Tragedy: What is it and why is it popular?
What do the two masks represent?The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. They are symbols of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene. Thalia was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy (the weeping face).
So what is Tragedy?
_-Form of drama that depicts the suffering of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the very obstacles he is struggling to remove. The protagonist may be brought low by a character flaw or caught in a collision of equally justified ethical aims.
There are several forms of tragedy based on the time period they were written in or the content of the work:
-Ancient Tragedies
-Renaissance and Later Tragedies --> We will be looking at a Shakespear tragedy, which would be found in this area of tragedy
-Moral, Domestic, and Political Tragedies
-Twentieth-Century Tragedy
Rules of Shakespearian Tragedies:
1. Tragedy must end in some tremendous catastrophe involving the death of the principal character.
2. The catastrophe must not be the result of mere accident, but must be brought about by some essential trait in the character of the hero acting either directly or through its effect on other persons.
3. The hero must have in him something which outweighs his defects and interests us so that we care for his fate more than for anything else in the play.
The problem: Why should a picture of the misfortunes of some one in whom we are thus interested afford us any satisfaction? No final answer has yet been found. Aristotle said that the spectacle by rousing in us pity and fear purges us of these emotions, and this remains the best explanation. Just as a great calamity sweeps from our minds the petty irritations of our common life, so the flood of esthetic emotion lifts us above them.
Two Types of Shakespeare Tragedies:
1. The "Mind" Tragedy
2. The "Heart" Tragedy
Class Brainstorm: Identify some TV Shows/Movies/Books/Comic Books that could be identified as "Tragedies"
-Marley and Me (heart)
-The Dark Knight Rises (heart)
-Titanic (heart)
-Passchendale (heart)
-King Kong (heart)
-The Host (heart)
-Star Wars Prequel (heart/mind)
-I am Legend (mind/heart)
-Sinistere (mind)
-Citizen Kane (heart)
-Seven (mind)
-Law Abiding Citizen (mind)
-American History X (mind/heart)
-Zodiac (mind)
-The Uninvited (mind)
-The Notebook (heart)
-Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (heart/mind)
-Dexter (heart)
There are several forms of tragedy based on the time period they were written in or the content of the work:
-Ancient Tragedies
-Renaissance and Later Tragedies --> We will be looking at a Shakespear tragedy, which would be found in this area of tragedy
-Moral, Domestic, and Political Tragedies
-Twentieth-Century Tragedy
Rules of Shakespearian Tragedies:
1. Tragedy must end in some tremendous catastrophe involving the death of the principal character.
2. The catastrophe must not be the result of mere accident, but must be brought about by some essential trait in the character of the hero acting either directly or through its effect on other persons.
3. The hero must have in him something which outweighs his defects and interests us so that we care for his fate more than for anything else in the play.
The problem: Why should a picture of the misfortunes of some one in whom we are thus interested afford us any satisfaction? No final answer has yet been found. Aristotle said that the spectacle by rousing in us pity and fear purges us of these emotions, and this remains the best explanation. Just as a great calamity sweeps from our minds the petty irritations of our common life, so the flood of esthetic emotion lifts us above them.
Two Types of Shakespeare Tragedies:
1. The "Mind" Tragedy
2. The "Heart" Tragedy
Class Brainstorm: Identify some TV Shows/Movies/Books/Comic Books that could be identified as "Tragedies"
-Marley and Me (heart)
-The Dark Knight Rises (heart)
-Titanic (heart)
-Passchendale (heart)
-King Kong (heart)
-The Host (heart)
-Star Wars Prequel (heart/mind)
-I am Legend (mind/heart)
-Sinistere (mind)
-Citizen Kane (heart)
-Seven (mind)
-Law Abiding Citizen (mind)
-American History X (mind/heart)
-Zodiac (mind)
-The Uninvited (mind)
-The Notebook (heart)
-Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (heart/mind)
-Dexter (heart)