Banha University
Faculty of Education
English Department
A Guiding Model Answer for
First Grade
Criticism and Drama (Make-Up Exam)
June 7 (Year 2011)
Faculty of Education
Prepared by
Mohammad Badr AlDeen Al-Hussini Hassan Mansour, Ph.D.
University of Nevada, Reno (USA)
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Faculty of Education
First Grade
Department of English
Drama & Criticism
Second Term (Year 2010/2011)
Time: 3 hours
Drama & Criticism (Make-Up)
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Respond to only four of the following questions:
1. What are the elements of the plot according to Aristotle?
2. Examine the question of free will in Oedipus the King. To what extent does he choose to
act as he does? To what extent are his actions fated to occur? How can we reconcile
these opposed claims of fate and choice?
3. In Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, how does Willy's meeting Bernard in
Charley's office increase his sense of failure? In how many ways has Bernard
succeeded? Why does Willy ask Bernard virtually the same question he had asked Ben,
"What's the secret?"
4. What dramatic purpose is served by using flashbacks, in Arthur Miller's play Death of a
Salesman, instead of relating events in strict chronological order?
5. Aristotle's Poetics is the work that comes closest to giving an account of literary
criticism. His approach to drama and poetry in this work proceeds by definition and
classification, followed by a careful examination of particular poems or plays to show
how they fit or do not fit within his definitions. In addition to his definition of poetry,
Aristotle's Poetics contains an extended discussion of tragedy. Define and discuss
Aristotle's definitions of poetry and tragedy, and then apply his definitions of tragedy
and the tragic hero to Sophocles' play Oedipus the King?
6. The text of Longinus treatise On the Sublime is a clearly segmented exposition of the
stages of his thought? Discuss?
7. State Horace's approach concerning the technical skill in poetry?
Good Luck
Mohammad Badr AlDeen Al-Hussini Hassan Mansour
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Answers
Question One:
What are the elements of the plot according to Aristotle?
Answer:
Plot, the first most important element, is the story of what happens to the characters.
The point of view of drama is always objective; the events are portrayed directly for the
audience's benefit. Aristotle, therefore, defined the essential nature of drama as "an
imitation of an action," imitation because the actors are portraying real people. The space
in which the action takes place is meant to represent a real place, and the action is meant to
reproduce what actually happened. Dramatic plots are often divided into five parts:
Exposition: This is the background information necessary to understand the drama.
Usually this information is presented at the beginning of the play.
Rising action: At the beginning of a play, the forces of conflict that drive the action to its
conclusion are latent, at rest. An incident spurs the conflict on, bringing it into the open.
Turning point: This is a reversal, a discovery that marks a victory or a defeat for the main
character. Often the turning point will occur near the middle of the play. It does not mark
the end of the action, or the utter victory or defeat of the main character. Rather, it is an
indicator of the direction the action is taking and a predictor of its final result.
Falling action: This completes the defeat or reversal marked by the turning point.
Denouement: This explains the action.
Question Two:
Examine the question of free will in Oedipus the King. To what extent does he choose to
act as he does? To what extent are his actions fated to occur? How can we reconcile these
opposed claims of fate and choice?
Answer:
The events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, show an underlying
relationship of man’s free will existing within the cosmic order or fate which the Greeks
believed guided the universe in a harmonious purpose. Man was free to choose and was
ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concept of fate and free will
played an integral part in Oedipus’ destruction. Although he was a victim of fate, he was
not controlled by it. Oedipus was destined from birth to someday marry his mother and to
murder his father. This prophecy, as warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was
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unconditional and inevitably would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to
avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of
his own will.
From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own
downfall. Oedipus could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his
suffering people, he had Creon go to Delphi. When he learned of Apollo’s word, he could
have calmly investigated the murder of the former King Laius, but in his hastiness, he
passionately curses the murderer, and in so, unknowingly curses himself. “Upon the
murderer I invoke this curse- whether he is one man and all unknown, or one of many- may
he wear out his life in misery or doom! If with my knowledge he lives at my hearth, I pray
that I myself may feel my curse.”
