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Aspect
of tragedy that makes it “great”
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Corresponding
aspect that limits appeal, universality, etc.
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Tragedy is more memorable and durable than more popular
genres (comedy, romance); profound or sublime qualities imprint memory
and imagination
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The same qualities that make Tragedy memorable may be
why many avoid it. Playing with pain can be dangerous; "Get over it" or
"Why go there?" |
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Tragic
heroes (Hamlet, Oedipus) more memorable, titanic, disturbing
than comic or romantic ones
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“Give
it a rest”: great characters can be tiresome, unsympathetic, over-the-top;
romantic/comic characters = familiar & easy
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Tragedy
appears in "great periods of history": ambition, arts, & empires.
Classical Greece,
Elizabethan
England, France in 18th c.,
Mid-20c USA
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Tragedy
may also be sign of imperial aggressiveness, rise of controlling
state. Does a great writer require a great cultural
period to write tragedy?
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Characters
or audiences may learn from tragedy (Aristotle: “to learn gives the
liveliest pleasure”)
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Most
people go to plays or movies to “escape,” not to learn or engage with
social problems or human issues
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Complexity
of characters, plots, outcomes more accurately imitates complexity of
reality
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Threatening
to strict black-and-white moralities of right versus wrong
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Tragedy
challenges prevailing social or psychological frameworks; the action’s
upheaval of society permits questioning of
right & wrong (ethics)
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Comedy,
romance personalize problems, reaffirm or evade status quo; satire may
only challenge violations of status quo.
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Inspires
search for truth (rather than assumptions) plus ethical sharing guilt or blame; humans made of good and bad, formed by free
will and fate
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Simplistic right-and-wrong thinking may sometimes be correct.
As Jokasta warns Oedipus, "Stop asking
questions."
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Suppression
of spectacle and physicality of comedy opens to spiritual possibilities
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Suppression
may deny physicality of human life; may encourage too much other-worldly
thinking
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Rarity of tragedy, compared to common popularity of
comedy, romance, and satire.
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Tragedy's popularity is limited: No easy answers, satisfaction of physical sensation or
spectacle
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Break
or gap between greatness and loss exposes or permits insight into human
condition, fear and pity, depth of character
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Lacks
comforting reassurance or confirmation of comedy, romance, which give us
pleasure or justify us for being where we already are
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Gives
voice to taboo topics such as incest, suicide, child murder
while punishing transgressions. Other genres suggest the forbidden while avoiding responsibility for it.
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Expression
may legitimize taboo subjects; also audience appeal; nothing more immediately pleasurable
than to escape problems and feel right about it
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Adaptability:
tragedy adapts to changing history; greatness is a meaningful but
elusive quality. (If we can pin it down, it stops being great.
"Classic" is book that stays open.)
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Tragedy
as a genre is difficult to explain except by false
“rules” (tragic flaw, “the unities,” etc.); comedy, romance, and
satire comparatively easier to explain by markers, signs.
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