The Conditions for a Successful Tragedy
Before describing an ideal tragedy, the components of the tragic hero must be examined. The hero must be relatable, not just in a universal human sense, but in direct relation to the audience. The audience should be able to equate their capabilities with the hero's qualities. The hero must be likable and possess multiple qualities that the audience admires or considers themselves to have. However, the hero must also have repressed vices. Because the hero must be admirable and respectable in accordance with the audience, the hero's virtues must seem outweigh his or her vices.
Once the hero's qualities are established, the plot must be formulated in such a way that is difficult for the audience to predict the outcome of the hero other than the fact that it is tragic. The complexity of the plot is irrelevant; it can be as simple or as complex as necessary as long as it is not predictable. However, the plot does have to be unified in a cause and effect sequence meaning whatever actions the hero commits, there must be some sort of consequence that results from it. The cause of this sequence represents the conscious judgments and decisions the hero makes that influences the development of the plot or the effect. Since the hero's virtues and vices are used in making these decisions, they can be apart of but do not necessarily have to be the cause of the hero's downfall. The resolution, climax or any other part of the plot must not result in the hero's death because a true tragedy forces the hero to live with whatever misfortunate fate is assigned to him or her rather than ending in death.
Considering the audience is a large part of defining the tragic hero, they are also predictably a large part of defining a tragedy. Like in Aristotle's definition of a tragedy, the audience must experience pity and fear. The pity they feel is towards the hero undergoing such tragedy. As stated before, the hero must be admirable in order for the audience to pity him or her as if they were pitying a dear friend. The audience should also be reflective towards themselves and fear for their own sake as if the chain of events undergone by the hero were to happen to them since the hero is so relatable. The last element of a tragedy concerning the audience should be that the tragedy is written specifically for a certain audience of a certain time period. Since the values of audience will not only change with time but also culture, the tragedy should draw from the audience's psyche in order to be successful rather than writing for a blanket audience. Since the audience decides the hero and the different audiences have a different idea of what qualities are relatable and admirable, the tragedy should be written to cater to a specific audience.
Synopsis:
Once the hero's qualities are established, the plot must be formulated in such a way that is difficult for the audience to predict the outcome of the hero other than the fact that it is tragic. The complexity of the plot is irrelevant; it can be as simple or as complex as necessary as long as it is not predictable. However, the plot does have to be unified in a cause and effect sequence meaning whatever actions the hero commits, there must be some sort of consequence that results from it. The cause of this sequence represents the conscious judgments and decisions the hero makes that influences the development of the plot or the effect. Since the hero's virtues and vices are used in making these decisions, they can be apart of but do not necessarily have to be the cause of the hero's downfall. The resolution, climax or any other part of the plot must not result in the hero's death because a true tragedy forces the hero to live with whatever misfortunate fate is assigned to him or her rather than ending in death.
Considering the audience is a large part of defining the tragic hero, they are also predictably a large part of defining a tragedy. Like in Aristotle's definition of a tragedy, the audience must experience pity and fear. The pity they feel is towards the hero undergoing such tragedy. As stated before, the hero must be admirable in order for the audience to pity him or her as if they were pitying a dear friend. The audience should also be reflective towards themselves and fear for their own sake as if the chain of events undergone by the hero were to happen to them since the hero is so relatable. The last element of a tragedy concerning the audience should be that the tragedy is written specifically for a certain audience of a certain time period. Since the values of audience will not only change with time but also culture, the tragedy should draw from the audience's psyche in order to be successful rather than writing for a blanket audience. Since the audience decides the hero and the different audiences have a different idea of what qualities are relatable and admirable, the tragedy should be written to cater to a specific audience.
Synopsis:
- admirable/relatable hero
- unpredictable, unified plot
- never-ending tragedy
- fate of the hero decided by his or her own conscious judgments
- pity and fear
- catered to the audience