated, “Form suggests a particular shape or order of words”. There are three types of formal genre, which include narrator or single voice, drama or dialogue, and lastly both, narrator and dialogue. The formal genre in Abduction is drama/dialogue; the main characters in Abduction talk to one another and the audience find out what is happening through the dialogue between the characters. Furthermore, the plays we have read in class mainly contain both narrator and dialogue; the narrator being the chorus which lets the reader know what is happening throughout the play and the dialogue being the characters, in each play, that talk to each other as the audience “hears”. Lastly, as identified in Dr. White’s website, “the narrative genre refers to the kind of narrative, story, or plot that a work of literature tells or enacts” (Genres). The narrative genre is the most common genre people use to categorize a book, movie, play, and music. The movie Abduction has a thriller-romance narrative genre as well as the subject/audience identification.

          Romance is one of the most misinterpreted genres. The romance genre is typically seen as being a love story, however, romance is or can be much more than that. According to Dr. White, “in literary studies romance means a broader, more inclusive type of story or narrative that usually features a hero's journey or quest through tests and trials (often involving a villain) in order to reach a transcendent goal, whether love, salvation, justice (usu. revenge), or rescue” (Romance). Romance narrative novels and movies are not always centered in a love story, but a love story is usually still included in the story or plot. For example, one could see the movie Abduction directed by John Singleton as a type of romance movie. As mentioned earlier, most people associate this movie as a thriller movie (the subject/ audience genre) rather than a romance (the narrative genre). However, the main character, Nathan, goes through a quest to find out who he really is after he learns that the people who raised him and who he thought were his parents were not his actual parents. As mentioned in Dr. White’s website, romance consists of “a physical journey or adventure… and may involve trials, tests, or ordeal in which desire or vision or protagonist is tested” (Narrative Genres). This can be seen when Nathan goes on a journey to find out who he is and he is faced with obstacles along the way. This movie also portrays a love story that develops throughout the film. The audience knows right away Nathan is interested in a girl, Karen, but he has not told her how he feels. Nonetheless, as they search for answers together, they begin to form a relationship and eventually become a couple. Another element in romance is that in the end, as mentioned by Dr. White “the characters ‘live happily ever after’…” (Genres). This also occurs at the end of Abduction, the main characters, Nathan and Karen, kiss and walk off as the sun sets in the background. All is fixed and resolved in the end. 

Going further into how a piece of work can have more than one genre, or as Allison Evans stated, “two genres [or more] are intertwined with one another or used interchangeably”, one can picture romantic comedy as an example of genres intertwining. The movie Bride Wars is a great example of a romantic comedy. Again, like Abduction, this movie has dialogue as its formal genre; the main characters are the ones that tell the audience what is going on throughout the movie. This movie is another strong example of romantic narrative that is much more than just a love story; it involves a friendship and journey as well. The main characters are two women, Emma and Liv, who have been best friends since childhood. As mentioned in Dr. White’s website romance beings as if everything is going well and then a problem occurs (Narrative Genres). One can see this in Bride Wars because in the film everything seems fine in the beginning, but then a problem starts when both women end up getting engaged. Both women want to get married in the same venue but a mix up occurs with the dates and they end up reserving their wedding on the same day. A war starts between the two friends, causing a “separation”, and they soon start sabotaging each other’s wedding plans, hence the comedy aspect. Each woman has her own love story, but as the wedding approaches and wedding plans are set, Liv’s relationship blossoms and strengthens while Emma’s relationships deteriorates and comes to an end. Each woman faces a “personal transformation” by the end of the movie (Genres). On the day of their weddings, Emma cancels her wedding and breaks up with her fiancé because she realizes they aren’t meant to be and that she deserves better. In the end, both women reconcile and they “rise above it all” (Genres). I think this is a perfect example of romance narrative because it has both a love story and a journey/quest.

Most of the plays we have read and talked about in class have narrative romance aspects to them. The play Agamemnon, which we read early on in the semester, has various romance narrative aspects in it. Right before Agamemnon is killed, Cassandra prophesized to the chorus leader that Clytemnestra will kill Agamemnon and her (1443-1498) and that Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, will avenge his death by killing Clytemnestra (1513-1520). The chorus leader does not believe her and she goes inside the palace to face her inevitable death. Throughout this passage Cassandra is seen as heroic because she prophesizes what is about to happen to her and Agamemnon. As mentioned by Mr. White, “[Cassadra’s] ‘transcendent’ passage to death somewhat resembles the conclusion of the romance narrative” (Agamemnon). Cassandra’s prophecy is a transcendent goal because Cassandra and Agamemnon’s deaths will be due to Clytemnestra getting revenge. However, their deaths will be avenged by Orestes, which ends the passage with another transcendent goal of justice for their deaths. Furthermore, considering the three types of genres mention earlier, Agamemnon uses the narrator and dialogue formal genre, as many of the plays we have read and discussed in class also do. The narrators in Agamemnon would be the watchman and the chorus while the dialogue is the rest of the characters in the play. One could also see Clytemnestra as a narrator too as she prophesizes and foretells the dreadful death of Agamemnon.

