Tragedy after Aristotle
by Larry A. Brown
Professor of Theater
For centuries the Poetics offered the only definition of tragedy available to dramatic critics. Aristotle's ideas concerning dramatic structure established the terms of the debate and were never seriously challenged
Tragedy after Aristotle
by Larry A. Brown
Professor of Theater
For centuries the Poetics offered the only definition of tragedy available to dramatic critics. Aristotle's ideas concerning dramatic structure established the terms of the debate and were never seriously challenged. Based on his unquestioned authority, critics who discussed tragedy assumed his categories to be valid for all time. A closer look, however, reveals that Aristotle's formal definition excludes many plays which are commonly thought of as tragedies. Not all tragic heroes suffer because of a tragic error, nor does recognition always occur within the tragic plot. Numerous types of drama have developed over the centuries which Aristotle never envisioned.
Other renowned thinkers besides Aristotle have offered alternative definitions of tragedy. The 19th century philosopher Hegel described the tragic situation as the collision of mutually exclusive but equally legitimate causes: both Antigone and Creon stand for principles – loyalty to family and obedience to the state – which are morally justifiable if taken by themselves, but when these ethical positions conflict, tragedy results for both sides. As Heilman explains, the tragic hero is sometimes caught between "two imperatives, different injunctions, each with its own validity but apparently irreconcilable." To avenge their fathers' deaths, both Orestes and Hamlet must in turn murder another relative, placing them in a moral dilemma with no guiltless options.
Friedrich Nietzsche found the origins of tragedy symbolically represented in the confrontation of Apollo and Dionysos, the Greek gods of order, restraint, and form on the one hand and impulse, instinct, and ecstatic frenzy on the other. The tragic hero is divided "between imperative and impulse, between moral ordinance and unruly passion... between law and lust" (Heilman 207). Dr. Faustus rejects the limits of science and the constraints of theology (just imperatives) to seek diabolic knowledge and power (evil impulse), whereas the Duchess of Malfi disobeys her brothers' command (unjust imperative) to marry a person of lower status (innocent impulse). Both Hegel's and Nietzsche's views are helpful in describing aspects of tragedy not addressed by Aristotle.
Rather than starting from an abstract formula, we must arrive at a comprehensive definition of tragedy from a thorough examination of the literary works themselves in order to see what qualities they have in common. Throughout history various authors have shared a similar perspective of the world, what might be called a tragic vision, asking the same questions although coming to different conclusions. Shakespeare expressed his vision in a different form of drama from Sophocles, but each depicted characters struggling within the limitations of their mortality to find meaning and purpose to human activity.
What qualities make up this tragic vision?
First, tragedy begins by asking ultimate questions: why are we here? Does life have meaning or purpose? More to the point, can life have meaning in the face of so much suffering and evil in the world? Does death negate the significance of the protagonist's life and the goals he/she was seeking?
Philosophers and theologians through the ages have debated the question of the origin of suffering, but tragedy offers no single solution. Some people suffer because of their own actions: miscalculations which turn out to be fatal (Lear's abdication of the throne), mistakes based on ignorance (Oedipus) or deceit (Othello's misguided trust in Iago), or evil deeds which return to haunt the doer (Macbeth, Dr. Faustus). Some fall victim to the malevolent will of others (the women of Troy) or are caught in a moral dilemma not of their making (Orestes, Hamlet). At times the tragic hero appears to suffer simply because he or she lives in a cruel and unjust universe where the gods are unkind, unfeeling, or nonexistent.
Whereas the causes of suffering are diverse, the purpose of suffering in tragedy appears almost universally acknowledged: only through suffering does a person attain wisdom. The chorus in Agamemnon by Aeschylus recites: "Zeus, whose will has marked for man the sole way where wisdom lies, ordered one eternal plan: Man must suffer to be wise." In Antigone, the chorus counsels Creon that suffering is wisdom's schoolteacher. According to Francis Fergusson (adapting an idea from Kenneth Burke), these plays follow a tragic pattern of purpose, passion, and perception: the protagonist, seeking a goal, confronts opposition and suffers a trial by fire, but through this painful process gains insight about himself and the world he inhabits. From the tragic perspective, wisdom based on truth is of supreme value, even though it must often be purchased with the hero's death.
Second, tragedy pushes the individual to the outer limits of existence where one must live or die by one's convictions. Facing the end of life, a person quickly recognizes life's ultimate values. All the trivial matters which occupy our daily routine suddenly vanish. At this decisive point there is no turning back and no room for compromise. Ibsen's Brand lives by the motto, "All or Nothing!" This stern Norwegian minister gives up everything -- home, family, parish -- in his quest for perfect obedience to a harsh, merciless God. He finally reaches his goal, the Ice Church high in the mountains, symbol of perfection, only to be buried alive by an avalanche of snow.
Aristotle saw the extremism of the tragic hero as a failure to find the moderate way, leading to his downfall. In contrast, Nietzsche felt that this extremism was the sole justification for the hero's existence, as one who possesses the courage to live dangerously, to risk all in order to gain all. Testing 