In order for Sophocles’ Greek audience to relate to the tragic figure, he had to have
some type of flaws or an error of ways. This brought the character down to a human level,
invoking in them the fear that “it could happen to them.” And Oedipus certainly is not one
without flaws. His pride, ignorance, insolence and disbelief in the gods, and unrelenting
quest for the truth ultimately contributed to his destruction. When Oedipus was told (after
threatening Teiresias), that he was responsible for the murder of Laius, he became enraged
and calls the old oracle a liar. He ran away from his home, Corinth, in hopes of outsmarting
the gods divine will. Like his father, Oedipus also sought ways to escape the horrible
destiny told by the oracle of Apollo. The chorus warns us of man’s need to have reverence
for the gods, and the dangers of too much pride. “If a man walks with haughtiness of hand
or word and gives no heed to Justice and the shrines of Gods despises- may an evil doom
smite him for his ill-starred pride of heart!- if he reaps gains without justice and will not
hold from impiety and his fingers itch for untouchable things. When such things are done,
what man shall contrive to shield his soul from the shafts of the God?”
Oedipus’ unyielding desire to uncover the truth about Laius’ murder and the
mystery surrounding his own birth, led him to the tragic realization of his horrific deeds.
Teiresias, Jocasta and the herdsman tried to stop him from pursuing the truth. Take for
example a part of the last conversation between Jocasta and Oedipus. After realizing that
the prophecy had came true, Jocasta begs him to just let the mystery go unsolved for once.
“I beg you- do not hunt this out- I beg you, if you have any care for your own life. What I
am suffering is enough.” Oedipus replies, “I will not be persuaded to let chance of finding
out the whole thing clearly.” He is unable to stop his quest for the truth, even under his
wife’s pleading. For it is in his own vain that he must solve the final riddle, the riddle of his
own life.
Upon discovery of the truth of his birth from the herdsman, Oedipus cries, “I who
first saw the light bred of a match accursed, and accursed in my living with them, cursed in
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my killing.” Oedipus knew that his fate had indeed come to pass and feels cursed by it. The
chorus then sings an ode on the sorrow of life and the tragic fate to which even the most
honored, like Oedipus are ultimately subject. “What man, what man on earth wins more
happiness than a seeming and after that turning away? Oedipus you are my pattern of this,
Oedipus you and your fate! Luckless Oedipus, whom of all men I envied not at all.
At the end of this tragic story, when Oedipus gouges out his eyes, the chorus asks
him what god urged him to blind himself. Oedipus replied, “It was Apollo, friends, Apollo,
that brought this bitter bitterness, my sorrows to completion. But was the hand that struck
me was none but my own.” He claimed full responsibility for his actions. Oedipus was
guilty of killing his father and marrying his mother, but perhaps the true sin lay in his
overzealous attempt to raise himself to the level of the gods by trying to escape his fate.
The chorus chants about how in prosperity, he was envied by all men, he was honored
highest above all honors, and how he won happiness by pride (by slaughtering the Sphinx,
and by trying to deceive the god’s will.) But, how ultimately, Oedipus was judged for it,
causing a reversal of fortune in his prosperous life.
The fact that Oedipus’ motives for killing his father, Laius, and wedding his mother,
Jocasta, it does not take away from the horrific nature of the crimes. When he tears at his
eyes with his Jocasta's broach, Oedipus is accepting the full burden of his acts and knew
that he must be punished for his sins. Therefore the last act of destruction was caused by
Oedipus’ free will, but his tragic fate came about because of the nature of the cosmic order
( that every sin must be punished) and role of the gods in human affairs.
