Page 9 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Unit 1: Literary Terms: Classical and Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy and Tragic Hero

Notes

The tragedies of English dramatist William Shakespeare and his contemporaries tend to
involve wasted potential, for example in a man’s power (Macbeth, 1605–06, King Lear,
1605–06), or in love (Romeo and Juliet, 1594–95, Othello, 1604–05).

The word tragedy literally means “goat song,” probably referring to the practice of giving a goat as
a sacrifice or a prize at the religious festivals in honour of the god Dionysos. Whatever its origins,
tragedy came to signify a dramatic presentation of high seriousness and noble character which
examines the major questions of human existence: Why are we here? How can we know the will of
the gods? What meaning does life have in the face of death? In tragedy people are tested by great
suffering and must face decisions of ultimate consequence. Some meet the challenge with deeds of
despicable cruelty, while others demonstrate their ability to confront and surpass adversity, winning
our admiration and proving the greatness of human potential.

1.1.1 Origin of Classical Tragedy
Tragedy’s origins are obscure, but it apparently started with the singing of a choral lyric (called the
dithyramb) in honour of Dionysus. It was performed in a circular dancing-place (orchestra) by a
group of men who may have impersonated satyrs by wearing masks and dressing in goat-skins. In
the course of time, the content of the dithyramb was widened to any mythological or heroic story,
and an actor was introduced to answer questions posed by the choral group. The Greek word for
actor is hypokrites, which literally means “answerer.” It is the source for our English word “hypocrite.”
Tragedy was recognized as an official state cult in Athens in 534 BC. According to tradition, the
playwright Aeschylus added a second actor and Sophocles added a third.
In Greece, tragedies were performed in late March/early April at an annual state religious festival
in honor of Dionysus. The presentation took the form of a contest between three playwrights, who
presented their works on three successive days. Each playwright would prepare a trilogy of three
tragedies, plus an unrelated concluding comic piece called a satyr play. Often, the three plays featured
linked stories, but later writers like Euripides may have presented three unrelated plays. Only one
complete trilogy has survived, the Oresteia of Aeschylus. The Greek theatre was in the open air, on
the side of a hill, and performances of a trilogy and satyr play probably lasted most of the day.
Performances were apparently open to all citizens, including women, but evidence is scanty. The
presentation of the plays probably resembled modern opera more than what we think of as a “play.”
All of the choral parts were sung (to flute accompaniment) and some of the actors’ answers to the
chorus were sung as well. The play as a whole was composed in various verse meters. All actors
were male and wore masks, which may have had some amplifying capabilities. A Greek chorus
danced as well as sang. No one knows exactly what sorts of steps the chorus performed as it sang.
But choral songs in tragedy are often divided into three sections: strophe (“turning, circling”),
antistrophe (“counter-turning, counter-circling”) and epode (“after-song”). So perhaps the chorus
would dance one way around the orchestra (“dancing-floor”) while singing the strophe, turn another
way during the antistrophe, and then stand still during the epode.

The Greek word choros means “a dance in a ring.”

1.1.2 Definition of Classical Tragedy

Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of
hubris, fate, and the will of the gods. The tragic hero’s powerful wish to achieve some goal inevitably

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