English Essays and Term Papers

works from Agamemnon to Hamlet demonstrates 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,…

terms. Every night on the news we hear murders, assassinations and bombings referred to as Atragedies.@ Tragedy need not be an event which affects the community at large. Rather, any event which teaches an important lesson to a specific…

are more serious than others. For example, some people have addictions to gambling, while other people can't remember to put the milk away after they use it. After a while though, a person's flaws come back to haunt them. The tragedy…

with the protagonist who attains "wisdom through suffering." Tess Durbeyfield, in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Othello, in William Shakespeare's Othello are protagonists who elicit the sympathy of the reader as they suffer, act, and…

and plays. For centuries, people have been captivated by morbidly emotional finales, rather than by happy endings. Stories with a sad outcome fascinate us much more than those, ending on a happy note. Many of the best works of literature are considere…

characteristics. Many of them are displayed by Arthur Dimmesdale in novel The Scarlet Letter. Arthur Dimmesdale is a tragic hero because he suffers beyond the depths of despair, and then comes to a moral resolution. Dimmesdale is a tragic hero…

usually not like an everyday person that is seen on the street. According to Aristotle's book, Poetics, four characteristics establish the essence of a tragic hero. This is very helpful in understanding why the tragic hero is a mediocre type of person.…

story he displays the four tragic hero characteristics. He was a person of high character. Creon was the King of Thebes and he thought he was the most powerful person. Creon didn't think anything could stop him. Pride was Creon's downfall. It…

of emotion purged and purified thereby"1. As this quote from Aristotle's Poetics states, a tragedy must arouse feelings of pity and fear, thus producing a catharsis of these emotions in the audience. In order to arouse the emotions of the audience…

that is shown throughout the play A Man for All Seasons, Sir Thomas More is the man that this tragedy is shown in. The story of Sir Thomas More is one of which a man must choose between what his king wants and his own morals. More's tragic hero ways…