Tragedy GenreBy: Melissa Campoli and Kevin Michael

Our Tragic Heroes.

Death of a Salesman:Willy Loman

Streetcar Named DesireBlanche Dubois

Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy

1. Protagonists must be of high status, high power, etc

i. Usually royalty (i.e. Oedipus, Hamlet)

2. Experience a tragic fall3. Audience experiences a sense of Catharsis4. Tragic fall occurs as a result of a tragic flaw of

the protagonist

Question is, to what extent does this apply to SND and DOS?

To What extent: Kenneth Elliot

“While no modem play can completely adhere to the definition of tragedy fixed by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C.E., Blanche DuBois and Willy Loman are tragic protagonists in at least one classic sense: their self-delusion (the hamartia, or error) ultimately leads to their destruction”

Tragic Hero: Nobility?Death of a SalesmanWilly portrays himself as if he is of noble figure

“In 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions.”

“Because he’s only a little boat looking for a harbor”

Tragic Hero: Nobility?Streetcar Named DesireBlanche tries to portray herself as if she is of noble figure.

“Don’t you think your superior attitude is a bit out of place?” (71)“Her appearance is incongruous to the setting She is daintily dressed” (15)

Verdict: Nobility?

• To some extent they both place themselves in noble regard, and the audience’s realization of this may evoke the catharsis we feel in the play.

• Not conventional nobility like classic Aristotelian Tragedy

• “No modem play can completely adhere to the definition of tragedy fixed by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C.E” – Kenneth Elliot

Tragic Flaw“both characters are prodigious liars - both to themselves and those around them” (Elliot)

“I’m definitely going to get one. Because lots of times I’m on the road, and I think to myself, what I must be missing on the radio!”

“Blanche DuBois and Willy Loman are tragic protagonists in at least one classic sense: their self-delusion (the hamartia, or error) ultimately leads to their destruction” (Elliot)

A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• “They are exceptional beings…his actions or sufferings are of an unusual kind… His tragic characters are made of the stuff we find within ourselves…”– Both Willy and Blanche are meant to be common.

Both of their actions and sufferings are meant to be usual problems and with this they are meant to be relatable.

A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• In almost all we observe a marked one-sidedness, a predisposition in some particular direction…– Willy is engrossed in the American idea of “success”—he won’t even

change his focus to something that he is more likely to be successful in, i.e. something that involves working with his hands

– Willy: And when I saw that, I realized that selling was the greatest career a man could want.

– “The American Dream” which is focused upon throughout the play– Blanche obsesses herself with her appearance, refuses to even “lower”

herself to the New Orlean’s standards, even though we find out about her indecent behaviour which she initially denies

– She cries out as if the lantern was herself. (140)• …his tragic trait, which is also his greatness, is fatal to him. Their obsessions

leads to their downfall.– Biff: “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong.”

A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• “…a Shakespearean tragedy is never, like some miscalled tragedies, depressing.” However, the “central feeling” is the “impression of waste”– Willy is strong-willed and ambitious; Blanche is passionate and

eloquent. We recognize that these are great qualities to possess which restores faith in humanity. However, we are able to identify the way these qualities are applied incorrectly and result in the waste of life as Willy and Blanche experience their downfall.

– Willy: After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.

A.C. Bradley: The Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• ...In those cases where the gross and palpable evil is not in him but elsewhere…– Internal struggles (man vs. man) are emphasized more

so than outside forces• Fate– There does not seem to be a great sense of fate in

either of the plays.

Arthur Miller and A.C. Bradley

The Moral Order

Is there a sense of moral order?

Willy commits suicide, is not punished for what he has done.Stan is not punished for raping Blanche…

Arthur Miller: Tragedy and the Common Man

• Tragic flaw: man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly…his inherit unwillingness to remain passive in…what he conceives to be a challenge to his dignity.– Willy evaluates him in terms of his success, and does so against

his brother, and other salesmen… – Willy: If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything

would’ve been totally different.– Blanche evaluates the impression she gives to others. She tries

to uphold it and is resistant when she is challenged (i.e. denying that she would be seen at the Flamingo)

– Blanche evaluates herself, she is displeased and thus uses the lantern as a facade

• Tragedy evoked when a character is willing to lay down their life in order to secure their dignity

Arthur Miller: Tragedy and the Common Man

• …tragedy implies more optimism…The possibility of victory…the perfectibility of man– From these plays we learn from Willy and Blanche’s mistakes, and with

this learning we are closer to achieving this “perfection”– Happy: All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else that

Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have — to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.

SL Kirley’s Definition of Tragedy