...tragedy. This type of literature has its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman tragedy, which emerged around 2,500 years ago, in the 6th century BC. Tragedy, by its definition, is “a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in audiences” (qtd. in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy). Tragedy is considered to have been invented for the worshiping of Dionysus , which they considered to be one of their deities . In Greek, “tragedy” is called “tragodia”, which means goat song, being composed of the words “tragos” which means “he-goat” and “aeidein” which means “to sing” which is believed to make a reference to an old custom of offering a goat in competitions of choral dancing or using it for ritual sacrifices, but not before dancing around it. The three big representatives of Ancient tragedy are Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Their work further represented the inspiration for the medieval tragedy which developed during 14th century Middle Age, inside cathedrals, a highly...
Words: 873 - Pages: 4
...Poetics A tragic hero according Aristotle’s Poetics, is an ideal noble man with a flaw. Oedipus fits into the context of a flawed man, a man with given stature, and catharsis that propel him into a tragic hero. Oedipus as a tragic hero is caring concerned king whom the people trusted and loved. However, his impulsive temper caused him to make mistakes. On, the other, hand, Willie Lowman was a tragic hero as he was ready to lay down his love for the love of his family. Miller gives the flawed sense of a tragic hero in the sense of personal dignity that Lowman is willing to fulfill even in his death. The characteristics that Miller offers in terms catharsis and stature fits Lowman, he involved himself in a car accident so that his son Biff could use the insurance money to start a business and become a successful person in the society. This paper will discuss Willie Lowman, and Oedipus, as tragic heroes based on the stature, tragic flaw, and catharsis in their respective stories. A tragic hero according to Miller is a common person as opposed to the belief that a tragic hero must be a form of a king. He says, “we are often held to be below tragedy or tragedy below us……… that tragedy fits only for the highly placed… where this admission is not made in so many words it is often implied.” A tragic hero, therefore, is a common and both a highly placed person in the society. The belief that tragedy does not affect a common forces Miller to use a common, in his, novel as the tragic hero. Willie...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...The story opens in ancient Britain, where the elderly King Lear is deciding to give up his power and divide his realm amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. Lear's plan is to give the largest piece of his kingdom to the child who professes to love him the most, certain that his favorite daughter, Cordelia, will win the challenge. Goneril and Regan, corrupt and deceitful, lie to their father with sappy and excessive declarations of affection. Cordelia, however, refuses to engage in Lear's game, and replies simply that she loves him as a daughter should. Her lackluster retort, despite its sincerity, enrages Lear, and he disowns Cordelia completely. When Lear's dear friend, the Earl of Kent, tries to speak on Cordelia's behalf, Lear banishes him from the kingdom. Meanwhile, the King of France, present at court and overwhelmed by Cordelia's honesty and virtue, asks for her hand in marriage, despite her loss of a sizable dowry. Cordelia accepts the King of France's proposal, and reluctantly leaves Lear with her two cunning sisters. Kent, although banished by Lear, remains to try to protect the unwitting King from the evils of his two remaining children. He disguises himself and takes a job as Lear's servant. Now that Lear has turned over all his wealth and land to Regan and Goneril, their true natures surface at once. Lear and his few companions, including some knights, a fool, and the disguised Kent, go to live with Goneril, but she reveals that she plans...
Words: 1592 - Pages: 7
...Creon’s Tragic Fall: A Look at Sophocles’ Antigone A tragic hero is defined by Aristotle’s Poetics as the protagonist in the story to whom something happens that elicits pity from the audience. For the most part, a tragic hero is a “virtuous” person whose life changes from being prosperous to being a life full of misfortune (Aristotle, Poetics). In other words, the tragic hero is someone of great social standing who begins the story at a very high point, but suffers their downfall because of a tragic flaw. In Sophocles’ Antigone the central theme of this play is the struggle between Antigone and her uncle Creon. The issue of burying Antigone’s brother Polynices is based on the ancient Greek philosophy of death, where any unburied body condemns its soul to torment. Basically, it was the duty of the family to bury their dead. Yet, this issue extended beyond family loyalty to a decree of piety by the gods. However, in the play, Creon goes against this celestial decree because he sees Polynices as a traitor for warring against him as a member of another army. As a means to set an example about the repercussions of disloyalty, Creon issues an edict to leave him unburied. As a man who starts the drama in as the respected king of Thebes, he gradually loses his family, his objectivity, and his power to his stubbornness and hubris that ultimately results in his downfall. Hence, Creon is a tragic hero in the Sophocles’ Antigone because his unbending pride results in tragic downfall...
Words: 1758 - Pages: 8
...It is the characterization of intense human relationships that continues to captivate audiences of Othello. Explore this statement with reference to one intense human relationship in the play In Shakespeare’s, Othello, it is the tragic downfall of the protagonist which intrigues audiences, exploring elements of the human condition through intricate human interactions. Utilizing the emotional depth of complex human relationships, Shakespeare discusses fundamental human characteristics in passion, desire and revenge, creating the primary drama of the play as audiences consider the relevant nature of Othello’s tragic downfall, as orchestrated by the duplicitous Iago. Othello’s tragic downfall captivates audiences through the intensity of his relationships with other characters. Within Othello, Shakespeare is able to involve the audience in the emotional conflict of the play, as the titular hero is manipulated by his symbiotic relationship with iago, leading to his self-destruction. Throughout the play, Iago relentlessly exploits Othello’s tragic flaw of absolutism through his devilish intellectual superiority, evoking a sense of sympathy as Iago is resolute in turning Othello’s power, reputation and relationships into chaos via human nature. Iago’s contempt for the “thick lips” subsequently leads to the revelation of his expedient and duplicitous character, as he feigns loyalty to the Moor only to, “serve his turn upon him” by “pouring pestilence into his hear”. Iago’s manipulation...
Words: 586 - Pages: 3
...Antigone and Her Morality Thesis: Antigone is a tragic heroine who believes in her moral duty to the gods over her duty to the state and is willing to suffer the consequences in order to do what is morally right. I. Antigone's justification of action A. Her defiant speech against law of man B. Her argument through Divine Law II. Hamartia Theory A. Antigone's tragic flaws B. Human responsibility for action C. Chorus points out character flaws III. Divine injustice and the moral problem A. Action involves suffering B. Acknowledging moral order of the gods IV. Divinity in man is morality Antigone and Her Morality Thesis: Antigone is a tragic heroine who believes in her moral duty to the gods over her duty to the state and is willing to suffer the consequences in order to do what is morally right. I. Antigone's justification of action A. Her defiant speech against law of man B. Her argument through Divine Law II. Hamartia Theory A. Antigone's tragic flaws B. Human responsibility for action C. Chorus points out character flaws III. Divine injustice and the moral problem A. Action involves suffering B. Acknowledging moral order of the gods IV. Divinity in man is morality Antigone and Her Morality Thesis: Antigone is a tragic heroine who believes in her moral duty to the gods over her duty to the state and is willing to suffer the consequences in order to do what is morally right. I. Antigone's justification of action A. Her...
Words: 303 - Pages: 2
...III in Richard III, Edmund in King Lear—who are all strong enough to conquer guilt and self-doubt. Macbeth, great warrior though he is, is ill equipped for the psychic consequences of crime. Before he kills Duncan, Macbeth is plagued by worry and almost aborts the crime. It takes Lady Macbeth’s steely sense of purpose to push him into the deed. After the murder, however, her powerful personality begins to disintegrate, leaving Macbeth increasingly alone. He fluctuates between fits of fevered action, in which he plots a series of murders to secure his throne, and moments of terrible guilt (as when Banquo’s ghost appears) and absolute pessimism (after his wife’s death, when he seems to succumb to despair). These fluctuations reflect the tragic tension within Macbeth: he is at once too ambitious to allow his conscience to stop him from murdering his way to the top and too conscientious to be happy with himself as a murderer. As things fall apart for him at the end of the play, he seems almost relieved—with the English army at his gates, he can finally return to life as a...
Words: 443 - Pages: 2
...Comic hero compared to a tragic hero Craig is considered to be a comic hero compared to Hamlet and Archilles who are a tragic hero. Comic heroes is a hero who recovers from their flaws, however tragic heroes do not recover from their flaw for the reason to do in some sort of heroic sacrifice. Craig seems to have a worthless life and suffers from depression. Wanting to commit suicide to end his misery he decides not to for his family. Craig shows considerate feelings and seeks for help. The support from his friends and family helps him open up to his flaw and change his view in life. Successfully, Craig is able to recover from his flaw and live. On the contrary, Achilles lives a superior life as a demi god, and is highly admired as a warrior. Unlike Craig, Archilles only cares for himself. However Archilles too suffers from a flaw, Archilles is hubris. Archilles fights for the Greeks for his name to be remembered but knows his death will come. Unfortunately Archilles does not recover from his flaw, there was none to help him, and is the reason why he dies. Similarly to Archilles, Hamlet is a prince of Denmark. With no help he too suffers from a flaw that he is not able to recover from: indecisive. Making many failed attempts to avenge his father it accumulates the problem. Although Hamlet achieves his goal, his inability to act at the beginning causes the life of himself and other friends and family. Craig, Archilles and Hamlet are all around the same age with privileged...
Words: 306 - Pages: 2
...ALICE SEKYERE OBENG AUUG09120013 CLASSIFYING OKWONKWO IN “THINGS FALL APART” AND NANAYAA IN “ IN THE CHEST OF A WOMAN” AS TRAGIC HEROE AND HEROIN RESPECTIVELY, WITH REFERENCE TO THE BOOKS. In every story or novel, there is both a protagonist and antagonist ,the protagonist could either be a tragic hero, a hero, or a heroine among others .In things fall apart which was written by Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian, there is a tragic hero who is okwonkwo, the story weaves itself around him till the end and tells of how he and his people lived without the white man, when he came and after he came and also tells of how Okwonkwo forced to fight change which eventually lead to his death. With “in the chest of a woman” however, Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, a Ghanaian writer who unfortunately passed away recently tells his story in legs instead of acts and scenes which makes it unique, and also woven around Nanayaa who comes off as a strong, bold and daring character comparable to a heroine. In the play, she would stop at nothing to achieve her lifelong dream and selfish ambition of becoming a queen instead of her younger brother, and when that is not possible she resorts to disguising her daughter as a male, so she could be king. This plan backfires as the true identity is revealed at the end. Although these characteristics classify them both as a tragic hero and heroine, there are also some major characteristics that enforces that fact including that they were both noble persons, or usually of...
Words: 1368 - Pages: 6
...Kaitlyn price [2a] April 15th, 2010 My Tragic Flaw I know everyone has one. A tragic flaw? Yes. I will admit…I do have one too. Mine? I am probably one of the most irritable human being you will know. It started a few years ago, I am assuming. Maybe around the time my brother was born which would make it seventh grade. I come from a big family; two brothers, a sister, myself, and my parents. Six people in a tiny house! Why yes, it is very loud. My mom has a low tolerance and I have inherited that from her. She constantly yells because she is stressed but what she fails to see is that it stresses me out too. Stress leads to another factor of why I am so irritable. I feel like I am always ‘on call’, meaning I feel that as soon as I sit down and get comfortable...my mom will call me again and again for help. She does not always call me but that is just how I feel; stressed. For me, irritability is a real issue. I would be constantly talked to in middle school for not paying attention in class and when I would be talked to I would have an attitude. Because I argued with the teachers, I would get detentions or they would send e-mails to my mom. When my mom would get an e-mail she would yell at me and I would yell back. Yelling back at my mom did not get me anywhere but in my room for the next few weeks. It seemed like I was always crying and being put on restriction. When I would be on restriction I would not have my phone. I never had any way of contacting my friends except...
Words: 469 - Pages: 2
...Something tragic happens in everyone’s life. In some cases, it is predetermined what their fate will be, and in others, tragedy ensues as a product of their environment. In the case of Oedipus, his tragedy could not be stopped because it was predetermined what was going to happen to him before his birth. But in the case of Bartleby, his tragedy ensued because he was a mere product of his environment. An oracle told Laios and Iokaste, Oedipus’s parents, that their first born son would kill his father and marry his mother. Terrified that the oracle was right, when Iokaste had Oedipus, she sent him away to be murdered. But fate played a major part in their lives and Oedipus’s life was spared. He ended up killing a man where three roads meet, which later on he found out to be his birth father, Laios. Oedipus also saved Thebes from the wrath of a sphinx, and therefore became king and wed the widow Iokaste, who he later found out is his birth mother. As the result of finding out that the oracle could not be changed and that fate can not be beaten, Iokaste hanged herself, and upon hearing all this horrible news, Oedipus scratched himself blind with broaches and banished himself from Thebes. In the case of Bartleby, time and situations molded him into a very sad and monotonous man. Working as a Scrivener in a Law Copyist office, Bartleby seemed like he was the perfect worker. Even though he kept to himself, there were no major apparent flaws within him. Things started to change...
