General Introduction to the Eight Great Tragedies
General Introduction: Eight Great Tragedies
In Greek the word “tragedy” means “goat song”, but the connection between tragedy and goat song is obscure. Perhaps a goat was the prize at some sort of early singing contest in Greece, or perhaps the dancers wore goat skins. One medieval writer ingeniously suggested that tragedy is called goat song because it begins prosperously, as a goat is abundantly hairy in front, and ends wretchedly, as a goat is bare in the rear. Dante Alighieri, whose Divine Comedy proves him to be the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, offered the engaging idea that tragedy is so called because its story is unpleasant and smelly as a goat. The American public does not greatly approve of goat songs. We are an independent, optimistic people and like to feel that we can do anything we please. Our movies, for example, specialize in success stories with happy endings, and Hollywood has almost banished death from the screen. If there is a death in a film, it is likely to be that of either a villain or a minor character. Deaths of villains comfort us, and the death of a minor character, such as the hero’s friend (a so-called “secondary tragedy”), allows us to indulge in sentiment and yet come through smiling. Ogden Nash has summarized the dominant American view:
To tragedy I have no addiction; What I always say is there’s enough trouble in real life without reading about it in fiction. However, I don’t mind tears and smiles in a judicious blending, And I enjoy a stormy beginning if it leads to a hal- cyon ending.
Most people would agree with Mr. Nash that tragedy depicts man’s troubles. But this is only half the story, for tragic drama does not stop with troubles, but goes on to achieve some sort of affirmation, and thus it is optimistic rather than (as commonly thought) pessimistic. The words “optimism” and “pessimism” are, of course, too simple to summarize anything so complex as tragic drama, but however
In Greek the word “tragedy” means “goat song”, but the connection between tragedy and goat song is obscure. Perhaps a goat was the prize at some sort of early singing contest in Greece, or perhaps the dancers wore goat skins. One medieval writer ingeniously suggested that tragedy is called goat song because it begins prosperously, as a goat is abundantly hairy in front, and ends wretchedly, as a goat is bare in the rear. Dante Alighieri, whose Divine Comedy proves him to be the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, offered the engaging idea that tragedy is so called because its story is unpleasant and smelly as a goat. The American public does not greatly approve of goat songs. We are an independent, optimistic people and like to feel that we can do anything we please. Our movies, for example, specialize in success stories with happy endings, and Hollywood has almost banished death from the screen. If there is a death in a film, it is likely to be that of either a villain or a minor character. Deaths of villains comfort us, and the death of a minor character, such as the hero’s friend (a so-called “secondary tragedy”), allows us to indulge in sentiment and yet come through smiling. Ogden Nash has summarized the dominant American view:
To tragedy I have no addiction; What I always say is there’s enough trouble in real life without reading about it in fiction. However, I don’t mind tears and smiles in a judicious blending, And I enjoy a stormy beginning if it leads to a hal- cyon ending.
Most people would agree with Mr. Nash that tragedy depicts man’s troubles. But this is only half the story, for tragic drama does not stop with troubles, but goes on to achieve some sort of affirmation, and thus it is optimistic rather than (as commonly thought) pessimistic. The words “optimism” and “pessimism” are, of course, too simple to summarize anything so complex as tragic drama, but however