Preview

What Is the Genre of Woyzeck?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1631 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is the Genre of Woyzeck?
By examining what is meant by the concept of theatrical ‘genre’, how would you characterize the genre of Woyzeck?

Today, whenever somebody is asked to think of a typical Tragedy, his or her immediate answer would be; Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, possibly even King Lear. This is because these plays constitute what is conventionally known as a Tragedy. They mostly follow the conventions outlined in Aristotle’s Poetics, and have characteristics recognisable of a Tragedy, for example, the tragic hero being of upper class or noble background, and the tragic hero’s actions leading to inevitable consequences. As Buchner’s Woyzeck does not solely fit into this template, its genre can be deemed as a little confusing. However, Woyzeck is undoubtedly a Tragedy, with the play dealing with issues of death, and there also being clear parallels between the character Woyzeck and other tragic heroes such as Othello. Woyzeck also has his own downfall, similarly to the likes of other tragic heroes, and the audience react with “pity and fear” towards this play like we do to other tragedies like Hamlet or Othello. Woyzeck, although not completely similar to other tragedies can be deemed as a “working class tragedy”. In Tragedies, the tragic hero, in this case Woyzeck, always has a downfall. For example, at the start of Othello, he is the leader of his bla bla bla, has the love of his woman Desdemona and is respected by his peers; by the end he has lost all that. Although Woyzeck does not have a great deal because he is “poor, that’s what I am”, he has the best in which he can hope to strive for and achieve. He has a woman and a child in which he loves, and he brings home money for Marie, “ here’s some more money, Marie, me wages and a bit from me officer”, so that she can provide for their child. By the end of Buchner’s play, Woyzeck has appeared to have lost the little he had at the beginning of the play.
Woyzeck’s fall is evident in the last few scenes of Buchner’s play, especially in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The term ‘classical tragedy’ may often be confused with the modern view of tragedy. Today, we may think of a tragedy as a disastrous event such as a car accident or a natural disaster, often leading to death. For the Greeks, tragedy was more of a state of mind or sense of personal loss that was taken seriously. In my research of the term classical tragedy, I found that the typical classical tragedy involves a tragic hero of noble birth who has a tragic flaw that leads to a fall from grace, a moment of remorse, and catharsis.…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    2007 -- a modernized play, Re: Woyzeck by Jeremy Gable premiered in Fullerton, California. In this play Georg Büchner becomes a character himself. The play was received favorably and was considered for Pulitzer…

    • 7512 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    MWD Odeipus rex

    • 2482 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also having magnitude complete in itself. The genre excites the emotions of pity and fear. Catharsis is also seen in this genre. Tragedy touches the “pity and fear” within its audience compared to other emotions drawn in other genres. Hubris, or the tragic flaw, is often seen in this genre too.…

    • 2482 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The play, ‘A View from a Bridge’, by Author Miller has the theme of a Modern Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy is a play where fate runs it’s ‘bloody course’, which will lead to the tragic hero’s downfall. A tragic hero is usually a character of noble stature. Just like all people, tragic heroes aren’t perfect but what separates them from the others is that they have a hamartia, a tragic flaw. This flaw will be the cause of the downfall for the tragic hero.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    OTHELLO ONE PAGER

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Creon, the Tragic Hero

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    There has always been much controversy between who the tragic hero is in the play. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. Many times, the tragic hero will acknowledge their “fatal flaw” near the end of the play; however, by this time, it will be too late for this character to correct their wrong doings.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A great play has to include many important features in order for it to be classified as a tragedy. For any great tragedy, there must be a tragic hero in the story. Fear and pity are created by and through the conflict. Every tragedy must also end in hope. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a great tragedy deserving of much more praise.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    To begin with, a tragedy is a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.1 In Romeo and Juliet, humor and pleasant times roam free through the Acts. Shakespeare fathers humor through sexual innuendos, and puns. For example Mercutio uses risqué humor with the Capulet’s nurse. The use of servants in Romeo and Juliet also creates comic relief such as Madea does in the present day Tyler Perry movies. One of the best examples of hum our early on in the play is when Lady Capulet exclaims "A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?"[1.1.66’]. She is mocking her husband by saying you are very old in age and feeble. You need no sword but a cane. A tragedy does not always have that dark cloud of rain floating overhead every moment. The sun shines everywhere at least once.…

