Overview

Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in audiences. It is one of the oldest and most respected literary forms, originating in ancient Greece.

Core Idea

The core idea of tragedy is the inevitability of the fall. It typically features a noble protagonist who possesses a “tragic flaw” (hamartia) that leads to their downfall, often through a collision with fate or social forces.

Formal Definition

Tragedy is a branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. Aristotle defined it as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude… through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.

Intuition

Tragedy is a crash test for the human spirit. We watch a great person be destroyed by their own nature and the world around them, not to be depressed, but to understand the limits of human agency and the weight of consequence.

Examples

  • “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles: The archetypal tragedy of fate; Oedipus tries to avoid a prophecy and thereby fulfills it.
  • “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare: A tragedy of ambition and moral decay.
  • “Antigone” by Sophocles: A tragedy of the conflict between state law and divine/moral law.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: A tragedy is just a sad story.
    • Correction: In the literary sense, a tragedy requires a specific structure: a fall from high to low, a moment of recognition (anagnorisis), and a sense of inevitability. A car accident is sad; King Lear is a tragedy.
  • Misconception: The “tragic flaw” is a sin.
    • Correction: Hamartia often means simply “missing the mark” or an error in judgment, not necessarily a moral vice.
  • Catharsis: The purification and purgation of emotions—particularly pity and fear—through art.
  • Hubris: Excessive pride or self-confidence, often the tragic flaw.
  • Anti-hero: A central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.

Applications

  • Moral Philosophy: Explores the nature of responsibility and fate.
  • Psychology: Used to understand trauma and the human response to suffering.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Fatalism: Can imply that human effort is futile against fate.
  • Elitism: Classical tragedy focused only on kings and nobles; modern tragedy (like Death of a Salesman) had to fight to prove that “common man” could be tragic.

Further Reading

  • The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
  • The Death of Tragedy by George Steiner