Essay Example on Tragedy: Ancient Greek Art of Human Suffering & Fate

A tragedy is a dramatic branch of literature that illustrates the terrible and sorrowful events caused or encountered by heroic individuals in a dignified and severe style. Often, it is usually seen to describe misfortune or disaster; however, it represents the work of art with seriousness and outlines the questions that illustrate the role that man has on the universe. The word was first used in literature in Athens, a city in the ancient state of The Greeks of Attica during the fifth century to demonstrate a particular play type that was often played in Greek festivals (Braden, 103). These plays often had religious atmospheres that were used for entertainment. Altars were set up for gods, and priests attended the games. Tragedies were seen to befall the heroes and legends in the Greek myths (Sillars, 45). The majority of the works during these plays were taken from Homer's materials, and they were mostly common knowledge among the Greeks.

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The Greek dramatists Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus that reigned from the 525-406 BCE had the most significant achievements. Their inventions have lasted to the current century, and this describes a certain kind of genre despite several lapses and transformations it has stood the test of time (Sourvinou-Inwood, 467).

Historically the genre of tragedy has only been developed in only four locales and periods. The first is Greece in the city of Attica, when James I and Elizabeth I reigned from 1558-1625, France during the late centuries, and also in America and Europe as the 19th century ended (Braden, 104). Every period has its one manifestation and emphasis of the style as used in theatre. During this time, tragedy was mostly seen in novels (Sillars, 47). The development of tragedy bases its development and anthropologists, archeologists, philologists, and historians have explored origins in the subsequent cultures and ages, and these. However, the etymology of the word tragedy has not been determined conclusively. The source that is most depended on is from the Greek word "tragoidia," which meant "goat-song" developed from "tragos," meaning goat and "aeiden," meaning "to sing" (Sourvinou-Inwood, 468). This was often used to refer to the prize awarded to the dramatists who had their plays won most of their competitions, which was usually a goat, it also referred to the dressing of the performers where goatskin was used or to the sacrifices that often evolved from different tragedies.

In these celebrations of the community, the first formal element was a choric dance, and this was done for several centuries as the main element. Later, there was an introduction of a speaker to the ceremony, this was an extension of the priests' role where speakers and priests were involved in a dialogue, and this was seen in most Athens dramas (Braden, 103). Aeschylus was the first dramatist that realized the possibility of dialogue and added the second speaker to his drama as he invented the primary form of tragedy. This, however, is often not credible since tragedy is a complex form that makes it unbelievable that a single artist developed it. Over time, a lot of tragedy literature has been lost, and this includes some that Aeschylus created. About 90 plays have been attributed to him, and of this, only seven remains (Sourvinou-Inwood, 467).

Bacchanalia or Four Dionysia was the Greek feasts for Dionysis. These were seen in Athens every year. Dionysus was believed to be the god of vines and vegetation, making gods sacred sacrifices to him (Sillars, 47). It is also believed that tragedy evolution from feasts was for commemorating vintage, and harvests ,and was perceived to represent death and being born again. The main aim of these ceremonies was to impact specific forces. There may have been different religious connections to tragedy, and two elements that have not been lost entirely. The first is the high seriousness and the befitting matters where survival is at issue, and the second involves the community on the issues that concerned them (Braden, 104). These elements diminish with the over-mixing of sentimental, comic, or of satirical features that are added on and if entertainment overcomes concern. This makes tragedy overcome high estates and worsens (Sillars, 47). As the tragedy genre continued developing, it raised several questions, including the reasons for human suffering the forces of good, evil, necessity, and freedom. Similarly, it asks whether the suffering was through blind chance or whether it was in the design of the devil for others or the malice of gods. Whether the causes were internal and whether someone suffers due to overreaching, infatuation, and arrogance. It also illustrated the elusive nature of justice.