The chorus concludes this tragedy by warning the Greeks, that the only way to
happiness is through humility and respect towards the gods, (qualities which Oedipus
lacked, and ultimately led to his destruction.) They also warn not to take anything for
granted, or suffer a fate like that of Oedipus. ” You live in my ancestral Thebes, behold this
Oedipus,- him who knew the famous riddle and was a man most masterful,- not a citizen
who did not look with envy on his lot-see him now and see the breakers of misfortune swall
him! Look upon that last day always. Count no mortal happy till he has passed the final
limit of his life secure from pain.”
Question Five:
Aristotle's Poetics is the work that comes closest to giving an account of literary criticism.
His approach to drama and poetry in this work proceeds by definition and classification,
followed by a careful examination of particular poems or plays to show how they fit or do
not fit within his definitions. In addition to his definition of poetry, Aristotle's Poetics
contains an extended discussion of tragedy. Define and discuss Aristotle's definitions of
poetry and tragedy, and then apply his definitions of tragedy and the tragic hero to
Sophocles' play Oedipus the King?
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Answer:
Poetry for Aristotle is both poiesis and mimesis, making and imitating. According
to Aristotle, what constitutes poetry is not the writing of verses but the building of a poetic
"structure of events." This structure is the plot (mythos) of the poem, which is the most
important part of the poet's task. The other constituent elements of the art of making a
poem (poiesis, "making"), are: (1) character portrayal (ethos), (2) "thought" (dianoia), (3)
poetic language or expression (lexis), (4) song composition (melopoeia), and (5) spectacle
(opsis). These elements stand in decreasing order of importance; but none can vie with
plot. The making of plots is essentially a creative activity. Poetic creativity, for Aristotle, is
the bodying forth of reality, the essential truth about human beings and their actions, not the
invention of fantasies or private worlds.
Aristotle defines tragedy as "an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and
of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the
several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of
narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions." Thus, a
tragedy is the imitation in dramatic form of an action that is serious and complete, with
incidents arousing pity and fear wherewith it effects a catharsis of such emotions. The
language used is pleasurable and throughout appropriate to the situation in which it is used.
The chief characters are noble personages ("better than ourselves," says Aristotle) and the
actions they perform are noble actions.
Each of the incidents in Sophocles' play Oedipus the King is part of a tightly
constructed cause-and-effect chain. The plague in Thebes prompts Oedipus to send Creon
to consult the oracle of Delphi; the oracle’s reply that the murderer of Laius must be
banished from Thebes prompts Oedipus pronounce a solemn curse on the murderer and to
send for Teiresias. Teriesias states that Oedipus is the murderer, but since the king knows
himself to be innocent (or thinks he knows), he accuses Creon of plotting with Teiresias
against him. The quarrel of Oedipus and Creon brings Jocasta from the house; seeking to
calm down her husband and prove that oracles cannot be trusted, she tells again of how
Laius died. When she mentions that he was killed “at a place where three roads meet,”
Oedipus suddenly begins to suspect that he may indeed have killed the king without
knowing who he was. To settle the matter, they send for the Herdsman who is the only
survivor of that attack. Meanwhile a messenger arrives from Corinth to inform Oedipus that
his supposed father, King Polybus of Corinth, has died. When Oedipus rejoices that he did
not kill his father as the oracle had prophesied but is still worried that he may marry his
mother, the Messenger, seeking to relieve him of this fear, innocently tells him that Polybus
and Merope were not his real parents.
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The arrival of the Messenger is the only action in the play that is not directly caused
by a previous action. However, this is a perfect example of Aristotle's contention that if
coincidences cannot be avoided, they should have “an air of design,” for this messenger
seems brought by fate, since he is the missing link in Oedipus’ story, the very man who
received Oedipus as a baby from the Herdsman. Thus, when the Herdsman arrives and they
tell their respective stories, the whole truth emerges. This is the climax, or turning point, of
the plot—the truth about Oedipus leads directly to the suicide of Jocasta and Oedipus’ selfblinding and request to be exiled. The departure of Oedipus from Thebes will lift the
plague, thus resolving the problem that started off the chain of events and concluding the
plot.
