LITR 4370 TRAGEDY Midterm2 Samples 2015 (midterm2 assignment) Model Answers to Part 1. Genre Definition 2.

Part 1. Continue genre definition and example(s) from Midterm1: Using the Introduction to Genres page, redevelop / revise and extend your "working definition" of genre in all three categories (Subject / Audience, Formal, Narrative) and use them to analyze the genre of your choice 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)

Victoria Webb
1 April 2015

Mixing Genres: A little Humor in Everything

            Most, if not all people, have asked or have been asked the question “Well, what type of movie/book was it? What is the genre?” and now the receiving end of that question is forced to recollect all the events throughout the piece of work and explain things such as “Well, it was definitely a thriller, but there was a bit of romance between two characters. I would even say this one part was scary. Now that I’m thinking about it, there was a bit of mystery to the plot”. Well, what is the genre? A common fallacy is that genres are like sorting boxes that every piece of art, whether it is literature, play, or movie, must fit into; this is simply not the case. Dr. White tells his students not to think of genre “as a box to put a work of art in, but a yardstick to measure it by” (White, Genre notes, 2015). When we stop looking at genres like primary colors, and begin to mix them together, we create a brilliant spectrum of genres.

            Keeping with the primary color metaphor, we can define tragedy as a “primary color” genres. To create a more abstract color, we must mix in another genre; the counter genre of tragedy is comedy. Comedy, also a “primary color” genre, is more neutral than tragedy, as it can be mixed in with other genres (tragedy included) seamlessly. Traditionally comedy is associated with “characterization, laughter, wit, and humor” (White, Comedy notes, 2015). A classic comedic play is one that normally begins in the middle of a mishap or problem; these problems are far less dramatic than tragic problems. While situations in tragedies are usually far greater and usually involve life and death, comedy’s situations are seemingly recognizable by the audience. Diving a little further into the multidimensionality of comedy, we see that it contains what is called “high humor” and “low humor” (White, Comedy notes 2015). Low humor is categorized by its physical qualities, and high humor by its intellectual qualities. Dr. White explains that wit is a form of high humor; wit is defined as “quickness of intellect or liveliness of fancy” (White, Wit & Humor + Dark Humor, 2015).

Now having defined comedy and its forms, we can analyze its guest appearance in other genres. One of the first plays discussed in class was the play The Oresteia Agamemnon, and while traditionally this play is known as a tragic play, there were clearly aspects of comedy. This begs the question: if Agamemnon would contain comedy, how and for what reasons? Classical comedy, as defined by Dr. White in his page over Aristotle’s Poetics, like tragedy, is an imitation of man. However, Aristotle believes it differs from tragedy in the way that it is a lower form of imitation; it “consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive” (Aristotle’s Poetics, 2015). We can gather from this information that comedy means ugliness but without the implications of actual pain to the characters; comedy is mocking and exaggerating normal human ignorance. An example of comedy in the play would be the low class guard in the beginning of the play. While he is not cracking jokes or displays any type of wit, he is an imitation or an exaggeration of ignorance; this type of obvious imitation, and relatability, gives the audience a break from the seriousness of the tragedy (see Agamemnon, lines 39-42).

So now that comedy has been defined and given a purpose, who is the intended audience? Breaking away from the color metaphor briefly and using Dr. White’s metaphor of movies, we will have an easier time understanding the subject and audience identification. Dr. White states that the audience identification “makes the connection between the subject of genre and its audience” (White, Genre notes, 2015). The list of genres is not a short one by any means; simply defining the last movie you have gone to see can give you an idea of what the subject/audience identification may include. While it may be difficult to narrow down the genre of the latest movie or book, most people will be able to explain the plot, or what the book/movie/play was about. With books, movies, and plays, the audience has an idea of what they are about to witness right from the beginning. No one goes to see a movie and blindly picks out a title, hoping for the best. Usually the audience has an idea of what they are about to see; this is audience identification. So, for example, the audience watching Lysistrata will have an understanding of the basic plot of the play beforehand, so the naughtiness and humor should only come with a bit of a blushing audience, rather than a total shock.

Touching base with the comedy Lysistrata, we get an example of a comedic play and its formal genre. “Formal genre” is defined as “the number and types of voices in the genre”, or “the form in which the text appears”. This is not to say that there is one standard form of voice; within formal genre there are three examples of the types of styles that the text may be presented. In the case of the comedy Lysistrata, the most commonly used form for plays, dialogue, is what is presented. I find this to be beneficial for comedy (though it is used for all genres of plays), because of the fact that it allows banter between the characters. With banter comes wit, which as previously mentioned, is a form of “high comedy”. The other forms of formal genre consist the following two: the first of which is the “single voice”. In “single voice” the narrator is the voice that speaks directly to the audience, and this form is most commonly used in reports, monologues, poetry, and essentially anything in which the audience is meant to be directly spoken to; the final form is the use of a narrator and dialogue. This form is commonly used in novels and in some situation comedy shows. Traditionally the use of narrator and dialogue is associated with comedy because of famous sitcoms that use this style of form. A fairly recent television sitcom that famously used this style of form is the show How I Met Your Mother. The narrator speaks to his children, or “the audience”, while the audience witnesses the actors essentially recreate the stories he tells.

Dr. White explains in his notes that Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, “there are four basic story lines” which create the “narrative genre” (White, Genre notes, 2015). These story lines include: tragedy, comedy, romance, and satire. Returning to the color metaphor mentioned early on, we can conclude that these are the four primary genres; even though these genres are distinct from each other they can be combined. Comedy is commonly combined with other genres to create subgenres such as “romantic-comedy” or “black/dark-comedy”, as well as aid in comic relief for dramas or tragedies. Satire may be the single “primary genre” that has traces of comedy mixed into it, though it is usually intended for an audience that has an understanding of the original story that is being satirized.

These examples of two or more genres mixing together in order to form a multidimensional piece of art, gives us a brief introduction into common occurrence of the intermingling of genres. As Dr. White states, “there are no pure genres” (White, Genres notes, 2015). In order to classify a genre, you must look for three things: the subject or “audience appeal” of said work; the form, meaning “the types and numbers of ‘voices’ involved in the genre”; and the narrative, which is the “type of story” being told (White, Genre notes, 2015). Once these classes, or genres, of literature have been identified, it is easier for the reader/audience to understand that there may be a bit of humor in everything.