The basis of Greek drama was a religious festival, which paid homage to Dyonicis, god of wine and fertility. Greek drama consisted of a protagonist, the main character, of noble birth whose life is full of happiness in the beginning, but ends up in agony in the end due to their tragic flaw or weakn...

A tragedy is a play, story, or other literary work, which arouses terror or pity by a series of misfortunes or sad events. The plot is usually about the downfall of a great man. Many take it a step farther and say that the main character or the person who experiences the downfall brings it upon hi...

Authorial Information Euripides was born in 484 BC and took up drama at the young age of 25. At most drama competitions, however his plays came in last place until he was about 45 or 50 years old. In his entire life, he wrote 92 plays of which only five received first place awards at competition. E...

Oedipus: The Tragic Hero (#3) In "Oedipus the King," Sophocles concocts one of the most famous and intricate characters of Greek drama. A tragic hero, Oedipus' desire for self-discovery and understanding inevitably leads to his tragic downfall. In the end, it can be seen that Oedipus' ...

In the story of Antigone, an argument of who is the main character between Antigone and Creon exists. I firmly believe Creon is the protagonist of the play due to his role as the key figure of the entire story and being a the traditional tragic hero in the end. Creon ends up to be one of...

William Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play written for the Elizabethan Theater circa 1606, tells the story of an esteemed Scottish nobleman who rises to the throne by murder and subterfuge, only to descend again into madness and damnation. Critics through the years have heralded Macbeth as one of t...

For many centuries people have found theater to be an excellent form of entertainment. The public's appreciation for such entertainment is based upon different theatrical themes. Whether it is a lighthearted comedy, that is most certain to lift anyone's spirits, a passionate romance, that stirs...

Hamlet's Delay Everyone contains a tinge of Hamlet in his feelings, wants, and worries, and proudly so, for Hamlet is not like the other tragic heroes of his period. He stands apart from other Shakespeare's heroes in his today much-discussed innocence. Is this supposed tragic hero may be an ideal ...

Oedipus The King Tragedy lets people take a legitimate kind of pleasure while watching a noble man suffer. In this play Oedipus - the main character - is destined to kill his father Lauis and marry his mother Jocasta so his parents wanted him dead, the farmer was not able to let ...

Over 2,300 years ago, Aristotle wrote his famous manual for contemporary authors. This guide, entitled Poetics, covered what aspects a tragedy should contain. Of these aspects, one of the most important points in Poetics made by Aristotle is what characteristics a tragic hero, the protagonist of ...

The definition of tragedy in the Oxford dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity." However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive. Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, bu...

The Greek drama Oedipus Rex is a tragedy. It meets the five main criteria for a tragedy: a tragic hero of noble birth, a tragic flaw, a fall from grace, a moment of remorse, and catharsis. Oedipus Rex meets the first of these five criteria. Oedipus is the son of Laius, who was king of Thebes. Even a...

Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a tragedy whose theme is the tarnishing of the American Dream. We, as Americans, have been conditioned to believe that beauty and charisma constitute necessary virtues rather than traits, and that appearances guarantee success. But mos...

Since the beginning of time, people discussed and analyzed the concept of the tragic hero in epic poetry and other stories. An epic poem consists of a hero of high caliber whose actions affect a nation or a group of people. The deeds of this hero must be exceedingly brave and have supernatural ...

How does act 1 scene 1 of king lear set the scene for the rest of the play The beginning of a work often sets the tone for the rest of the entire endeavor. In drama especially, the first scene of a play generally sets up the basic themes and situations that the remainder will work with. In kin...

Death of a Salesman Willy Loman is a tragic hero in the drama by Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman. He has a problem differentiating reality from fantasy. No one has a perfect life; people deal with their personal conflicts differently. Some insist on ignoring the problem as...

A Tragic Mistake Many elements are compiled to create a tragedy. These increments of drama consist of everything from the murderous villain to the fallen hero. One element that who significance may have often been overlooked is that of the "tragic mistake." In the other words, that o...

A tragedy can come in a variety of forms, but is usually the end result of an imperfection that the protagonist cannot overcome, a tragic flaw. In John Milton's poem, Paradise Lost, Satan succumbs to his own vaulting ambition to be equal in power and glory to God. As a result of this perverse a...

More Joy in Tragedy Tragedy is defined as a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. All definitions of tragedy and all tragic...

Five years go Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller had its fiftieth anniversary. After fifty years it is still being discussed if Death of a Salesman is a true tragedy. Some people disagree with this thought and some believe that this is a tragedy. In a critical overview of this play, it states tha...

According to tradition, a tragic hero has to be man with some sort of social standing so that a "fall" from this rank can occur. This character possesses a weakness within him, commonly excessive pride, that leads to his eventual downfall – a downfall brought on by the character&apos...

In every Sophoclean drama, there is a hero of some kind. These heroes usually are the focus of the myth. Some examples would be Frodo from the Lord of the Rings, Jason and the Argonauts in the Quest for the Golden Fleece, etc. Characters such as Creon and Antigone of the myth Antigone are also great...

Tragedy is defined as a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw . This tragic flaw is inborn to the main character. The tragic hero must be noble, having a higher stature than most men, must have a...

Things Fall Apart Tragedies are the basis for drama in the Western society. A tragedy is a dramatic narrative where a series of actions turn into disaster for the protagonist, or tragic hero. Aristotelian tragedies give the audience a feeling of catharsis--or a cleansed, happy feeling--in the conc...

Tennessee Williams is one of America's most respected playwrights. He was one of the select few playwrights responsible for American theatre's 'golden age', and with works like The Glass Menagerie and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, it is no surprise. Williams was born in Mississippi an...