This plot is also a perfect example of the exclusion of the irrational and the skillful
handling of traditional elements of the myth on which the play is based. Sophocles does not
dramatize any of the admittedly irrational parts of the myth (e.g., why did Laius and Jocasta
not kill the baby outright? If Oedipus was afraid of marrying his mother, why did he marry
a woman old enough to be his mother? etc.). Instead, in a brilliant move, he constructs the
play as an investigation of the past. The tremendous sense of inevitability and fate in this
play stems from the fact that all the irrational things have already been done; they are
unalterable. Once Oedipus begins to investigate the murder of Laius, the whole truth about
the past is bound to emerge; as he himself says, “O, O, O, they will all come, / all come out
clearly!” (episode 4)
The peripeteia of the play is the Messenger's reversal of intention; in seeking to
help Oedipus by telling him that Polybus and Merope were not his real parents, he instead
creates the opposite effect, providing the crucial piece of information that will reveal that
Oedipus has indeed killed his father and married his mother. As Aristotle recommends, this
is directly connected to the anagnorisis, for the Messenger and Herdsman piece together
the whole story of Oedipus, enabling him to “recognize” his true identity, to gain the
essential knowledge he has lacked. The peripeteia and anagnorisis directly cause Oedipus’
catastrophe, or change of fortune from good to bad, and lead to the emotional “scenes of
suffering” with Creon and his children. In a sense, each of Oedipus’ actions can be
considered a reversal of intention, and each gives him a little more knowledge of the
dreadful truth that will lead to his downfall.
The play offers a perfect illustration of the nature of the hamartia as “mistake” or
error rather than flaw. Oedipus directly causes his own downfall not because he is evil, or
proud, or weak, but simply because he does not know who he is. If he really wanted to
avoid the oracle, leaving Corinth was a mistake, killing an unknown older aristocrat was a
mistake, and marrying an older queen was a mistake. Seeking to uncover the past, cursing
the murderer of Laius, sending for the Herdsman—each of the actions that he pursued so
vigorously and for such good reasons led to his doom. Oedipus is not morally guilty, but he
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is radically ignorant, and Sophocles does not present him as a unique case but rather as a
paradigm of the human condition, as “a man like ourselves.” In the words of the Chorus:
What man, what man on earth wins more
of happiness than a seeming
and after that turning away?
Oedipus, you are my pattern of this,
Oedipus, you and your fate!
Question Six:
The text of Longinus treatise On the Sublime is a clearly segmented exposition of the stages
of his thought? Discuss?
Answer:
In On the Sublime, Longinus explores the nature, the rules of artistic and rhetorical
composition, and the achievement of greatness, excellence, or sublimity in writing. He lists
five "sources" of great writing: (1) vigor and nobility of mind; (2) powerful emotion; (3)
skill in the use of figures; (4) diction; (5) and the appropriate arrangement of words.
Longinus' object is to define true grandeur in literature as opposed to immature turgidity
and frigid pretentiousness.
The first stage is that "great passages have a high distinction of thought and
expression to which great writers owe their supremacy and their lasting renown." Longinus
argues that greatness, grandeur, excellence, nobleness, or sublimity in writing does not
involve mere persuasion or skillful arrangement of words and ideas for Longinus, but "it
takes the reader out of himself. The startling and amazing is more powerful than the
charming and persuasive, and greatness appears suddenly."
The second stage issues sharply from this characterization of great writing, and is
addressed in his question: Can greatness in writing be "a matter of art" and open to critical
study under the terms offered in the first stage? His answer is that greatness involves "a
matter of art" because method or study trains talent to make the most of itself. To clarify
this point, he records some of the errors and faults that occur in writing that fails to achieve
greatness, such as turgidity, puerility, false enthusiasm, and frigidity in discourse.
