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...

Authorial InformationEuripides 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. Eur...

Although most readers would not immediately recognize it, a number of the so-called "Tales of Terror" by American author Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston in 1809 and the youngest son of Elizabeth and David Poe. Jr., contain central themes associated with tragedy and tragic drama. With a det...

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

Oedipus is a prime example of a tragidy, according to Aristotle's definition in the "poetics". Aristotle's Poetics is considered the first work of literary criticism in our tradition. The couple of pages in the book mainly describe tragedy from Aristotle's point of view....

Along with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, Othello is one of four Shakespeare's greatest play that deals with tragedies. More than anything else, what distinguishes Othello from its great tragedies appears in the role of its villain, Iago. Iago is a character who essentially writes the play&apo...

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...

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 the fi...

The Tragic Hero in the Play AntigoneAntigone, which was written by Sophocles, is possibly the first written play that still exists today (www.imagi... 1). There is much controversy between who the 'tragic hero' is in the play. Some people say Antigone, some say Creon, others even say Heamon. I b...

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...

A creation compensated by the labelling of texts within a particular genre indubitably interferes with an interpreter's appreciation of a composer's composition. The numerous ways of pursuing revenge all manifest different paths of creation and consequently devise different interpretations creators ...

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