Tragedy Essays and Research Papers

A Greek tragedy is very unique in its structure, composition, and language. The tragedy usually begins with a prologue in which one or more characters introduce the drama and explain the background. It involves a Chorus of some sorts, which says or explains the situation that is developing on the scene and also includes a…

In The Poetics, Aristotle defines plot as “the combination of the incidents or things done in the story”, but a closer reading of the development of ‘plot’ as a crucial element of tragedy reveals that it is much more complicated idea. In this assignment, the attempt has been to understand two things; firstly, how Aristotle’s…

In the play Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus touches one of the fundamental political problems – the nature and essence of power. The bearer of the highest and unlimited power in this play is Zeus. Aeschylus endows him with features that do not evoke sympathy from the audience: Zeus in this tragedy is despotic, cruel, and, at…

Troy Maxson in ​ August Wilson’s Fences is portrayed as an honorable man with a disastrous flaw that causes much devastation in his life and in his familys’ life as well. Troy’s ultimate downfall stems from his pride and self centeredness. Life for Troy has been a disappointment and his resentment for his failures makes…

Love can affect people in many ways and the consequences can range from good to even lethal. And in the play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose love for each other lead them to their tragic deaths. Since the theme in Romeo and Juliet is love as a…

In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the feud between the Montague and Capulet families led to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. I think that Romeo is to blame for the deaths of himself and Juliet. In my opinion I would blame him for killing himself in such a hurry thus leading to…

Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as the instrument to the suffering of others. In August Wilson’s play ‘Fences’ the reader is introduced to its main protagonist and tragic hero, Troy Maxon. In this story Troy has made conflict with almost every character through his natural cynical ways. Troy has…

Through the whims and wills of the Gods, humans play a preconceived part in the story of life, and our every deed simply a line in the play. This idea that the span of a person’s life is nothing but an allotment of misery and suffering doomed upon oneself can be held as a precept…

Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy. The play contains an ideal tragic plot that consists of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe. This play is also distinguished for having the ideal tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia and the play combines compassion and fear that produces…

Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy which tells the tale of King Oedipus, a man who sets out to find King Laius’ killer and ends up finding out more about who he is and what he has done. He finds that all along it was he who had killed King Laius, who turns out to…