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LITR 4370
TRAGEDY
Midterm2 Samples 2015 (midterm2 assignment)
Model Answers to Part 3. |
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Part 3. Begin Research Report: Write at least
3-4 substantial paragraphs with two sources toward completion of
your Research Report on selected special topic
(to be completed on
Final Exam)
Reviewing the Spectacle and
Sublime
Spectacle is that wow factor that we
look for in a plot. It could be computer graphics, costume designs and props, or
stunts. Its purpose is for marvel and admiration (Dr. White’s website).
Spectacle and Sublime are added aspects of literature, art and movies. The wow
factor is the spectacle and the sublime is
the
experience of a powerful mixture of
pleasure and pain (Dr. White’s website). These items bring ingredients to the
plot, but as Aristotle points out, are not the meat of the plot:
“The
spectacle
has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is
the least artistic, and connected
least with the art of poetry.
For
the power of
tragedy,
we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors.
Besides, the production of spectacular
effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the
poet. . .” (Aristotle 6g).
In
the play “Mourning Becomes Electra”, O’Neil explicitly describes the characters
as wearing masks, “her face has become like a sinister, evil mask (O’Neil, 291).
Also, the house is described as a “white Grecian temple portico with its six
tall columns” (O’Neil, 263).
The narrator’s commentary create the spectacle of
the characters and the props that make them more dramatic, dangerous or
mysterious. However, it’s the narrative plot that produces the greatest effect.
In earlier tragedy, the spectacle is repressed and
left to the audience to create independently. For example Clytemnestra murders
her husband offstage and the only indication is the scream off stage and the
reentry of Clytemnestra with blood. The details are left for the individual to
create in one’s own mind.
One of the functions of repressing spectacles is to
encourage thinking. When the horrific act is in the open, there leaves little
room for thought or imagination.
“By repressing spectacle and its “gross” or animal
aspects, tragedy involves audience in something higher, nobler . . . acc. to
Aristotle, “fear and pity” or
catharsis” (Dr. White’s website).This
effect of something nobler can be felt with Oedipus. Although the eye gorging is
not performed in front of the audience, he comes out bloody and the audience has
no choice but to imagine the act itself. Also, his wife/mother kills herself and
this is also not seen on stage.
A spectacle can leave an impression even though it
has less to do with the art and leans more towards the mechanical or technical
part. One of my favorite movies
is a 1996 American
disaster drama
film
starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt as storm chasers researching tornadoes. The
two are facing a divorce, but united while chasing a category five tornado; and
there is a great scene where they strap themselves with leather to pipes
anchored deep in the Earth. As the massive tornado passes over them, they share
an intimate kiss while they are turned upside down by wind forces. This scene is
still vivid in my memory although it has been years since I have seen the movie.
This weekend I
went to see the newly released movie of Disney’s “Cinderella”. After studying
spectacle and sublime, it was easy to point out the elements in the movie. Hands
down, Cinderella’s costume was an immense spectacle. No other maiden in the ball
room had a gown as bright, big, or beautiful as hers. There is a spectacular
scene where she is coming down the steps in her marvelous blue gown, and
everyone in the room stops and looks up at her as she elegantly descends the
stairs. I had a discussion with my
daughter about the sublime aspect of Cinderella after defining the terms. She
felt the sublime is when the clock strikes twelve and Cinderella has to run away
from the handsome prince before the magic spell is broken and her true identity
is revealed. However, I don’t know if I am sold on that scene as sublime. But my
research should clear up the haziness.
As tragedy
modernizes, the sublime and spectacle slightly merge or work together. In
Victoria Webb’s research titled: “Tragedy
is not Tragedy without a Spectacle” she states,
“I will argue
that both spectacle and sublime go hand in hand when witnessing the play coming
to life. The sublime, as defined in “Terms/Themes” is something that is “larger
than life” and is “is beauty mixed or edged with danger, terror, threat--all on
a grand or elevated scale”, it is the audience experiencing the mix of “pleasure
and pain”, “attraction and repulsion” as well as “pity and fear” (White,
Sublime, 2015). I believe that sublime and spectacle are mixed together nicely
in tragedy and positively aid the plays in forcing the audience to feel what the
characters feel, or empathize with the situation that is happening before us.”
Another example of
a sublime and spectacle merging is from the movie, “Twelve Years a Slave”. The
Protagonist is forced by his owner to whip a female slave whom is has a bond
with. He is facing death if he refuses, and he is trying to live so that he can
get back to his family. He is a noble character who was put in a situation which
either way would have been tragic. Give up reuniting with his wife and children,
or whip a slave. He chooses to whip the slave and the scene is horrific because
he cares deeply for the female slave. The audience experiences a mixed feeling
of horror and pity as the slave is whipped, and the scene itself of blood drawn from her
back has a lasting effect. I still get emotional when I recall this scene.
Although these tragic scenes induce a reaction out of the audience, it does not
take away from the characters and their development in the plot, but rather it
can be paired as icing on the cake. As Dr. White states, “spectacle
is visual or physical and is repressed or managed; sublime is a product of the
plot and related to catharsis as an effect of the story”.
Indeed, added sublime and
spectacle can draw the crowds and keep us coming back for more, but the plot is
part we learn from even if we are not aware of it. My research will continue to
draw in the difference of the sublime and spectacle or how it might possibly
continue to merge. Also, as tragedy modernizes, what takes the place of the
chorus? Can it be only the spectacle and sublime? Is the chorus still
functioning in modern dramas? Also, could failing to repress spectacle take away
from our intelligence responding? I believe that leaving nothing to the
imagination is detrimental and further research should lead me to an answer.
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