Tragedy

Introduction To Tragedy

Tragedy is a form of drama, literature, or other fiction that centers on the nature of human beings, their conflicts and their sufferings. The noun, “tragedy” is derived from the Greek word,“tragoidia.” Roger Dunkle discusses in his "Greek Tragedy" article on how tragedy is always associated with the "one dictionary definition [that] says: 'any play or narrative that seriously treats of calamitous events and has an unhappy but meaningful ending' or just 'any dramatic, disastrous event'," but it can also have an association with play genres. However, “tragedy” should still be considered a noun that has a fluid definition because it has multiple forms. Tragedy can be an aftermath, a type of play, a character , a feeling, or a conflict that contains multiple situational circumstances. Tragedy mainly encompasses negative connotations due to the fact that it often accompanies traits of sadness, misfortune, and despair. Tragedy can be depicted as the result of a disturbing event, a literary classification, a displeasing situation, or even a movie or playwright that evokes a high level of somberness and sorrow. Tragedy has an intended purpose to invoke grief and misery in its audience, whether it is in a play, book, or movie.

Tragedy is a public genre or literary work found most popular in written play scripts. These written scripts are brought to life on stage by actors. The main character of the tragic drama is often a hero that encounters grave trouble and adversity. The misfortune of the hero often reveals a key element of the hero’s behavior and is a true indicator to the ending of the play. Tragedy focuses on the inner weaknesses of mankind, but these weaknesses are often caused by external forces. Most audiences view the misfortune that the protagonist experiences as unwarranted. Although tragedies are known for their susceptibility to be marked by sadness and despair, there is often an optimistic solution for the hero’s hardships. This is not to say that the entirety of the characters won’t experience anguish and woe.

Origins of Tragedy

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Roman statue of Dionysus.

The Greek word "tragoidia" translates to "goat song," which could have one of several meanings. Although not all tragedies are considered Greek, it is quite common to "refer to the tragedies that have survived the ancient world as “Greek” although tragedy as we know it, was developed in Athens." In fifth century BC, it was often said that goats were "a song for the prize of a goat or song at the sacrifice of a goat," and were also used as sacrifices in early rituals. These rituals took place in the form of dance, which is considered the first ever form of tragedy. This was the prominent element to a tragedy for many years. Over time, a speaker was added, and was likely to be a priest because these rituals had a religious theme . Eventually, dialogue between the speaker and dancers took place, which lead to the introduction of the chorus. Over time, these ritualistic elements continued to evolve into the tragedy as it is known today.

In ancient Greece, annual festivals were held in honor of the Greek god, Dionysus. The goat was considered sacred to him because he was the god of vegetation and wine. Because goats contained great value to Dionysus, it is said that rituals were held in order to promote the continuous cycle of death and life. Although tragedies have evolved over time, they still continue to have a common and reoccurring theme . The idea of human suffering has never ceased to be prominent. As tragedies have developed, they have continued to raise questions such as the reasoning behind suffering, and the balance of good and evil. Additionally, tragedies have maintained their sad and dispirited qualities.

One of the most popular Greek tragedies in the history of tragedy was Oedipus Rex. This type of tragedy was in the form of a play created by Sophocles. The tragedy involves a Theban king having an incestuous relationship with his mother which eventually results in marriage. The king also makes it his mission to kill his father and succeeds in doing so. Sigmund Freud was most famous for his contribution to Oedipus Rex because it formed the psychological concept of the Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex served as the theoretical reasoning behind the king’s actions. This well-known tragedy creates a major trademark in the history is because it was greatly celebrated, and displayed the true characteristics of what composes a tragedy: anguish and distress.

Main Forms of Tragedy

• Short story — A type of creative writing found in shorter forms that accompany feelings of sadness and despair.
• Novel — A form of writing that mainly uses a heroic figure to incur misfortune and have a pessimistic, or optimistic ending based upon the hero 's behavior.
• Novella — A short novel , or long story, that contains the sad and despair found in most novels.
• Poem — A literary work that addresses difficult circumstances, and is often based on personal experiences of grief and heartbreak.
• Play — A drama where a performance given to an audience about how the protagonist undergoes sorrowful circumstances, and plays often evoke desolation in its audience

General Characteristics

• Mimetic Perspective — the sudden and catastrophic fall of a great person from fortune to misfortune.

The next type of tragedy mainly centered its focus on the social rank in society. The middle class and lower classes were the ones who increased their stance in the social hierarchy by gaining more power and attention. Unlike the revenge tragedies, the tragedies that focused on social class were mainly written in prose, as opposed to verse. The protagonist in this type of tragedy is known to experience a local, or household disaster that is detrimental to his or her life in society. The domestic tragedy has an intended purpose of evoking understanding and compassion within the audience. Although the hero of most tragedies is supposed to display courage, bravery, and determination, the domestic tragedies in modern day society use an anti-hero . The anti-hero does not display the traditional qualities of a hero . Instead, the anti-hero proves to be inconsequential and unsuccessful in his tribulations. The example of this type of tragedy found in the eighteenth century was George Lillo’s The London Merchant: or, The History of George Barnwell.

The last type of tragedy commonly known is the tragedy that incorporates comedic relief. They are commonly known as “tragicomedies.” While the events in tragicomedies are often considered with tragic and humorous, their main purpose is to revel a major problem for the character(s), but a happy ending is achieved due to unknown circumstances typically at a time of panic. The greatest examples that display the qualities of a tragicomedy is Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and John Fletcher’s The Faithful Shepherdess.

American Tragedies

Title page for The Scarlet Letter.

During the late 19th century in the United States, two authors will be one of the many to start the new tragic genre of American Tragedies. In 1850 and 1851, both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville created the embodiment of the tragic form just when America was booming with optimism and vying for materialistic possessions. Their novels The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick will be the first of many that will succeed in this genre. The trend continued on into the 20th century and paid close attention to the pathos of the victims. Although they were sometimes insignificant, they were still engulfed by the unmatching force of the significant being who ends up destroying the victim in the process. Only the novels of William Faulkner, in their depth and powerful assault on basic tragic themes, give memorization of traditional tragic values long forgotten in his "Saga of the South."

British Tragedies

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Title page for King Lear.

During the late 16th Century, playwright William Shakespeare composed several works during the Renaissance Tragedy era, which became known as the Shakespearean tragedies. Today, Shakespeare is seen as one of the central founders of British tragedies. Scholars typically categorize British tragedies into three distinct periods. The first period, which is marked by the tragedy Titus Andronicus, occurs around 1590-1594. The second period occurs around 1595-1601, and produces works such as Julius Caesar. Finally, the third period of tragedies produces some of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies including, Othello," Macbeth," and Hamlet," occurs around 1602-1610.

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External Links

• Aristotle on Greek Tragedy — by Larry A. Brown.
• Tragedy — Views of tragedy from literary periods.
• Tragedy: The Basics — Some history, a definition, and some links by Michael Webster.
• Tragedy — Article on tragedy by Richard B. Sewall.
• Greek Tragedy — Article on Greek tragedy by Roger Dunkle
• American Tragedies - Article on American Tragedies by Richard B. Sewall
• A Brief History of Tragedy — Article by InterestingLiterature
• Types of Tragedy— Article by Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg