Effects Tragedy

8/11/2019 Effects Tragedy

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TragedyIn English Literature

And its effectsBy Drew Wilson

Sourced from Adrian Poole „Tragedy; A Very Short Introduction‟



What is Tragedy?

Consider your own definition of tragedy.

Should we include any of the following?

A car crash

Oil prices

A tsunami



What is Tragedy?

Or should we only consider tragedy asMilton does?

„Sometime let gorgeous Tragedy

In sceptred pall come sweeping by,

Presenting Thebes, or Pelops‟ line, Or the tale of Troy divine.‟



What is Tragedy?

To John Milton in the 17th Century, tragedy

was a rather lofty notion, worthy of

personification, wearing the finest robe (pall),

who dealt with the heroes of Troy, Thebes

and so on.

He was thinking of tragedy as a regal (or

famous) figure, and of the heroes of the past.



Task 1

Work in pairs. Discuss the following questionsand present your findings:

Can tragedy happen to anyone?It is worse for those who have more to lose?

Does that include celebrities? Paris Hilton?

Are „simple‟, „good‟ people better able tocope?

Why does tragedy happen?



What is Tragedy?

The word „Tragedy‟ is derived from two Greekwords…

Goat

And

Song



What is Tragedy?

The following quotations may help;

„[a goat] has a prince-like look in the

front (horns and beard) but a rear endthat is filthy and naked.” Francesco da Buti 1395

and , „for a goat has a beautiful aspect,

but when it passes it gives off a mightystink.‟ Giovanni da Sarravalle



Task 2

Work in pairs. Answer the following twoquestions and present your findings.

What do you think these commentsmean?

How do they fit with your own definitionof Tragedy?



What do they mean? How do they fit with your owndefinition of tragedy?

„[a goat] has a prince-like look in the

front (horns and beard) but rear endthat is filthy and naked.” Francesco da Buti 1395

Or, „for a goat has a beautiful aspect,

but when it passes it gives off a mightystink.‟ Giovanni da Sarravalle



Tragedy

Real Life does not speak for itself. It hasto be turned into stories and plots.

When these stories are lifted out of theunstoppable flow of life…

…they attract our attention.

Therefore, the best tragedy, as Aristotlesaid, comes from good plots.



Aristotle

Aristotle said, „Tragedy is both more

philosophical and more serious than

history.‟

„Poetry speaks of universals, history of

particulars.‟

„Poetry tends to make generalstatements, while those of history areparticular.‟



Aristotle

Tragedy teaches us something aboutthe logic of cause and effect.

Through the plots we are shown that if or when you do this or that, you canexpect these to be the consequences.

Tragedy, says Aristotle, is thoroughly

realistic - it tells us the truth about theway things are going to be - probably,inevitably.



Aristotle

But in the hands of a true poet, historycan be as philosophical as tragedy.

Good stories should be demanding of

our attention. They should give us aninsight - which we may even addourselves.

Tragedy therefore presents a foresightinto the way we expect things tohappen.



Foreshadowing in Tragedy

Oedipus: Ho! aged sire, whose venerable locks

Proclaim thee spokesman of this company,

Explain your mood and purport. Is it dread

Of ill that moves you or a boon ye crave?(Oedipus the King)

Nurse: If only they had never gone!… I am afraid

Some dreadful purpose is forming in her mind. She is

A frightening woman; no one who makes an enemyOf her will will carry off an easy victory.

(Medea)



Task 3

In small groups

Investigate where and how foreshadowing is used in the „Tragedy‟

text(s) that you have been studying.Present your findings to the class.



Catharsis

Aristotle suggests that tragedy has aneffect on our passions, „through the

arousal of pity and fear effecting the„Katharsis’ of such emotions.‟

However, Plato suggests that theemotions excited by tragedy are not„safely‟ and „entirely‟ discharged.



Task 4

Focus on the key words of „pity‟, „fear‟ „safe‟„discharge‟ and „emotions‟.

How and where does this process occur inthe text(s) you are studying?

How does it affect your understanding of thetext and your response to it?

What emotions are experienced duringtragedy and why?



The Gods

The Chorus‟ in Aeschylus‟ Agamemnon

pray to „Zeus -whoever you are‟ (160)

And in Medea they reflect, „Then why

should mortals thank the gods,Who add to their load, alreadygrievous…‟



The Gods

Shakespeare‟s Gloucester remarks: "As

flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods,

They kill us for their sport.” (King Lear,

1603)

And his Coriolanus exclaims, “The gods

look down, and this unnatural scene /

they laugh,‟ (V.iii.185-6)



Task 5

Make a list of references to the gods, divinityand providence in the text(s) you are

studying.

How is an audience asked to view them?

What conclusions can be drawn from this list?



The Gods

The gods, therefore, are ever present.

But the divine always requires

interpretation.Were the ancient Athenians sure whattheir gods ‘stood for’ , and what thepunishment suffered by their victims„meant’ ?



The Gods

One of the main motives behind Greektragedy was to inquire into themysterious and never ultimately

knowable nature of divinity.The modern reader can identify with thisdesire to make sense of the gods.

We attempt to translate the obscureforces that govern us, our actions andthe course of the world.



Tragedy

Tragedy invites us to question our existence.

Could it be as Macbeth states?

“Life‟s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.” (V.v.23-7)



Tragedy

Or as Arthur Miller contends?

“…we are made and yet are more than what made us.”



Task 6

Review your earlier findings from Task 1 - 5

Choose one tragedy that you have beenstudying.

Consider the plot stages, the messagesbehind the text and questions that areprovoked in the audience.

In small groups, create a presentation on the

„effects‟ within a tragedy that you havestudied.

Documents

Effects Tragedy