Greek Tragedies in a Modern World Essay - 877 Words

Greek Tragedies in a Modern World *Works Cited Not Included From the times of Aristotle to modern day Boal people have tried to come up with a definition of tragedy that encompasses all of the works they feel to be tragedies. However, there are always a few exceptions to their rules that make their thesis insubstantial. Those who define tragedies all have different elements that they say are necessary in classifying something as a tragedy. Unfortunately for us, no one definition has ever been settled upon that everyone agrees with. The one factor that does seem to be present in every interpretation of what is necessary in a tragedy is the catharsis that is brought up in the viewer. Without that emotional reaction, whether of pity,†¦show more content†¦By doing this, Racine made Phedre a more pitiable character with whom the audience is more capable of sympathizing. She is seen more as a incapacitated bystander rather than a ruthless, malicious offender. By reducing her offence to that of allowing Oenone to act, Racine gave the opportunity to pity Phedre because she was not directly guilty for Hippolytus death. Doing this enables the audience to look at her internal agony rather than pass over it because they are repulsed by her actions. He changed Hippolytus character so that he was actually in love for the first time with Aricia, rather than feeling nothing for any woman, so the whole element of female jealousy was introduced. By changing the story in these ways Racine shifts the characters that the audience feels pity for and makes the play easier to relate to. At the end of the play, the audience feels sympathy for Hippolytus because he is the innocent victim of both a mothers improper lust and a fathers quick-tempered stubbornness. For Phedre the audience feels sympathy for her dilemma; the fact that this all started because of Aphrodites curse that was not her fault, and the fact that she was tormented by a love that could never be. They do not, however, pardon her actions, or lack thereof, th at are a result of those feelings. For Aricia the audience feels happy that she got her kingdom back, but they feel bad that she got pulled into all of this. She is very much the innocentShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Ancient Greek Theater And Tragedy1703 Words   |  7 PagesAncient Greek Theater and Tragedy Ancient Greek culture has influenced our modern culture in many ways from philosophy to medicine to government. We still use many of their concepts, technology, and even alphabet system. Without ancient Greece, our modern world would not have advanced as far. A significant contribution of the ancient Greek culture to the world today is the Greek theater, more specifically the structure of tragedy. Some contributions are the structure of tragedy in modern literatureRead MoreAncient Greek Theatre and Drama1648 Words   |  7 Pagesof poetry, because dialogue was spoken or sung in verses. Many Greek plays are still relevant today. Some plays survived on their merits, while others were preserved from academic interest or by accident (Peter Arnott). The Great Dionysia was an important yearly religious celebration and festival, honoring Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. The Great Dionysia is where theatre first began. Also, the actors of ancient Greek theatre were treated mu ch differently than actors are today. TheyRead MoreAncient Greek Influences Essay886 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluential societies on modern day life. Ancient Greece has inspired the modern world in five main areas: theatre, government, philosophy, art, and architecture. Theatre flourished in Greece, particularly in Athens, between c. 550 BC and c. 220 BC. During its beginnings theatrical performances were part of Dionysia, a festival held in honour of the god Dionysus. The plot of the plays was always inspired by Greek mythology, a theme that is still common today. Many modern plays and movies have beenRead MoreTheater in Ancient Greece1631 Words   |  7 PagesTheatre in Ancient Greece Among the many inventions of the ancient Greeks, there have been a few that have specifically impacted modern day life for the better. Many of the things that are taken for granted today can be accredited to the intellectual minds of the people of ancient Greece. Our complicated plumbing and sewage systems that manage sanitation in most of the cities in the world have their roots in ancient society. The earliest concept of the crane was also developed during this timeRead MoreEssay on Tragedy and Thomas Hardy Literature765 Words   |  4 PagesMany critics and commentators think of tragedy as a broad thematic concept that covers the majority of Hardy’s work (Wright, 2003; Brooks, 1971; Goodheart, 1957; Lawrence, 1936; Johnson, 1923). D. H. Lawrence (1936) comments that tragedy is a central concept in many of Hardy’s novels and places Hardy as a great writer of tragedy at the same level as Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy. The tragic approach to understanding Hardyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s work is very old. The first one to discuss it on tragic grounds seemsRead MoreAristoles View on Drama1347 Words   |  6 PagesPreamble Drama is an aspect of literature represented in performances and has been a part of the world for many decades. Drama originated in classical Greece around the fifth century B.C. The earliest performances took place in amphitheaters, which the Greeks invented to incorporate plays in their religious and civic festivals. These Greek festivals were huge theatrical events filled with three days of drama. The structure of the amphitheater allowed for an audience of thousands to observe theRead More Aristotle’s Elements of Tragedy1473 Words   |  6 Pagesour society in many aspects. Many of Aristotle’s teachings have affected our world for many years and still continue to have such a big impact. Some of the subjects Aristotle has influenced include: logic, physics, government and poetry. Aristotle’s study of poetry mainly focused on the elements to a good tragedy. Some of his elements have been used in Greek tragedies and modern movies. The Greek play, Medea, and the modern movie, No Country for Old Men, use elements from Aristotle philosophy, whileRead MoreDirect From Death Row The Scottsboro Boys1405 Words   |  6 Pagesordinary train ride, a tat with some white boys, and an accusation that turns the world of these nine boys upside down. This modern tragedy is the story of these young boys’ lives, and is the premise of how Aristotle s poetics came to be. Aristotle came up with these ideas through natural philosophy which is defined by observing the world around us, and through this process was able to come up with the six key parts of tragedy as follows: (1) Mythos, (2) Character, (3) thought, (4) diction, (5) melodyRead More Thomas Hardys Tragic Stories796 Words   |  4 Pagesvarious writers have endeavored to encapsulate the constituents of tragedy, and create works of literature that adhere to their understanding of an ostensibly universal system of tragic structure, tragic plot, and tragic theme. Nevertheless, the etymology of the word, tragedy, proves to be as elusive and arcane as the tragic construct is seemingly concrete and unequivocal; indeed, the word, tragedy, can be traced to the Greek word, tragoidia, which literally means, goat-song. We do not knowRead MoreWilly Loman, the Modern Hero in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman1739 Words   |  7 PagesMiller’s essay â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man†, a picture is painted of a â€Å"flaw-full† man, known as the modern hero of tragedies. Miller describes what characteristics the modern tragic hero possesses and how he differs from the heroes depicted by classic Greek playwrights such as Sophocles and Aristotle. In order to understand how drastically the modern hero has evolved, one must first understand the basic characteristics that the heroes created by Sophocles and Aristotle encompass. The Greek tragic heroes