    • 960 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Aristotle provided us with a Greek theory of what is tragedy; he defines it as “a form of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear. It is the imitation of an action that is serious and also having with it a magnitude complete in itself. On the other hand the English, Elizabethan, Shakespearian culture had a total different perspective from the Greek. Instead of reporting violence on stage like the Greek, the English would act out the violence in the play. They stated that in tragedy the action should be in one whole and take place in one day and in one place. Tragedy was mixed with other genres such as romance and comedy, emphasis is placed on action, spectacle and increasingly sensation.…

    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Modern Day Tragic Heroes

    • 1528 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Tragedy, according to Aristotle, “is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude” and causes pity and fear to be felt by the audience. With this in mind, what qualifies a character to be considered the tragic hero in this type of literature? These qualifying characteristics are defined in Aristotle’s Poetics and Arthur Miller’s “Tragedy and the Common Man”. They believe that there are several components to a tragic hero: the character must be noble or portray greatness, have a tragic flaw that causes his downfall, and the character must instill pity and fear into the audience. Two such tragic heroes in modern literature are, Willy Loman and Troy Maxson.…

    • 1528 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet As A Tragic Hero

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the play Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, the main character Hamlet is often described as a hero. There are 6 criterion for a Shakespeare play to be considered a tragedy; the hero is a man of outstanding quality, the hero has a tragic flaw, the hero’s downfall is a result of his own choice, the audience has a “sad sense of wasted human potential”, the hero has an increase in awareness and a gain in self knowledge, and the audience experiences a cycle of good and bad emotions towards mankind. Hamlet is a great example of a tragic hero, one of his greatest attributes is also his biggest downfall.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Most people would agree with Mr. Nash that tragedy depicts man’s troubles. But this is only half the story, for tragic drama does not stop with troubles, but goes on to achieve some sort of affirmation, and thus it is optimistic rather than (as commonly thought) pessimistic.…

    • 2229 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tragedy builds, as hero endures calamity and faces fate. The hero's fate is determined by the existence of moral order. Therefore, to restore the mortal order in a tragic world, one must go through struggle between good and evil. According to Bradley, the tragic hero with Shakespeare is generally good and therefore at once wins sympathy in his error; but the hero's imperfection or defects are considered evil and they contribute to the conflict and catastrophe. When the evil in him masters the good and has its way, it destroys other people and ultimately destroys him. The pity and fear, which are stirred by the tragic story, unites with profound sense of sadness and mystery gives impression of waste, and this impression of waste makes us realize the worth of that is wasted.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fate Reshapes Hamlet

    • 2046 Words
    • 9 Pages

    What is a tragedy? A tragedy can be defined as a form of drama that depicts the suffering of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the very obstacles he is struggling to remove (Tragedy 1). Shakespeare 's play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is considered a tragedy in literature and the character of Hamlet in the play is considered to be a tragic hero. In addition, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is considered to be a type of tragedy called revenge tragedy. Basically, this type of play consists of a murder that has to be avenged by a relative of the victim (DiYanni 1394). Ultimately, the play is about a son that is called upon by the ghost of his father to avenge his death.…

    • 2046 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A tragedy is a form of drama in which death, heartbreak, or any type of human suffering is inevitable. The origins where tragedies occurred were Ancient Greece, Italy, and Britain. An example of a famous tragedy are Romeo & Juliet and Mac Beth by William Shakespeare. A Shakespearean tragedy usually includes elements which are, having a ‘tragic hero’ who is noble, dramatic irony, hamartia, hubris, pathos and a restoration of social order.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics