Tragedy and the Common Man

What is the name of the Essay?

Tragedy and the Common Man

Who is the author of the essay?

Arthur Miller

What purpose does the opening paragraph serve?

Arthur Miller questions why there are very few tragedies today

What reasons does Arthur Miller initially propose for the lack of tragedies?

1.) Low amount of heroes in modern society

2.) Science has stripped us of our ability to believe in heroes and replaced it with skepticism

3.) Our current view of tragedy is considered only for royalty

4.) concludes that it's because our definition of a tragic hero is archaic

What is the thesis statement?

"The common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were."

Arther Millers FIRST form of legitimation for his thesis?

Oedipus and Orestes complexes were enacted by kings but applied to the common man; if kings and the common man share the same complexes, then the common man can think like a king

Who was Oedipus?

a king who killed father and married his mother

Who was Orestes?

king who killed his mother and her lover because she killed his father

What does Arthur Miller argue noble status from Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero should be replaced with?

Rightful status

What does Arthur Miller mean by "rightful" status?

Where we see ourselves in society and how we attain it

What must the common man do to be worthy of Rightful status?

The common man who is unwilling to sit passively and is ready to die in order to secure their personal dignity

What are the two possible routes the common man can take to achieve their rightful status?

Could have achieved their rightful status previously and was displaced and is currently trying to reclaim it

OR

Is just starting their quest towards their rightful status and is yet to achieve it

tragedy derives from what underlying fear?

the fear of being displaced of our rightful status

What is a "flaw" according to Arthur Miller?

A person who refuses to sit passively when someone/something threatens their rightful status and is willing to fight to the death for it

Who is "flawless" according to Arthur Miller?

The passive lot who accept their place in society without retaliation

How does Arthur Miller argue rightful status is equivalent to noble status?

Fighting for our rightful status is just as noble as being a king

What does the sentence "The discovery of the moral law, which is what the enlightenment of tragedy consists of, is not the discovery of some abstract or metaphysical quantity" mean?

enlightenment of tragedy = discovery of the moral law

What does Arthur Miller mean when he states enlightenment of tragedy = discovery of the moral law?

During tragedies we learn of things in the world that keep the common man from achieving his rightful status, we as the audience can discover underlying problems in our society

In order to be tragic hero, they must suffer from both _______ and _________ problems

internal & external

What does Arthur Miller claim is the goal of any tragedy?

raise awareness to a problem in society

Why does Arthur Miller believe tragedies are more optimistic than comedies?

comedy makes you laugh at a character's shortcomings, tragedy makes you learn from them

What is the difference between pathos and a tragedy according to Arthur Miller?

Pathos indicates there is no chance of success, in order to be tragedy there must be a chance of success

why can the common man be a tragic hero?

-modern psychology, based on the kingly, is used to evaluate the common man

-both royalty and the common man have the same mental processes

- if tragedy were exclusive to royalty, it couldn't be universally appreciated and understood

-common men can have a fatal flaw that causes us to learn

-if rank were necessary, then tragedy would consist of the problems of only people with rank

-the common man knows the fear of being displaced best

-the most common man can take on the stature needed in his willingness to give up everything he has to secure his identity

-kings aren't relevant in our society today