In the third stage, Longinus first offers three experientially oriented tests for the
presence of greatness and then classifies "five sources" that are "most productive of great
writing." He argues that social value, psychological impact, and canonical or institutional
authority offer distinct ways in which to probe for and recognize great writing. (1) The first
pragmatic test for greatness or sublimity deals with the Social value. For Longinus, sheer
wealth, social status, and political power do not embody greatness. (2) The second
pragmatic test deals with the idea that what leaves a memory in the reader, and makes an
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enduring psychological impact upon a hearer, or reader, constitutes great writing. (3) The
third pragmatic test tends to canonize or institutionalize writing as great. Greatness in
writing ostensibly "satisfies all men at all times," and "the agreed verdict acquires an
authority so strong that the object of its admiration is beyond dispute." He, then, lists five
sources that produce sublimity or greatness in writing. The first two sources are "innate
dispositions," while the three other sources are "artistic training." The first two sources
involve "vigor of mental conception" and "strong and inspired emotion." Considering
passion, he argues that "nothing contributes to greatness as much as noble passion in the
right place. The three other sources, which involve "artistic training," are "adequate
fashioning of figures" (tropes), "nobility of diction" (diction), and "dignified and
distinguished word arrangement" (composition).
The fourth stage comprises chronological analyses of four of the sources of great
writing that Longinus has classified in the third stage, which include, first, mental
conception; second, fashioning of figures; third, diction; and fourth, music, rhythm, and
word arrangement.
Concerning mental conception, Longinus emphasizes the experience of the sublime
as a felt effect. He adds that the experience of great writing involves a sudden, ecstatic
transport of the hearer or reader. One who undergoes the experience of greatness is moved
and uplifted. As for the fashioning of figures, for instance, Longinus, in discussing the use
of well-conceived and vivid images in two passages from Euripides, insists that
Demosthenes' imaginative conceptions seek to compel an audience to see and feel "an
imaginative picture which conceals the actual argument by its own brilliance." He argues
that there is a sudden fusion and subtle exchange of roles in the felt experience of great
expressive power. Longinus also stresses the manner in which Demosthenes' figures of
speech impact "upon the minds of his hearers." Through his effective and inspired choice
of tropes, Demosthenes not only "grips his audience and carries it along with him," but also
makes the reader feel himself in the midst of the dangers described." Similarly, about
metaphors he notes that "they make the comparisons appear quite inevitable; and the hearer
who shares the inspiration of the speaker is not given time to examine the number of
metaphors."
The fifth stage is the skillful and rhythmical arrangement of words, which "appeals
not to the ear only but to the mind itself" and in so doing "instills the speaker's feelings, by
the blended variety of its sounds, into the hearts of those near him so that they share his
passions."
Question Seven:
State Horace's approach concerning the technical skill in poetry?
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Answer:
The first part of Horace's Ars Poetica deals with the technical skill. It runs in the
form of an introduction, a section on style, a section on content, and a section on the poet.
The poem begins with the principle of simplicity and poetic unity. The poet must choose a
topic that is equal to his abilities, and if "the subject is capably chosen, then style and
arrangement will never desert him." Thus, Horace introduces the major components of
subject matter, style, and arrangement (structure). Since Horace has firstly demanded unity
in composition, these three elements come to support each other to produce that unity. He
briefly describes arrangement as occurring when the poet says what needs to be said at the
time and puts off or omits other topics as the occasion demands.
The next part focuses on style. The poet must use words carefully, but unusual
circumstances make the creation of new words acceptable. Such words carry more
conviction if they are formed from Greek. Meter, the second aspect of style, should remain
in its appropriate genre. Finally, the expression of various emotions in the proper phrasing
is necessary to elicit the desired response from the audience. Language must fit the
emotional circumstances, and the character's age, sex, social class, and nationality.
The next part explores the poem's subject matter. He advises the poet either to keep
to familiar stories or, if he must create a story, to invent something that is consistent within
its own fictional realm. Familiar literary characters illustrate these principles since their
characters must reflect the legends about them. While a writer should keep to familiar
stories, one must not simply imitate them; one should rework them to make them one's
own. The poet must ensure that beginning, middle, and end of the story are compatible.
Next, the poet should create characters in their proper age and station of life.
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