Essay Samples on Tragedy

Essay Examples
Essay Topics

"Oedipus Rex" as a Tragedy in Comparison to "Death of a Salesman”

Tragic heroes are literary characters (mainly protagonists) who are always destined for a downfall, suffering, or defeat. Examples of tragic heroes are shown in both “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles and “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller. Despite the main character’s best efforts, they both...

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Between Two Different Worlds and Cultures

Anne Fadiman did a remarkable presentation of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.  She carefully, without prejudice to either party, shared the intimate story of a young Hmong child torn between two different worlds and cultures.  Ultimately, through many struggles suffered by all...

The Unique Power of the Greek Tragedy in Sophocles Tragedy Ajax

Only late through our rehearsals did I begin to appreciate the compelling impact of ancient Greek tragedy on individuals. Based on my experience as both, a mediator and observer, this report asserts that ancient Greek tragedy provides a unifying experience, and further illustrates its importance...

The Civil Conflict in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

William Shakespeare is famously known for his plays about tragedies in this play: Julius Caesar, he does a remarkable job of using several examples in the play of tragedy and tragic heroes. Additionally There are many conflicts in the play that are tragically resolved. Julius...

Shakespeare's Use of Literary Devices in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

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Literary devices are often used in literature to engage the reader in the text by making it more alluring, while adding more depth and meaning. In the tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by Shakespeare, a conspiracy rises against Caesar, which is lead by Caesar’s good...

Role of Anti-Hero of the Villainous Character in Richard III

William Shakespeare’s famous play, Richard III, describes how Richard manipulates and murders his way to England’s royal throne. Act I of the play gives us insight on how ambitious and intent Richard is on snatching the crown from his brothers, Edward and Clarence, and all...

Richard III: The Villainous Complexity of Ideas in Shakespeare's Play

When the desire for authority is present, it is inevitable that one’s individual moral compass will be sacrificed. In Shakespeare’s historical tragedy, Richard III (1591), it becomes perspicuous that Shakespeare amplified the moral didacticism of his play by dramatising Richards character. This was achievable by...

Antony and Cleopatra: The Contrast Between Politics and Pleasure

The play Antony and Cleopatra, written by William Shakespeare, there is a sharp contrast between the Roman and Egyptian worlds. By evaluating the aspects of conflict between these cultures it will demonstrate that Antony and Cleopatra are victims of their circumstances. The extreme conflict of...

The Impossibility to Live Without Love in Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is often referred to as “one of the greatest plays of all time.” This work of art can be used to teach many people the play’s many valuable lessons that are all-encompassing. Within the story, Romeo, a Montage, and Juliet, a...

The Connection Behind Tom Stoppard's Play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (also known as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) by Tom Stoppard is an existential, absurdist tragicomedy which was first staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966. The play expands on two minor characters from Shakespeare’s classic play Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern....

The Composition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

The works of Stoppard are saturated with a huge number of allusions, quotations and citations both in the original language (Shakespearean English, French, Latin, Ancient Greek), and in translation. This intertextual material can lead the reader to decipher the author's idea, expanding the context of...

The Themes of Tension and Despair in Sophocles' Antigone

Antigone is convinced that she will be obeying the law of the gods by burying her brother, Polyneices, in honor, although against the command of King Creon. Antigone decides to disobey the King’s decree of leaving her brother’s body to rot, after he is killed...

Power, Fate, and Gender Roles Through the Eyes of Sophocles 

The Golden Age was a distinctive period that brought up innovations of architecture, art, philosophy, and literature, all of which turned Greece into what it is today. By examining the work of famous playwright Sophocles, one can envision what life was like in Athens, Greece....

Power, Hubris, and Hamartia in Sophocles 's Antigone

Lord Acton, a well-known British historian, writer, and politician, resonated the repercussions of power and dominance by stating that 'All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Moreell, 'Power Corrupts'). This is just one of the themes covered in Sophocles 's Antigone. Within this...

Accepting Change Or Holding Onto Traditions In Things Fall Apart.

Is change always positive or is it negative, and can it hurt societies? The Author of the book, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe exposes different reactions to people and change. Things Fall Apart is based in an Igbo village in Nigeria in the late 1800s...

The Suffering and Tragedy of Character of Ophelia in Hamlet

Introduction Hamlet life was affected by the series of events especially his personality. Hamlet went in the course of hard time through the passing away of his member of the clergy (Erikson, pg, 5). In a month afterward, he goes in the course of another...

Controlling the Chaos - Fun Home: A Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

What aspects can define what Popular Literature is? How is control a crucial aspect of Popular Literature? Popular literature is intended for large audiences and requires a certain level of engagement and entertainment. It is accompanied by many different aspects that can help showcase a...

Medea - a Princess in Ancient Greek Mythology

The most intriguing part of a Greek tragedy is the involvement of a tragic hero, which consistently draws in a greater group of spectators and excites their feelings. A tragic hero is an honorable or imperial character whose pain is brought about by his own...

The Set of Rules as a Foundation of the Tragedy Genre

Since the beginning of human life, storytelling has developed and progressed though time, however many ancient techniques, styles and genres have remained popular and used ever since their creation, despite that changes it has experienced. One of the most famous of these ancient genres being...

Presence of Elizabethan Tragedy in Shakespeare's Macbeth

The tragedy of “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, was written in the early 1600s. Many people debate whether this play is an Aristotelian tragedy or an Elizabethan tragedy. The main components that are included within an Aristotelian tragedy involve, fate and free will impacting the character’s...

The Interpretation of Tragedy Through the Decades

Tragedy plays have always been a massive part of drama’s history and upbringing, since the Grecian times these styles of plays have become a massive influence into many of the famous playwrights work for whom in which we know of today. Most tragedy plays want...

The Salem Witch Trials: Horrific Tragedy of Injustice

“During the colonial period, nearly three hundred women were accused by their neighbors of performing witchcraft. Although those accusations spanned approximately the first century of English settlement in North America, about half were voiced during one ten-month period in 1692.” (Salem Witchcraft Trials). In 1962...

Romeo and Juliet: Tragic Tale of Ill-Starred Lovers

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, develops around the ill-fated love affair between Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, the children of two feuding families in Verona, Italy. The play is set in the era of the Renaissance, which is prominently shown...

Macbeth: The Power of Influence and Manipulation

Life Changing Decisions The definition of influence is the power to have an important effect on someone or something. Guilt is a feeling that can haunt the conscience, make one feel excessive remorse and in extreme conditions suffer from mental health issues. The play Macbeth,...

Generational Struggles of African-Americans in Fences

Fences successfully depicts the strenuous life of one African-American family during the 1950s and 1960s. This moving play is impactful because the playwright August Wilson uses tragedy to facilitate his message and example of how one family, after generations of failure, achieve success despite racial...

Greek Drama As Moral And Religious Debate

Greek tragedies were not timeless. They were cultural artifacts embedded in society and time in which they were created. They were understandable through cultural filters and also had resonance of other societies because they articulated rich, multi-layered polysemic meanings. Greek religion did not have a...

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