Who Needs Therapy?
Tragedy is often thought to be a depressing story of how one major character flaw causes the devastation of a royal being or a person who is of high standings in society. This common belief is even supported by the Merriam- Webster dictionary, defining a tragedy as “a very sad, unfortunate, or upsetting situation: something that causes strong feelings of sadness or regret.” However, when you look at the definition of a tragedy on Wikipedia it is defined as “ a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in audiences.” The big difference between the two definitions is whether there is a catharsis or pleasure that occurs from the tragedy.
While tragedies are based on suffering, which aligns with the Merriam-Webster definition, the characters often have a revelation or finding that overshadows all of the suffering. For example in Antigone, Creon would not have realized that he could change his ways unless he had exiled Antigone to solitude in a cave. While there were three deaths that followed his decision, the deaths unfortunately followed Creon’s realization. Another example of realization amidst a tragedy is Juliet’s feeling of true love from Romeo’s choice to kill himself rather than live in a world without Juliet. These realizations are where the contradiction of a tragedy being sad occurs. Those who are watching these tragedies play out on stage also learn from the tragedies through these realizations, and often release their own pent up feelings. If someone who had the solid belief that love does not exist due to their love stabbing them in the back, instead of stabbing themselves for their love, was watching Romeo and Juliet, they would experience a catharsis of that belief along with Juliet. Their feelings may not be super happy but they are not all sad, thus fitting the definition of a tragedy more along the lines of the uncommon Wikipedia definition of tragedy.
The sad-happy feelings are not the only defining characteristics of tragedy plays. The majority of tragedies that occur in play happen to kings or people of high ranking in society. This has caused many people to believe that tragedies are above or below the common man, but if this was so then those watching the play would not be able to experience a catharsis. In Arthur Miller’s article Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller supports this idea by arguing that tragedy can occur to anyone being, due to the fact that tragedies occur due to character flaws. I am not a perfect person, I have many flaws in my character and many of those flaws have lead me to do stupid things. For example, when I was younger I was always a very independant person, I never liked playing with my brother even though my mom told me I had to. Then one day I was trying to run away from my brother because I didn’t want to share with him, and my brother ended up tripping. When he caught himself, he ended breaking his hand very close to a growth plate. After seeing that I had caused his broken hand, I felt guilty but I realized that my mom was right and I should start to play with him more. While my not listening to my mom caused nowhere near the amount pain Jocasta and Oedipus caused ignoring the prophecies told to them, I was still able to relate to the tragedy due to my own form of tragedy.
The sad-happy feelings are not the only defining characteristics of tragedy plays. The majority of tragedies that occur in play happen to kings or people of high ranking in society. This has caused many people to believe that tragedies are above or below the common man, but if this was so then those watching the play would not be able to experience a catharsis. In Arthur Miller’s article Tragedy and the Common Man, Miller supports this idea by arguing that tragedy can occur to anyone being, due to the fact that tragedies occur due to character flaws. I am not a perfect person, I have many flaws in my character and many of those flaws have lead me to do stupid things. For example, when I was younger I was always a very independant person, I never liked playing with my brother even though my mom told me I had to. Then one day I was trying to run away from my brother because I didn’t want to share with him, and my brother ended up tripping. When he caught himself, he ended breaking his hand very close to a growth plate. After seeing that I had caused his broken hand, I felt guilty but I realized that my mom was right and I should start to play with him more. While my not listening to my mom caused nowhere near the amount pain Jocasta and Oedipus caused ignoring the prophecies told to them, I was still able to relate to the tragedy due to my own form of tragedy.
When looking at these different parts of tragedy-the discoveries amidst disaster, the release of pent up feelings, and the relatability of tragedies-I completely threw the Merriam- Webster definition of tragedy out the window. If a tragedy were to simply be a sad part of a person’s life then it would have not meaning and there would be very little recollection of the tragedy. Oedipus and Creon certainly would not forget their tragedies because they learned from them. I found that the moment the person experiencing a tragedy finally releases their pent up feelings is when they realize what exactly they can take from the experience. The Wikipedia definition of tragedy says that the audience also experiences a catharsis or pleasure from the tragedy, this is due to the fact that they are able to empathize, meaning they have previously felt the same feelings the characters are feeling.
Tragic plays appear to be sad retelling of misfortunate kings, but are really cheap therapy in disguise. The aspects of a tragedy parallel that of a therapy session. You recount what is causing certain feelings (the sad event occurs), your therapist asks you how you feel about the event (the character reflects on what has happened), you have a realization when talking with the therapist (the realization occurs), and you learn to cope with the realization so you can proceed with your life (the catharsis of feelings occurs). After noticing these parallels, I was able to conclude that tragedy is an event in which suffering causes some realization that leads to the release of pent up feelings that a person has had, whether it be while watching it in a play or experiencing it in real life.
Tragic plays appear to be sad retelling of misfortunate kings, but are really cheap therapy in disguise. The aspects of a tragedy parallel that of a therapy session. You recount what is causing certain feelings (the sad event occurs), your therapist asks you how you feel about the event (the character reflects on what has happened), you have a realization when talking with the therapist (the realization occurs), and you learn to cope with the realization so you can proceed with your life (the catharsis of feelings occurs). After noticing these parallels, I was able to conclude that tragedy is an event in which suffering causes some realization that leads to the release of pent up feelings that a person has had, whether it be while watching it in a play or experiencing it in real life.
Works Cited:
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"A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success." Alain De Botton: A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of
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TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., Dec. 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
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"A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success." Alain De Botton: A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of
Success | TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., July 2009. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
"Are We in Control of Our Own Decisions?" Dan Ariely: Are We in Control of Our Own Decisions? |
TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., Dec. 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Kafka, Franz. "Franz Kafka Online." Before the Law by Franz Kafka. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Krutch, Joseph. "The Tragic Fallacy." The Tragic Fallacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
Miller, Arthur. "Tragedy and the Common Man." Jewish Quarterly 62.4 (2015): 62-63. Web.
"Revenge Play." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Sept. 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
"Romeo and Juliet." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Dec. 2015. Web.
25 Nov. 2016.
"Sadness." Disney Wiki. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
"Sophocles, Antigone (e-text) - Vancouver Island University." N.p., May 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
"Sophocles, Oedipus the King (e-text)." N.p., May 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
"Tragedy." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.
"Tragedy of the Commons." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Oct. 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.