Tragedy concepts and literary analysis

¶ … Oedipus the King by and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Specifically, it will define tragedy, and examine these two works as tragedies. Tragedy in drama is not a new concept. Shakespeare employed it, ancient dramatists employed it, and modern playwrights utilize this device today. Tragic dramas abound, and these two works illustrate 2400 years of tragic character and plot. Tragic drama involves a tragic hero, an insurmountable situation, and a conclusion that is neither satisfying nor cheerful. Thus, tragedy is more like real life than romance, comedy, or straight drama, and so, it may be more emotional and meaningful to the audience.

What is tragedy? In drama, critics and authors define tragedy in differing ways. Author and philosopher Aristotle created the term katharsis to define tragedy. Literary critic Richard H. Palmer notes, "Aristotle specified the fall of a near-perfect protagonist who has made an error of judgment as the stimulus, the arousal of pity and fear as the negative response, and the katharsis of these emotions as the positive element in tragedy" (Palmer, 1992, p. 11). Arthur Miller, playwright and critic, defines tragedy in terms that are more modern. He writes, "As a general rule, to which there may be exceptions unknown to me, I think the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing -- his sense of personal dignity" (Miller, 2005). Looking closely, these two definitions mirror each other in many ways. The protagonist is the most important element of the tragedy, and this tragic figure loses his dignity or evokes pity, thus falling in the eyes of himself and/or others. This definition certainly applies to these to dramas, despite their age and language differences.

In Arthur Miller's Willy Loman is a classic tragic hero. He is not "near-perfect" as Aristotle's definition requires, but he does evoke pity and fear in his family and in the audience. He is desperate to save his personal dignity, at least in front of his family, and this is an important element in Miller's definition. In addition, his life is tragic, which translates into the tragic plot element of the play. His son Biff is really the only one who understands Willy, and he muses near the end of the play, "He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong" (Miller, 2962, p. 1054). The wrong dreams and the wrong way of pursing them leads to Willy's tragic end, as it does in Oedipus the King.

Early in the play, Oedipus seems to have everything a man could desire - power, a wife and family, and the admiration of his people. In a fiendish twist, Oedipus discovers the truth; he fathered his children with his own mother and murdered his own father. The truth is so overwhelming he banishes himself and them blinds himself. He cries, "Though I can't see you, I can weep for you... when I think how bitter your lives will be. I know the life that men will make you live" (Sophocles, 2004, p. 81). Oedipus has perpetuated the tragedy his parents began when they gave him away as a baby, and he fulfills the definition of tragedy by being a near-perfect character that ultimately arouses pity in the audience, while he attempts to save his personal dignity in the process.

Willy and Oedipus seem to have little in common. Willy has never had real success, although he has dreamed of it throughout his life. In his eyes, he has amounted to little. He says, "Willy: Funny, y'know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive" (Miller, 1962, p. 1043). Willy has a tragic flaw, as all tragic heroes must have. He is a dreamer, but he cannot live up to his own hopes and dreams. He always gets in the way - by turning down a job, having an affair, and hiding the truth from his family. Oedipus mirrors this dramatic element, he cannot face the truth about himself, just as Willy cannot face the fact that he is essentially a failure.

In contrast, Oedipus has enjoyed great personal triumph throughout his life, but like Willy, he has a tragic flaw - he cannot face the fact that he may be the cause of the trouble in Thebes, and refuses to acknowledge the truth that hovers in the back of his mind. Sophocles writes, "Tiresias: That's your truth? Now hear mine: honor the curse your own mouth spoke. From this day on, don't speak to me or to your people here. You are the plague. You poison your own land" (Sophocles, 2004, p. 47). Each of these men has positive qualities, but their tragic flaw outweighs these qualities, and leads to pity and their downfall in the end. In addition, their tragic ends have tragic consequences on those around them, which is another element these two works have in common.

It is interesting to see the similarities in the plotting of these dramas as well. Essentially, they follow the tragic character from a turning point in their lives to the culmination of their problems and how they choose to face them. Their families and loved ones are left behind to sort out their lives without them, while they take the "easy" way out, suicide or banishment. With these choices, they evoke pity in the audience, but they also show their underlying weak characters, that ultimately cannot deal with adversity and defeat.

The differences between the two characters are based in the time they are written and in the author's differences. Willy is a modern man who seems never to have gotten the breaks in life he thinks he deserves, while Oedipus is a dynamic leader who seems born to lead and rule. He will never admit defeat, while Willy always seems to see failure around the corner. He tries to be an optimist, but he is never honest with himself or his family. Here, the two characters share another commonality. Both have evidence to indicate they are the root of their own problems, but neither will face this until the very end of the play. Willy cannot accept that his family does not care about his failures, they love him anyway, while Oedipus cannot face that the oracle's prophecies are true, and he has created a ghastly situation. Both men cannot face their flaws, which makes them even more tragic figures. They evoke pity in the audience, which is the one thing they have both been attempting to avoid, which makes them even more pathetic, as well.