A tragedy is a serious work of fiction that presents the downfall of its protagonist, who through some error in judgment, weakness in character, or twist of fate suffers crushing defeat or death. It also must involve incidents arousing pity and fear. The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, and the Greek drama Antigone, by Sophocles, both have the woeful elements of a tragedy. In Antigone, the main character Antigone is of the cursed family of Oedipus, who unwittingly slew his father and married his mother, who bore him two sons and two daughters. The Gods, enraged by this incestuous relationship, cursed Oedipus’ entire bloodline. In Of Mice and Men, two men struggle to make ends in the brutal times of the Great Depression, by traveling across America looking for jobs as ranch hands. Lennie, the larger of the two, has a mental disability, so George, Lennie’s best and only friend, takes care of him no matter how many times Lennie gets them into trouble.…
What is a tragedy? Most people do not know the answer to this simple but tricky question. According to Merriam-Webster, a tragedy is “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or terror”. The protagonist, as described in the definition above, is also known as a tragic hero. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as “a character of noble stature and has greatness. This should be readily evident in the play. The character must occupy a "high" status position but must ALSO embody nobility and virtue as part of his/her innate character.” In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone plans to bury her brother against her Uncle's law. She feels it is noble and right to bury him under the Gods's law over the civil law. Antigone faces many troubles for burying her brother. However, she proved her point to her Uncle towards the end of the story. Considering Antigone overall characteristics and actions in the tragedy of Antigone, Antigone can be described as the tragic hero.…
A tragedy is a play that revolves around a character who is brought to their demise by their own actions and failure. The plot usually provoke feelings of pity and fear from the audiemce. References to fate and destiny can be found throughout the play. The end usually includes the deaths of many characters.…
Aristotle was not only a scientific genius, but someone who carved the path for the way we depict plays and furthermore, how we write them. Aristotle made it a mission to read the plays of his era, while doing so he discovered many similarities among them, creating a tragedy. A tragedy is a form of drama that is composed of three basic parts: values, characters, and a conclusion. A value is what will determine the fate of the tragic character in the play, usually the value is represented by a supernatural power. While the character has to display certain characteristics like nobility either by birth or action, it is most noted for the characters downfall. The downfall occurs either by limitation of knowledge or by a tragic flaw within…
The Greek drama Oedipus the King is clearly a tragedy. In the play there are numerous accounts of physical and mental suffering. Although Laius and Jocasta are the catalyst that starts the story in Oedipus the King, Oedipus takes the role of the catalyst and becomes the cause of all tragedy to others.…
Both Fifth century B.C. playwright Euripides and Roman poet and dramatist Ovid tell the story of Jason ditching Medea for another woman; however, they do not always share a perspective on the female matron's traits, behavior, and purpose. Euripides portrays a woman who reacts to injustice by beginning a crusade to avenge all who harmed her which she is prepared to see through even if it means resorting to the most contemptible methods. Ovid, on the other hand, tells of a much less extreme figure whose humble goal is only to persuade Jason to return. Despite these differences, both Medeas create trouble by acting with emotions instead of with reason, and as a result, put themselves in regrettable situations.…
The Greek Philosopher Aristotle defined tragedy as a form of drama that evokes fear and pity in the audience. The tragic play Antigone conflicts that definition because although pity is evoked throughout the play, modern audiences have difficulty experiencing fear because they fail to acknowledge the role fate plays in their everyday lives.…
A tragedy is defined as an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe (according to google). In Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare two teenagers fall in love despite their family feuds when they should not have and it ends up killing them, but it was the actions of another character that killed them not their actions. Romeo and Juliet's death was because of Friar Lawrence. The deaths were a result of Friar Lawrence being impulsive, scared and tendentious.…
Jason, although often mistaken as an epic hero, portrays a tragic hero in the ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides. To be a tragic hero, one must first be considered a hero with noble characteristics. In the prelude to Medea, Jason sets off into a quest in a ship full of noble heroes after the denial of his claim to royalty. Even with fate leaning heavily on the opponents’ side, Jason overcomes many trials lain before him in order to achieve his goals. He is portrayed as a strong, cunning hero, a man many would look up to. In contrast, it may seem that Jason should not be considered a hero due to the fact that Medea almost seems to play a larger role in obtaining the Golden Fleece. Nonetheless, Medea remains to be portrayed as the friendly, mentor-like character. Jason brings Medea home in marriage and fulfills the hero characteristic of being in love with a woman. Jason proves he is a hero in his initial characteristics and by being an heir to a royal kingdom.…
Tragic Greek dramas featured tragic heroes, mortals who suffered incredible losses as a result of an inescapable fate or bad decisions. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character, usually of high birth, which is pre-eminently great, meaning they are not perfect, and whose downfall is brought about by a tragic weakness or error in judgment. The three Greek heroes Oedipus, Medea and Agamemnon, who each killed a member of their family, carry most of the qualities that make up a tragic hero: being of noble birth, being surrounded by an extraordinary circumstance, and gaining self-awareness or some kind of knowledge through their downfall. There is an important need for the audience to identify with the Aristotelian hero through their faults; faults are what inevitably make the hero a human rather than a God since to be human is to make mistakes.…
In most circumstances, it is difficult for one to feel sympathy for a character that is the cause of their suffering; however, in Medea, this is not the case. Although Jason can root the causes of his sufferings to his own wrongdoings, with the loss of innocent children, he certainly suffers the most out of the characters in Medea.…
In the tragedy Medea by Euripides, Jason faces the death of his new wife and two sons that have been killed by his ex-wife Medea. Jason leaves Medea to marry the king of Corinth’s daughter; therefore, Medea takes revenge on him. Jason wasn’t always bad he was a good husband before he did what he did. Jason is a tragic hero because he fits the characteristics of a tragic hero.…
William Shakespeare was the creative mind behind some of the world's greatest plays and tragedies. Two of his most famous tragedies were Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. One definition of a tragedy is that it depicts serious incidents in which characters undergo a change from happiness to suffering, often involving the death of others, as well as the main characters. This definition proves true in both Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar.…
The famous Greek tragedy Medea, by Euripides, is about a woman who is so distraught by her ex-husband’s actions that she snaps and commits brutal crimes like killing his new bride and father in law, Creon and she even killed her children, an act so unthinkable that most people today shutter at the thought of it. People have scrutinized the play for centuries in an attempt to discover Medea’s true motives. Some believe that she is not actually evil, just mistreated to the point where she simply would not take it anymore. However, Medea is truly evil because she murdered the princess and Creon, she slaughtered her own children, and she never actually attacked Jason himself, but only the ones he loved.…
As the Nurse at the beginning of the story tells, Medea gave up everything she had to be with Jason. She left her family, and even killed her own brother to be able to run away with him. Medea, who has been dishonestly betrayed by her husband, uses revenge to punish him for his deeds and to seek the rewards which it offers to ones pride. The reader begins to feel pity for the main character and even excuse her actions. That is a result of identification with Medea, as a cheated spouse. In any kind of relationship during life, people expect fidelity, so they clearly understand why she wanted revenge.…