The Nature Of Greek Tragedy - 1581 Words

I believe the nature of Greek tragedy is suffering. In most, if not all, plays written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides implies some sort of suffering. Whether it is through love, war, revenge, honor, fate or an answer from the God’s suffering is inevitable. I will attempt to prove my point by using Euripides â€Å"Medea† to show how suffering is the nature of Greek tragedy. Before I begin, it is important to understand my definition of mythological. I break the word into two parts, Myth means not real, a story that is being told by a storyteller and logical means in some sense of the word the story is logical to the audience that it is being relayed to. To put it simply a â€Å"logical story† is being told. I believe that Euripides tells the types tales to audiences that are suggestible to stories that fit into the times they live in. They are tales that leave audiences with a sense of superiority and some satisfaction to know that within the storyline there is some sort of vindication. It is essential to understand the plight of women of the time that Euripides wrote the play â€Å"Medea†. According to The World of Athens women did not participate in social events alongside the men. They were seen as physically, morally, socially and intellectually inferior to men (Pg. 122). Women were raised to essentially be at the beck and call of males and they were vessels to keep the family line going. Women were shuffled from household to household. They start out in theirShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of The Greek Tragedy912 Words   |  4 PagesGreat Tragedy Results in Deeper thinking Throughout the history of ancient literature, tragedy was one of the most famous and significant literary forms. Especially, Greek tragedy literature was a popular and influential form of drama performed in theatres across ancient Greece from the late 6th century BCE, and formed the foundation upon which all modern theatre is based (Cartwright). I will look for not only the reasons why Greek writers composed such tragedy, but also focus on what made the audienceRead MoreHamlet, Prince of Denmark825 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare Submitted by: Tariq Khan Dated: Monday, 24th September, 2012 Hamlet as a Tragedy by William Shakespeare 1.1. Brief Introduction to Tragedy: Greek and English: Elizabethan tragedy is traced back to Greek tragedy, since Greeks are said to have pioneered the Western knowledge, be it Science, Arts, or Humanities—not necessarily Technology. The rich contribution of Greek dramatists like Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus and Aristophanes, is noteworthy, towards the developmentRead More A Comparison of Macbeth and Oedipus the King Essay1572 Words   |  7 PagesMacbeth and Oedipus Rex  Ã‚   The objective of this essay is to compare the Shakespearian tragedy Macbeth to the Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex. Although the plays share similarities, it will be seen that the fall of Macbeth is very different from that of Oedipus. Macbeths downfall is due to his own personal decisions while the downfall of Oedipus is due to fate and the will of the gods. In Greek tragedy plot was always emphasized over character; everyone wore masks. These masks would seem toRead 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 much differently than actors are today. TheyRead MoreCharacteristics Of The Tragedy Of Platos Apology1068 Words   |  5 PagesThe relationship of comedy and tragedy are often overlapped in meaning, notably in ancient Greek drama and arts. Comedy often presupposed tragedy and are known to compliment one another in literary work. Plato displayed the proper element s of adversity within the â€Å"Apology† and detailed the unfairness the democratic society of Athens presents by punishing an opposing, equally justified force. Socrates preforms his defence arrogantly and sarcastically in the courtroom of Athens, humouring his own trialRead MoreOedipus : The King Of Thebes And Tragic Hero Essay728 Words   |  3 PagesOedipus: The King of Thebes and Tragic Hero Ancient Greek Literature encompasses an assortment of poetry and drama to include the great masterpieces of tragedy. In Classic Literature, tragedies were commonly known for their elaboration of a protagonist fitting the classification of a tragic hero. This type of a tragic hero often collectively described as a character of noble birth, facing an adversity of some nature and a fate of great suffering. The characteristics of what encompassed a tragic heroRead 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, goa t-song. We do not knowRead More Tragedy In Drama Essay1713 Words   |  7 Pages Tragedy and Drama In a range of dramatic works from Agamemnon to Hamlet, one sees the range of development of the tragic form, from the earliest Greek to the later Shakespearean tragedies. There are two basic concepts of tragedy: the concept introduced by Aristotle in his Poetics, and the concept developed by Frederick Nietzsche in his quot;The Birth of Tragedy.quot; Many dramas can be reviewed to reveal the contrast between these two concepts of tragedy, and demonstrate the development of theRead MoreThe Chorus as a Homonym 1168 Words   |  5 Pagessummary of what is to come. The distancing of the audience from the play is effective because it aids them to think more deeply about the choices that Antigone makes and the value of her choice to die rather than focus solely on the tragedy of her death. A critic of tragedies could argue that this distancing through metatheatre â€Å"destroys the tragic impact† of the play, but if one looks more closely the tragic impact is found not in the physic al death of Antigone but in her â€Å"realization that she is inRead MoreGeorg Lukacs : The World Of The Integrated Society And Our World990 Words   |  4 Pagesopposites of one another, the Greek world is one where the essence of everything is both within the soul and outside in the world. In our world this is changed and essence is something in which we live without. The ‘good’ is not found within or outside the individual, there will always be an internal debate about what is truly ‘good’. In the Greek world this ‘good’ is found, not created, and acted upon in a way that is instant, there is no debate. This essential nature of both the outer world and inner