What is tragedy

Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman as Tragedy

Introduction

Roughly two thousand and four hundred years separate Sophocles ' Oedipus the King and Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman and yet Aristotle 's definition of tragedy almost fits the two plays exactly with just some minor modifications . Other than these slight modifications , Miller was able to produce a tragedy fit for modern times and the common audience Aristotle 's definition wouldn 't be appropriate anyway in modern times because monarchy is no longer prevalent

What Tragedy is

Aristotle

defined tragedy through his work Poetics as

an imitation of an action that is serious , complete , and of a certain magnitude in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play in the form of action , not of narrative through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions (Poetics , part VI

Aristotle emphasized in his work that tragedy has certain elements plot , characters , diction , thought , and spectacle . Miller followed these points but modified the element of characters to make it more appealing to the modern audience . But those definitions are Aristotle and Arthur Miller being technical they looked at certain parameters and they check if it is found on stories . If one of those elements goes amiss , they would no longer consider a play as a tragedy . Tragedy for me is simply a story that has , well , a tragic ending . Tragic meaning someone has to die or lose a very important body function or part without a reasonable cause for the character 's demise . I would not call something tragic if the character deserves to be punished . Aristotle 's definition is more like karma rather than a tragedy

Oedipus as Tragedy

Oedipus the King is almost the perfect example of a tragedy , at least for Aristotle . Aristotle probably made his theories on tragedy around Sophocles ' play . Here are some elements that fit Aristotle 's points in his theory of tragedy : The plot - Aristotle said that the plot should follow the rule of necessity and probability , meaning events should not happen with no apparent reason . In Oedipus , events are coherent . Actions are directly related to the previous , starting from the prophecy that was made up to the end . Still on the point of plot , Aristotle argues that the plot should be complex and must have Peripeteia and Anagnorisis , reversal of fortune and recognition respectively . The reversal of fortune in Oedipus is when the messenger revealed Oedipus out of good intent , that the parents he knew were not really his Instead , he recognized the whole truth (anagnorisis . Characters should be from noble families to emphasize the downfall that they would eventually suffer from , and this downfall with be because of Hamartia or tragic flaw . Oedipus ' tragic flaw is his innocence . Diction is also an important element in tragedy . Diction is the expression of the meaning of words ' that are appropriate to the tragedy 's elements . Aristotle pointed out the metaphor...