Types of Tragedy in English Literature II Greek, Classical, Romantic, Elizabethan Jacobean Tragedy

 

TYPES OF TRAGEDY

“Life is a tragedy to those who feel and a comedy to those who think.” - Horace Walpole

WHAT IS TRAGEDY?

Tragedy is a type of drama which is full of murders, deaths, insanity, and pain. Main characters usually have some kind of weakness or defect known as ‘Hamartia’ which causes their downfall. It is serious intone. Aristotle believed that the main characteristic of tragedy was the change of fortunes of the main character because of his flaws. Tragedy arouses the feelings of pity and fear in the heart of the reader.

TYPES OF TRAGEDY

1. GREEK TRAGEDY (6th Century BC)

2. ROMAN TRAGEDY (3^rd to 1^st Century BC)

3. ELIZABETHAN / ROMANTIC TRAGEDY (16th Century)

4. JACOBEAN (REVENGE) TRAGEDY: (Early 17th Century)

5. TRAGICOMEDY: (Early 17th Century)

6. HEROIC TRAGEDY & SHE TRAGEDY: (Late 17^th Century)

7. ‘SHE’ TRAGEDY

8. DOMESTIC TRAGEDY: (19TH Century)

1. GREEK TRAGEDY (6th Century BC)

Ancient Greek tragedies typically consisted of a protagonist of high rank who makes an error of judgment meets his tragic end. They mainly deal with the religious or heroic themes and are full of mythology. Greek tragedies are designed after Aristotle’s theory of tragedy. They strictly follow the three unities of time, place and action. Chorus was an integral part of Greek tragedy. It was written in parts and not in acts and scenes. The great Greek tragedians were Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus Rex’  is often considered the perfect tragedy.

2. ROMAN TRAGEDY (240 BC to 100 BC)

Roman tragedies were mostly the adaptations of the Greek tragedies. These tragedies deal with the theme of revenge. They are full of violence and bloodshed. Nine plays written by Roman philosopher Seneca survive today, some of which are considered revenge tragedies, adopted by Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. ‘Hercules Furens’, ‘Medea’ and others were the most prominent Senacan Roman tragedies.

3. ELIZABETHAN/ROMANTIC TRAGEDY (16th Century)

Elizabethan tragedies popularized by Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare often include protagonists of high status, (kings, princes, great warriors) who are flawed, encounter a reversal of fortune and meet their tragic end. Elizabethan tragedies are mostly character oriented. Here, fortune does not play an important role to bring the tragedy in the character’s life. Moreover, they do not follow the unities of time and place as devised by Aristotle.

4. JACOBEAN (REVENGE) TRAGEDY: (Early 17th Century)

Jacobean tragedy is a kind of imitation of Senacan or Roman tragedy. Revenge is the prime subject matter and it is full of violence, sex and too much bloodshed. Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is often termed as a Jacobean or Revenge Tragedy. John Webster’s ‘The Duchess of Malfi’.

5. TRAGICOMEDY: (Early 17th Century)

Tragicomedy is a special kind of drama that combines the features of tragedy and comedy. It means that such play may be sad but will have a happy ending, or it may be serious with some elements of humor emerging throughout the whole play. Roman dramatist Plautus was the first to write a tragicomedy and to use the term. Plautus wrote ‘Amphitryon’ which is the best example of tragic-comedy. He believed that life is a mixture of happiness and sorrow and hence drama must represent both these sides of life. Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’ too is a nice example of tragicomedy.

6. HEROIC TRAGEDY & SHE TRAGEDY: (Late 17^th Century)

 

The Restoration age (1660-1700) marks a new development in the field of poetry, drama and prose. Drama was revived with new vigor and zeal by the writers like John Dryden and William Congreve. There was a complete break from the Elizabethan tradition in drama. John Dryden tried and developed a new type of Heroic Tragedy and ‘She’ Tragedy during Restoration age. John Dryden and Thomas Otway were the masters of writing Heroic and ‘She’ Tragedies.

 

In all Dryden's heroic tragedies we find that love and honor are the main themes. Heroine possesses dazzling beauty and heroes are of superhuman powers. The tone is exaggerated but there is lack of patience in these plays. John Dryden (1631-1700) was the first and foremost exponent of the heroic plays.  He wrote following Heroic Tragedies:

 

1.  The Indian emperor

2.  Titanic love

3.  Conquest of Granada part 1 and 2

4.  Aurangzeb

 

Thomas Otway also contributed greatly in the field of heroic drama by producing following popular plays.

 

1.  Don Carlos

2.  The orphan

3.  Venice preserve

4.  Tragedy on a grand scale (his last play)

 

Otway’s ‘Venice Preserve’ is a masterpiece in this field.He is known for skillful presentation of characters in his plays.

7. ‘SHE’ TRAGEDY:

Soon there was a decline in heroic tragedy and a new type of drama emerged which was known as ‘SHE’ Tragedy. It is called so because all the masculine qualities of a hero were introduced in the heroine in such play the hero almost vanishes and a woman character dominates the entire action of the drama. Prominent she-tragedies include Thomas Otway's ‘The Orphan’ (1680), John Banks' ‘Virtue Betrayed’ (1682).

8. DOMESTIC TRAGEDY: (19^TH Century)

These dramas originated in the Elizabethan period. This drama portrays the common man in a domestic setting as the tragic hero as opposed to a character of nobility in a palatial setting. Here, there are no great royal characters like the kings and the queens. It represents the life of a common man in common domestic background. During the 19th century, many of Henrik Ibsen’s plays became popular as domestic tragedies. Excellent examples include Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ and Eugene O’Neill’s ‘The Iceman Cometh’.

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