Myth

Prerequisites

To complete this exercise successfully, you must have read: Medea, by Euripides (435-465); Hedda Gabler, by Ibsen (2476-2536); Mother Courage, by Brecht (2813-2870); Dojoji (1393-1409); and the selection from Aristotle's Poetics (520-526).

Overview

This is an experiment to see the extent to which the invariant features Aristotle found for Greek tragedy fit serious plays in the modern period, or those from non-Western cultures.

In the Aristotle selection, find 4 characteristics of tragedy and name them in the left-hand column of the table below. Then give an example (where one exists) from each of the 4 dramas.

IMPORTANT: Because Coursetalk #2 concentrates on the idea of the tragic hero, please choose OTHER elements for this exercise: plot; action; catharsis; spectacle; language; melody, etc.

For example, the first sentence on page 521 of the anthology ("Tragedy is an imitation of an action . . .") gives several characteristics of tragedy, without mentioning the tragic hero.

We cannot assume that any of these plays fit all the characteristics which Aristotle found in Greek tragedy. You may find that some of the characteristics are missing or inverted. If this is the case, then write something like, "Not present," or, "Mother Courage should be 'X,' but instead she is 'Y.'" In the essay part, you will be asked to determine whether such absences or inversions mean that the play is not a tragedy, or is an "anti-tragedy."

As in previous exercises, you are asked to evaluate your findings in a brief essay at the bottom of the page. Then click "Submit" to send your assignment to Dr. Beebee.

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	Describe element of tragedy as identified by Aristotle:	Is there an example in Medea?	Is there an example in Hedda Gabler?	Is there an example in Mother Courage?	Is there an example in Dojoji?
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On the basis of the comparisons made above, write a brief essay where you evaluate the universality of Aristotelean rules for tragedy when applied to modern and non-Western works. Does Aristotle cover all the bases? If some of these plays do not fit his rules in all aspects, does it mean that they are not tragedies? Or, are they really tragedies which follow different rules? etc.