Theories of Tragedy

Throughout your AS course, you will be studying different kinds of tragedy from different periods, genres and traditions. Here is an overview of three kinds of tragedy:

Ancient Greek Tragedy: 

•In modern tragedies, smaller men with smaller dreams act through impulse, rather than hubris.

•Normalised characters – modern tragedy involves normal people in tragic situations

• Domestic tragedy – tragedy often takes place at home, with the characters experiencing a more “common” conflict or a domestic disaster which makes the audience feels pity rather than fear

•Antihero – rather than a tragic hero, they are often passive, petty and ineffectual

•Tragicomedy – modern tragedy may use more comedy, but often dark comedy, sarcasm or parody. 

Modern Tragedy:

•In modern tragedies, smaller men with smaller dreams act through impulse, rather than hubris.

•Normalised characters – modern tragedy involves normal people in tragic situations

• Domestic tragedy – tragedy often takes place at home, with the characters experiencing a more “common” conflict or a domestic disaster which makes the audience feels pity rather than fear

•Antihero – rather than a tragic hero, they are often passive, petty and ineffectual

•Tragicomedy – modern tragedy may use more comedy, but often dark comedy, sarcasm or parody. 

Millerian tragedy

•Miller focusses on normalised men as his anti-hero

•His worlds are predominantly male, with disempowered female characters

•They all take place in domestic settings – usually a living room

•He uses two acts and a chorus in a more modern and creative setting

•His characters use the dialect of their time and place

•The antihero loses his reputation throughout the play with his family, rather than with the world