Words: 474 - Pages: 2
...Death of a Salesman, Character analysis By Henry Cord Willy Loman, the main character in Death of a Salesman is a complex and fascinatingly tragic character. He is a man struggling to hold onto what dignity he has left in a changing society that no longer values the ideals he grew up to believe in. While society can be blamed for much of his misfortune, he must also be blamed himself to an equal extent for his bad judgement, disloyalty and his foolish pride. Willy Loman is a firm believer in the "American Dream:" the notion that any man can rise from humble beginnings to greatness. His particular slant on this ideal is that a man succeeds by selling his charisma, that to be well liked is the most important asset a man can have. He made a living at this for 30 years, but as he enters the later stage of his life, people have stopped smiling back and he can no longer sell the firm's goods to support himself. His ambition was one of greatness, to work hard and to be a member of the firm; and if he could not succeed in this respect, that he should at least be well-liked and be able to sell until the day of his death: When his friends would flock from all over the country to pay their respects. Willy's main flaw is his foolish pride, this it what makes him such a tragic hero. Yet there are many facets to his personality that contribute to the state he and the family are in during the play. His upbringing of the boys is one major issue, he raised them with the notion that if...
Words: 1145 - Pages: 5
...World Literature I 1. In your opinion, is Oedipus a hero? Think about what you found heroic in previous characters we encountered: Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Roland. How does Oedipus compare? Also, does Oedipus have a character flaw that affects his fate? There are many types of heroes, but Oedipus happens to be a tragic hero. Throughout the story, it is pretty safe to say that Oedipus is a tragic hero. In Aristotle’s work, he has made this point very apparent. There are three main reasons why I think Oedipus is a tragic hero. First, by his own actions, he ascertains his own fate. Secondly, he falls from great esteem. Lastly, Oedipus’ story ascends fear and sympathy. The way Oedipus discovers his fate is by his own actions. If he did not inquire about the murder of Laois, he probably would have never discovered that he in fact was the murderer. The saying “curiosity killed the cat”, is a perfect example of how Oedipus’ story dwindled and unwounded. If Oedipus did not seek Teresias he would have still been in the unknown of the murder. When he asked Teresias, the answers that were given were nonetheless the answers that Oedipus was seeking. For example, Teresias replied to him and said, “You are the murderer of the king whose murderer you seek.” After hearing this information, he still does not believe it or understand, so he seeks Jocasta. He has hopes of her telling him that there is no truth to what Teresias is saying. When he arrives, the news that Oedipus hears is the...
Words: 753 - Pages: 4
...During pages 8-10 Arthur Miller uses Linda and Willy’s interactions to display Linda’s misguided attempts at restoring Willy to mental stability. Throughout the rest of the play Miller’s permissive characterisation of Linda catalyses the deterioration of Willy’s psyche and relationships. Miller presents Linda as Willy’s enabler; she is seen as not only allowing but socialising Willy into a self-destructive way of being. Miller incorporates the symbolism of the flute into the stage directions to symbolise Willy’s hamartia, a tragic flaw that leads to a character’s downfall. Although Willy Loman does not fit the criteria of the tragic hero, Arthur Miller wanted to show the fate of one of the many ordinary people who are rejected by a system which should support them. In Tragedy and the Common Man, he wrote, “I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were”. As Willy enters a “small fine melody on a flute is heard”. A flute is an artificial object; it could be interpreted that its elusive and indistinct sound represents fantasy, a product of the imagination. Furthermore, its “small” and “fine melody” hints at childlike imagery. All of these attributes relate to the character of Willy. Children strive for unattainable fantasies; Willy, as an adult, should be more rational. Miller presents Linda as being a contributor to this flaw due to her need to conceal the cracks in their relationship, covering up issues rather than confronting...
Words: 1165 - Pages: 5
...certain sense of audience fulfillment. The roots of the tragedy are related to ancient Greece. A Greek tragedy is a sad story, which represents a character with a tragic flaw leading to his downfall. In addition, in traditional tragedy, the main character falls from high authority and often it is predetermined by fate, while the audience experiences catharsis (Bloom 2). Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is considered to be a tragedy because this literary work has some of the main characteristics of the tragedy genre. In this play, the main character Willy Loman possesses such traits and behaviors that lead to his downfall, and the audience experiences catharsis. Willy Loman as a real tragic hero comes to the decision to commit suicide because of serious financial problems of his family (Phelps 79). This play has already been criticized by a number of literary critics who represented different opinions on the plot of the book. The major goal of this paper is to critically evaluate the play Death of a Salesman written by the well-known American writer Arthur Miller, paying special attention to the play’s characteristics of a tragedy. In the play Death of a Salesman, the author investigates human nature and represents his main character as a person whose dissatisfaction with his own life leads to his tragic end. The plot of this literary work is rather simple. The play consists of two acts. In the first act, Willy Loman, the main character of Miller’s play returns home...
Words: 1456 - Pages: 6
