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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
An 8 page paper which discusses whether or not the twentieth-century play should be regarded as a tragedy, according to Aristotle’s definition. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGdostra.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
a Salesman truly qualifies as tragic literature has been the subject of heated critical debate ever since the play first appeared on the Broadway stage back in 1949. Throughout
history, several playwrights have explored the tragic genre, from Sophocles to William Shakespeare to Henrik Ibsen. While the playwright transformed tragedy into an art form, it was actually the
Greek philosopher Aristotle who defined it in his treatise, Poetics. According to Aristotle, a tragedy was, "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 narrative; through
pity and fear affecting the proper purgation of these emotions" (Kiernan and James 63-64). Structurally speaking, Aristotle maintained that a tragedy must be a complete work, "with beginning, middle
and end... self-sufficient in itself" (Kiernan and James 64). Traditionally, a tragedy also has a shift in the protagonists fortunes from either bad to good, or as recommended by
Aristotle, the reverse of happiness to sorrow (Kiernan and James 66). Furthermore, the protagonist should be "preeminently noble and yet marred by some serious flaw of character and/or judgment,"
with the ultimate goal being to inspire either pity or fear in the audience (Kiernan and James 66). In terms of character, Aristotle believed that a tragic hero must
be seen as competent in performing his specific function; true to the type of person he represented (i.e., "slave should act like a slave"); must appear as a true reflection
of life; and the hero must display consistency throughout the play (Kiernan and James 67). For anyone who is unfamiliar with Death of a Salesman, it is an exploration of
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