AP+2013+Tragedy+post+Shakespeare+Era

A.J., Ashlee, Ciera, and David =Audience – A.J. Steuer=



As a literary genre and a life event, tragedy is innately relatable, and follows the prevailing trends in society just as it does in literature. Since Shakespeare’s time, prevailing trends in both topics have shifted towards less personal pursuits. Because of this, tragedy has failed to meet the highly personal standards of Shakespearean-era works, and instead revolve frequently around personal isolation. This often results the depiction of a character painfully removed from the reassurances of society. Some insist that in tragedy of the modern era, especially during the past century, “the experiences of ordinary people are instances of living through tragic social blockages” (McCallum 10). In this way, tragedy after Shakespeare’s time conforms to the shifting social paradigms of a more networked existence. This falls in line with the discordance in interpersonal understanding created by the notion of individual perception creating reality. Perception, not textual meaning, makes the components of a tragedy combine to evoke an emotional response; “as a result, they collapse what should be a relation of value into a relation of structure” (Meyrick 127). In other words, the tragedy can do nothing to move the audience without the creation of an event. Therefore, a tragic work has its audience based almost entirely on what sort of event is created in the context of a social problem.

 Modern tragedy’s unique nature causes its appeal to be limited to a certain subset of people, though it is relatable to a nearly universal audience. Major events in the text as mentioned previously form the basis for a readily understandable work of tragic fiction. In contrast to the sometimes-fanciful personas of Shakespeare’s writings, later works appeal less to a state of suspended belief and more to a sense of reason. That is, the audience of contemporary tragedy must be able not only to follow the logical path of a piece of literature, but to be presented with something so logically plausible that it stirs up feelings of personal wariness and despair. Line by line, event by event, the audience’s awareness grows and their attention becomes snared – “the effect is like that of a sharpening a pencil. The audience's response to the story is complicated, even as their capacity to assess it grows” (Meyrick 122). This complicated response is often the barrier between the potential audience and those who leave affected by the work of literature. In some cases, this is further weaned by those who actively block out the ideas of the work to somehow shield themselves from it. As with modern existentialist tragedies, “radical social movements have often equated the inevitability and fatalism in tragic vision with defeatism,” but modern tragedy has the distinction of emphasizing what an individual can do to prevent their own downfall (McCallum 16). //This// provides the sense of hopefulness that propels the sympathies of the audience down the line of the story’s plot, making their ability to follow emotional cues secondary to logical ones (contrary to Shakespearean works). Audience as it applies to tragedy is hypothetically universal, and limited only by failure to perceive everyday nuances in the writing of a tragic work.

Works Cited

McCallum, Pamela, and Raymond Williams. Modern tragedy. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1966. Print. Meyrick, Julian. “The Meaning of Tragedy: Literary Pattern vs. Performance Form”. Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (2002): 119-31. Web.

History: Ashlee Riehl Tragedy, as a genre in literature, has been around since the start of storytelling. The most famous tragedies originated in early seventeenth century England with William Shakespeare. Tragedy has lasted through the decades and has been shaped and used in more modern times. The original Shakespearean tragedy focused on violence and shock from issues and conflict involving problems like love and honor. Domestic tragedy and the middle class became much more apparent in the 18th century, focusing on suffering members of communities rather than high-class citizens and royals. Further along in the 19th century romance came back into the picture. However, this era’s tragedy was focused less on societal problems and focused on pure love and romantic notions. Moving on to the 20th century, tragedy moved back to focusing on the laboring and working middle-class. Those suffering the tragedies in the 20th century were affected strongly by social, environmental and hereditary factors such as race and class standings. Tennessee Williams used this post-Shakespeare method of tragedy developed in the 20th century in //A Streetcar Named Desire.// The play is character focused and involves the impact of society on the characters, how they react, and their interactions based on social class.

"A Streetcar Named Desire." //Goodreads//. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. "Shakespearean Tragedy." //Shakespearean Tragedy//. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. "The Origin of Tragedy: Introduction." //The Origin of Tragedy: Introduction//. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.

Culture: Ciera Yates

//Laura, a character in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie who suffers from physical and mental disability and poverty// Since Shakespeare developed his renowned tragic oeuvre, tragedy has taken a turn more towards realistic human interaction. Tennessee Williams described the more uninhibited passion of older works as the “almost liquid warmth of unchecked human sympathies, relieved of self-consciousness” (Schvey). Tragedies of the Shakespearean era and earlier show outbursts of power and passion that ultimately consume their originators. Generally an aggrandized, impassioned hero would meet an equally dramatized adversary, and at least one would be destroyed. According to author Raymond Williams, "We have known, for nearly four centuries,a tension between this thrust of the individual and an absolute resistance, but the tension has passed through many forms, which we must try to distinguish. What me must trace, finally, is the transformation of the tragic hero into the tragic victim" (1966). While there are exceptions, tragedies published nearer and nearer to present day exhibit more victimization and characters that are unequipped and far too weak to handle the tragic events to which they are exposed. This likely correlates with modern society’s passion for cultural victims and minorities. Social class was once much more commonplace and a given part of daily life. Over the centuries since Shakespeare’s day, many countries have fought to eliminate such boundaries and have identified those who have been most greatly trodden upon. Common factors in determining those made weak by cultural parameters include race, wealth, gender, and mental illness, among others. Often in modern works characters exhibiting one or more of these criteria is persecuted by what was once revered: figures of riches, powerful governments, free market systems. As society and culture continue to evolve, the human mind continuously advances in its fascination with the methods by which people always destroy each other. Works Cited Schvey, Henry I. "The Tragic Poetics of Tennessee Williams." Arts and Sciences Performing Arts Department. Washington University in St. Louis, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. Williams, Raymond. //Modern tragedy//. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1966. Print.

AIM- David Farrell

The purpose of modern literature in interpreting tragedy is to make the historic definition of tragedy less precise. This movement has centered around the rebuttal of Aristotle's statement that true tragedy can only be depicted in those with high status and power. Arthur Miller best encapsulated the new aim of tragedy in his work //Tragedy of the Common Man,// "The inevitable conclusion is, of course, that the tragic mode is archaic, fit only for the very highly placed, the kings or the kingly, and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied" (Miller). The common man is often the most simplistic vehicle for tragedy, in an ordinary situation and domestic environment. The concept that aristocracy and royalty are the most effected by tragedy because of their status is conceptually flawed because it creates an environment where there is a disconnect from ordinary people. Tragedy is pervasive throughout society and universally applicable. Furthermore, modernist tragedy is orientated to inform and educate, more so than previous interpretations. Howard Barker famously said, "You emerge from tragedy equipped against lies. After the musical, you're anybody's fool" (Barker). The aim of modernist literature is to be more accessible and relatable to the common man, and to forego the archaic practice of excluding a large portion of the audience.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. Tragedy and the Common Man. New York City: New York Times, 1949. Print. Barker, Howard. Arguments for a Theatre. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1998. Print.