Another example of narrative romance that we have read and discussed in this course is Oedipus at Colonus. The romantic narrative in the play is seen in the character, Theseus. Creon kidnaps Oedipus’ daughters, Ismene and Antigone, and Theseus ends up rescuing them. After Theseus rescues them, Antigone tells Oedipus, “O father, father, / Would that some god might grant thee eyes to see /
This best of men who brings us back again” (1250-1252). Antigone praises Theseus for rescuing them and sees him as a hero; she calls him “our savior” (1270). The rescue is not illustrated, it is only mentioned; however, this passage is still a romantic narrative because Theseus is seen as the protagonist (hero) and Creon is seen as the antagonist (villain).

          Additionally, the play Hippolytus also has various romance pieces to it. Dr. White states that in romance, “The story may open as though all is well, but action usually begins with a problem of separation” (Genres). The problem in Hippolytus arises after the reader finds out Aphrodite is planning to make Phaedra, Hippolytus’ stepmother, to fall in love with him because Hippolytus “is always saying that I’m the ickiest goddess in the world. He disapproves of sex… His reverence all is spent on Artemis, the virgin silver-arrowed huntress goddess” (1.2). With Aphrodite’s interference Phaedra and Hippolytus begin to drift apart because Phaedra falls in love and Hippolytus is disgusted when he finds out and he rejects her. Phaedra ends up hanging herself because she is ashamed and humiliated. Phaedra’s love for Hippolytus and her struggles of keeping her love for Hippolytus to herself because she knows it is wrong and so she does not cause harm to Theseus and Hippolytus. As Dr. White points out Phaedra’s death can be seen as a romance narrative because it is transcendent, she sacrifices herself in order to end Aphrodite’s “curse” and she ensures she and her children are not dishonored by leaving a wooden tablet blaming Hippolytus for her death. Theseus sees the wooden tablet and punishes Hippolytus and banishes him from his land. In the end, Hippolytus is killed by the curse Theseus sets on him through Poseidon; the goddess Artemis arrives and tells Theseus the truth and she tells Hippolytus she will avenge his death. Dr. White exclaims that a romance narrative can sometimes “reach a transcendent goal of justice (usu. revenge)” (Romance). Artemis tells Hippolytus, “here will come a day when one she loves, a mortal man she cherishes in her heart, will be cut down by these unerring shafts, and that will be my vengeance” (11.32). Knowing Hippolytus is about to die and knowing Aphrodite is to blame for all the events that took place, Artemis promises to get revenge on Aphrodite. Moreover, Hippolytus’ formal genre is also narrator and dialogue, like Agamemnon, the narrator for this play is the chorus. The chorus describes how Phaedra punishes herself for falling in love with Hippolytus, describes Hippolytus’ reaction after finding out Phaedra loves him, and describes Phaedra’s death. The audience learns of these events through the chorus. The dialogue consists of all the other characters as they talk to one another while the audience hears.

          Another play we read in this course was Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O’Neill; this play also has romance narratives throughout. One obvious and important romance aspect of the play is a love story between Abbie and Eben. They develop a relationship even though Abbie is married to Eben’s stepfather and their love is forbidden. One can see their love as both a separation and a unification; the unification being that they love each other and want to be together and the separation being that they cannot be together openly due to the circumstances. Another romance aspect of the play would be Abbie sacrificing her baby to prove that she loves Eben. Abbie misinterprets what Eben tells her and she believes that the only way to demonstrate that she truly loves Eben is by killing their child. One final narrative genre would be the ending of the play, as Eben and Abbie are leaving the farmhouse. The ending can be seen as transcendent because they finally get to be together and they leave the farmhouse holding hands. Eben and Abbie do not necessarily “rise above it all” because they are being taken by sheriff and are being charged with murdering their son. The formal genre in this play is dialogue because the audience listens/reads the conversations between the characters.

Overall, the romance genre is a complex genre that tends to intertwine with other types of genres, such as comedy or suspense. Although this may be confusing for others, I have learned to distinguish the romance genre into the three types of genres mentioned above. Most people think the romance genre only involves a love story, myself included, but now I know it involves much more. My comprehension of the romance genre has changed immensely because of this course.

Works Cited

Evans, Allison. "It's Not Just Romance." LITR 4533 Tragedy UHCL 2010 Midterm Samples. N.p., 20 June 2010. Web. 8 May. 2015.

Euripides. "Hippolytus." Texts for Craig White's Literature Courses. Web. 8 May 2015.

Lozoya, Jorge. "Genre: Comme Ci Comme ça (like This and like That)." LITR 4533 Tragedy UHCL 2014 Midterm Samples. N.p., 2014. Web. 8 May. 2015.

Neill, Eugene. "Desire Under the Elms." Three Plays. New York: Vintage, 1995. Print.

Sophocles. "Antigone." Texts for Craig White's Literature Courses. Web. 8 May 2015.

Sophocles. "Oedipus at Colonus." Texts for Craig White's Literature Courses. Web. 8 May

Valencia, Tamara. "Genre “Offerings of Romance”." LITR 4370 Tragedy UHCL 2015 Midterm Samples. 1 Mar. 2015. Web. 8 May 2015.

White, Craig, Dr. "Genres as Subject, Form, & Narrative." Critical Sources. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 May 2015.

White, Craig, Dr. "Narrative Genre." Terms & Themes. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

White, Craig. "Romance as Narrative, Plot, or Story." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.