Tragedy in Drama

You have probably heard people call certain situations in their lives tragic many times. But what do we mean by ‘tragic’ or ‘a tragedy’? Tragedy is a genre in drama that addresses the inherent suffering that is a part of human existence.

The meaning of tragedy in drama

How do you know if the drama that you’re reading or watching is a tragedy?

A tragedy is a play that revolves around a tragic hero who causes suffering to themselves and others because of either an inner flaw or external circumstances beyond their control. Whether the hero is fighting a human villain, a supernatural force, or something that symbolises evil, a tragedy’s ending is never happy. Tragedies are not stories of triumphant victories; they are stories that show us how difficult life can be but also remind us of the strength we have. Tragedies often have moral messages. However, some tragedies are more ambiguous and make us question things without providing a clear answer. In both cases, a tragedy is a drama that deals with the fundamental theme of what it means to be human.

The history of Western tragedy in drama

Origins

Western drama originated in classical Greece (800-200 BC), in the city-state of Athens, around the 6th century BC. The initially simple art form later developed into more complex narratives. The stories presented on stage were then divided into two main genres that we still use today – tragedy and comedy.

The earliest surviving text that defines the characteristics of both tragedy and comedy is the Poetics (c. 335 BC) by Aristotle. According to Aristotle, the purpose of tragedy is catharsis.

Aristotle outlines the six main elements of tragedy, with plot and characters being the most important ones:

1. Plot: the story that drives the action.
2. Characters: Aristotle believed that in a tragedy, the characters need to be better than they would be in real life. According to Aristotle, an ideal tragic hero is virtuous and has moral motivation. They also have to commit hamartia, a tragic mistake.
3. Thought: the logic behind the chain of events and the consequences they lead to.
4. Diction: the proper way to speak the words of the tragedy. This has to do more with the performance of the tragedy rather than its text.
5. Spectacle: for Aristotle, the power of tragedy should be communicated mainly through a well-developed plot; the scenic effects are secondary.
6. Music: in classical Greece, all dramas included music and songs performed by a Chorus.

Additionally, in Poetics, Aristotle introduces the concept of the three unities of drama, which is also referred to as the unity of time, place, and action. This concept is mainly connected to the elements of plot and thought. The three unities of drama concern the idea that time, place, and action in a play should be connected in a linear and logical way. Ideally, the story would take place within the time frame of twenty-four hours with no time jumps. The scenes should happen in one place only (no drastic change of places between scenes, such as the characters moving from Venice to Beijing). The action should consist of events that are logically connected.

Beyond classical Greece

Western tragedy through the ages

In classical Rome (200 BC–455 CE), tragedy continued to be a prevalent genre because Roman drama was highly influenced by its predecessor, Greek drama. Roman tragedies were often adaptations of Greek tragedies.

During the Middle Ages, tragedy slipped into obscurity and was overshadowed by other genres, such as religion-oriented morality plays and mystery plays. Tragedy was revived in the Renaissance when people looked to the past cultures of classical Greece and Rome for inspiration. European Renaissance tragedies were heavily influenced by Greek and Roman themes.

After the Renaissance, in 18th and 19th-century Europe, the tragedies that were written started to explore the lives of more ordinary people. Subgenres, such as the Bourgeois tragedy, emerged.

From the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, European dramatists continued to address the suffering of common individuals rather than great heroes.

With the changes in society during that time and the rise of the socialist ideology, tragedy was not always in favour of the bourgeoisie. Some dramatists criticised the middle classes and explored the issues faced by the lower classes in society.

After the devastating events of the First and Second World Wars, Western drama and literature changed drastically. Playwrights searched for new forms that would properly express how people felt at the time. Tragedy, from the mid-20th century onwards, became a more complex genre, and the traditional Aristotelian idea of tragedy was actively challenged. Today, many contemporary plays can’t be categorised simply as a type of tragedy because they usually include elements of different genres.

Tragedy in English literature

During the Renaissance in England, the most notable authors of tragedies were William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

During the English Restoration period in the 17th century, the main type of theatre was the heroic tragedy. We will discuss it further in the next section.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, during the Romantic and Victorian periods, tragedy wasn’t a popular genre. Comedy and other less serious and more sentimental dramatic forms, such as melodrama, gained more popularity. Still, some Romantic poets also wrote tragedies.

In the 20th century, tragedy in English literature re-emerged as an important genre, both in Britain and in the United States. The 20th-century British and American playwrights wrote tragedies concerning the lives of ordinary people.

Tragedy in drama: Types and examples

Let’s explore the three main types of tragedy: heroic tragedy, revenge tragedy, and domestic tragedy.

Heroic tragedy

Heroic tragedy was prevalent during the English Restoration period of 1660–1670. Heroic tragedy is written in rhyme. It features a larger-than-life hero who struggles to make a choice between love and duty, which leads to tragic consequences. Heroic tragedies are usually set in exotic places (lands foreign to the author and the audience of the play).

Revenge tragedy

Revenge tragedy was most popular during the Renaissance. Revenge tragedies are about a tragic hero who decides to take justice into their own hands and avenge the death of someone they loved.

Domestic tragedy

Domestic tragedy explores the struggles faced by ordinary people. Domestic tragedies are usually about family relations.

The key features of tragedy in drama

There are different types of tragedies that were written in different historical periods. What unites these plays is that they all contain the same key features of tragedy:

• Tragic hero: the tragic hero is the main character of the tragedy. They either have a fatal flaw or make a fatal mistake that leads to their downfall.
• Villain: the villain is a character or an evil force who represents chaos and drives the hero to destruction and ruin. Sometimes the villain can be more obscure, such as a symbol that stands for something the hero has to fight against.
• Setting: tragedies often take place in ominous settings that foreshadow the suffering the hero must endure.
• The journey towards the fall of the tragic hero: this journey is often marked by the power of destiny and things beyond the hero’s control. The journey consists of a chain of events that provide a step-by-step walk to the fall of the tragic hero.
• Moral message: most tragedies offer the audience a moral message that serves as a commentary on the human condition. Some tragedies raise difficult questions about our existence that the viewers can think about after they leave the theatre.