Shakespeare had developed and finally came into his tragic phase. In seven years, he developed the five tragedy literature, which were written from 1599 to 1607 (Braden, 105). These were not the only plays that were written during these times; however, the concentration of the comedies during this time illustrates the difference in the period between the histories and the comics of the plays and the romances that came afterward (Braden, 106). Even though the period of tragedy can be seen often in current stage fashions, history and biography all of which have been seen as the causes of tragedy then some questions need to be answered which include the major tragic theme that is used by Shakespeare and the relation of his methods to the renaissance, medieval and classical traditions.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is a tragic play that shows off a soldier who has a thirst and ambition for power, and this causes him to leave his morals behind. These attempts almost destroyed the kingdom he wanted to rule. The tragic conflict begins with himself as he struggles to determine whether he will seize power violently. Similarly, there is a conflict between Lady Macbeth and the husband, where she encourages Macbeth to take any action he does not want to. As Macbeth stops struggling with the ambition, he had the conflict moves. It remains between Macbeth and different other characters and this includes Macduff and Banquo, who influence their authority. Macbeth is one of the protagonists in the narrative, and the audience often accesses his point of view. He mostly makes decisions according to what he and his subjects want. Similarly, he is an antagonist. Eventually, those that oppose Macbeth to ensure that they restore justice and order defeat him.

The tragedy in the play is seen in the first scene that caused different characters' ambitions. There is a blood tragedy influenced by the Thane of Cawder, where an uprising emerges because of the role he had. Macbeth meets with witches whose prophecies talk about his future leadership. With the first prophecy being fulfilled, he realizes that there is a possibility that he would get the second promise. He goes on to wonder alone whether "Two truths are told/As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of the imperial theme" (1.3.128-130). The play gets to a turning point, and this is where Macbeth is to decide whether he is taking over the crown or to wait and see what is going to happen. This determinant of everything occurs as the play progresses. Macbeth feels conflicted, and this is because even though he wants to be crowned as king, he still owes loyalty to Duncan as "as his kinsman and as his subject" (1.7.13).

The tragedy is also seen with the tension between ambition and duty as Macbeth's wife realizes his husband's destiny to be king, and he starts developing methods that would lead to his reign. This makes Macbeth decide whether he would be loyal to his wife is seen to be adamant with the plot to ensure his husband is king. She aims to "pour my spirits in [Macbeth's] ear/and chastise with the valor of my tongue/All that impedes [him] from the golden round" (1.5.25-27). This brings an illustration that Lady Macbeth was for long waiting for the chance to use her intelligence. Lady Macbeth finds a way to control and enable her husband to choose by saying, "when you durst do it, then you were a man" (1.7.49). This tragedy emerges when he contemplates murdering the king. A solution is found when Macbeth decides and murders Duncan, where power is gotten after the most suspicious heir flees to avoid crime accusations.

After this murder, tragedy emerges between Macbeth and those that do not trust his power. He focuses on holding his power without any fear of being stopped. At the beginning of the 3rd act, Banquo is seen to be suspicious about whether Macbeth achieved his power through malicious means. This influences Macbeth to plan Banquo and his son to be killed. This time he is not hesitant as his wife prefers having things as they are at that moment. For instance, she clearly explains to Macbeth, citing that "he must leave this" (3.2.35), as Macbeth says, "things bad begun make strong themselves by ill" (3.2.55). Further, the conflict moves to be stronger with Banquo's death. Macbeth becomes a figure of tyranny, and the plot revolves around him being denounced as king and being punished for his wrongdoings, leading to another tragedy.

At this point, it is clear that there is a shift in political loyalty, and Macbeth is seen to be a despot who is supposed to be removed. His rules become tragic for the whole of Scotland, and Lennox ends up lamenting the way "this suffering country/Under a hand accursed" (3.6.49-50). Another tragedy develops with the murder of the children and the wife to Macduff. With grief and rage, Macduff says that he would "bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself/within my sword's length set him" (4.3.234-235). Personal hate leads to the ultimate tragedy, where Macbeth loses everything.

Conclusion

Overreliance on beliefs of the witches' prophecies leads to his death, and he realizes this as he dies lamenting on the predictions that "palter with us in a double sense/that keep the word of promise to our ear/and break it to our hope" (5.8.20-22). Even though the prophecies are to be blamed, the ambitions he has are also to blame. Macbeth's life revolves around tragedy, with forces pushing him to specific actions. As the play ends, it promises a better future with Malcolm as King foreseeing a world without tragedy.

Works Cited

Braden, Gordon. "Classical Greek Tragedy and Shakespeare." Classical Receptions Journal 9.1 (2017): 103-119.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Vol. 3. Lippincott, 1915.

Sillars, Stuart. "Christianity, Staging, and Ambivalence: Tragedy as Via Negativa in Shakespeare and After." The Transformations of Tragedy. Brill, 2019. 44-66.

Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. "Something to do with Athens: Tragedy and Ritual." Greek Literature in the Classical Period: The Poetics of Drama in Athens. Routledge, 2018. 465-487.