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I thought that this was a very useful essay pertaining to tragedy. I think that I learned a lot from it. It seemed to clarify some loose ends pertaining to tragedy, and allowed to me to have a clearer understanding of tragedy. The part that spoke to me the most was the following.
"essential thing which distinguishes real tragedy from those distressing modern works sometimes called by its name is the fact that it is in the former alone that the artist has found himself capable of considering and of making us consider that his people and his actions have that amplitude and importance which make them noble. Tragedy arises then when, as in Periclean Greece or Elizabethan England, a people fully aware of the calamities of life is nevertheless serenely confident of the greatness of man, whose mighty passions and supreme fortitude are revealed when one of these calamities overtakes him."
This describes how for a tragedy to be famous, it should, god forbid, actually mean something; as opposed to just some crap spewed out by a famous person who can claim that it is tragedy and people will just believe him. I think that this allows to to further examine tragedies, to see what they mean to us. What makes a tragedy have a lasting impact is the effect that the tragedy has on us. Not others, us. What's the point of just jumping on the bandwagon and because other people think a piece is incredible, we should too? It's like conforming to a political party or something like that. We need to have our own thoughts on tragedy and literature, and this is what will make it change us.
"essential thing which distinguishes real tragedy from those distressing modern works sometimes called by its name is the fact that it is in the former alone that the artist has found himself capable of considering and of making us consider that his people and his actions have that amplitude and importance which make them noble. Tragedy arises then when, as in Periclean Greece or Elizabethan England, a people fully aware of the calamities of life is nevertheless serenely confident of the greatness of man, whose mighty passions and supreme fortitude are revealed when one of these calamities overtakes him."
This describes how for a tragedy to be famous, it should, god forbid, actually mean something; as opposed to just some crap spewed out by a famous person who can claim that it is tragedy and people will just believe him. I think that this allows to to further examine tragedies, to see what they mean to us. What makes a tragedy have a lasting impact is the effect that the tragedy has on us. Not others, us. What's the point of just jumping on the bandwagon and because other people think a piece is incredible, we should too? It's like conforming to a political party or something like that. We need to have our own thoughts on tragedy and literature, and this is what will make it change us.