Tragedy Genre
By: Melissa Campoli and Kevin Michael
Our Tragic Heroes.
Death of a Salesman:
Willy Loman
Streetcar Named Desire
Blanche Dubois
Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy
1. Protagonists must be of high status, high
power, etc
i.
Usually royalty (i.e. Oedipus, Hamlet)
2. Experience a tragic fall
3. Audience experiences a sense of Catharsis
4. Tragic fall occurs as a result of a tragic flaw of
the protagonist
Question is, to what extent does
this apply to SND and DOS?
To What extent: Kenneth Elliot
“While no modem play can completely adhere
to the definition of tragedy fixed by Aristotle in
the fourth century B.C.E., Blanche DuBois and
Willy Loman are tragic protagonists in at least
one classic sense: their self-delusion (the
hamartia, or error) ultimately leads to their
destruction”
Tragic Hero: Nobility?
Death of a Salesman
Willy portrays himself as if he is of noble figure
“In 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and
seventy dollars a week in commissions.”
“Because he’s only a little boat looking for a harbor”
Tragic Hero: Nobility?
Streetcar Named Desire
Blanche tries to portray herself as if she is of noble
figure.
“Don’t you think your superior attitude is a bit out of
place?” (71)
“Her appearance is incongruous to the setting She is
daintily dressed” (15)
Verdict: Nobility?
• To some extent they both place themselves in
noble regard, and the audience’s realization of
this may evoke the catharsis we feel in the
play.
• Not conventional nobility like classic
Aristotelian Tragedy
• “No modem play can completely adhere to
the definition of tragedy fixed by Aristotle in
the fourth century B.C.E” – Kenneth Elliot
Tragic Flaw
“both characters are prodigious liars - both to
themselves and those around them” (Elliot)
“I’m definitely going to get one. Because lots of
times I’m on the road, and I think to myself, what
I must be missing on the radio!”
“Blanche DuBois and Willy Loman are tragic
protagonists in at least one classic sense: their
self-delusion (the hamartia, or error) ultimately
leads to their destruction” (Elliot)
A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic
Hero
• “They are exceptional beings…his actions or
sufferings are of an unusual kind… His tragic
characters are made of the stuff we find within
ourselves…”
– Both Willy and Blanche are meant to be common.
Both of their actions and sufferings are meant to
be usual problems and with this they are meant to
be relatable.
A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic
Hero
• In almost all we observe a marked one-sidedness, a predisposition in
some particular direction…
– Willy is engrossed in the American idea of “success”—he won’t even
change his focus to something that he is more likely to be successful
in, i.e. something that involves working with his hands
– Willy: And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest
career a man could want.
– “The American Dream” which is focused upon throughout the play
– Blanche obsesses herself with her appearance, refuses to even
“lower” herself to the New Orlean’s standards, even though we find
out about her indecent behaviour which she initially denies
– She cries out as if the lantern was herself. (140)
• …his tragic trait, which is also his greatness, is fatal to him. Their
obsessions leads to their downfall.
– Biff: “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.”
A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic
Hero
• “…a Shakespearean tragedy is never, like some miscalled tragedies,
depressing.” However, the “central feeling” is the “impression of
waste”
– Willy is strong-willed and ambitious; Blanche is passionate and
eloquent. We recognize that these are great qualities to possess
which restores faith in humanity. However, we are able to
identify the way these qualities are applied incorrectly and
result in the waste of life as Willy and Blanche experience their
downfall.
– Willy: After all the highways, and the trains, and the
appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than
alive.
A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic
Hero
• ...In those cases where the gross and palpable evil is not
in him but elsewhere…
– Internal struggles (man vs. man) are emphasized more
so than outside forces
• Fate
– There does not seem to be a great sense of fate in
either of the plays.
Arthur Miller and A.C. Bradley
The Moral Order
Is there a sense of moral order?
Willy commits suicide, is not punished for what he has
done.
Stan is not punished for raping Blanche…
Arthur Miller: Tragedy and the
Common Man
• Tragic flaw: man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly…his
inherit unwillingness to remain passive in…what he conceives to be
a challenge to his dignity.
– Willy evaluates him in terms of his success, and does so against
his brother, and other salesmen…
– Willy: If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything
would’ve been totally different.
– Blanche evaluates the impression she gives to others. She tries
to uphold it and is resistant when she is challenged (i.e. denying
that she would be seen at the Flamingo)
– Blanche evaluates herself, she is displeased and thus uses the
lantern as a facade
• Tragedy evoked when a character is willing to lay down their life in
order to secure their dignity
Arthur Miller: Tragedy and the
Common Man
• …tragedy implies more optimism…The possibility of victory…the
perfectibility of man
– From these plays we learn from Willy and Blanche’s mistakes, and with
this learning we are closer to achieving this “perfection”
– Happy: All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else that
Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only
dream you can have — to come out number-one man. He fought it out
here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.
SL Kirley’s Definition of Tragedy