An Evolution of Tragedy
An “imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and has sufficient size, in a language that is made sweet…exciting pity and fear, bringing about a catharsis of such emotions,” is now Aristotle defined tragedy (trans. Gudeman). Basic Greek tragedies, like Sophocles’ Antigone, have transformed through the centuries. Shakespeare’s King Lear displays a blatant evolution of character, theme, and plot structure. This, in turn, caused a revolution in the genre, providing a new audience with new interests and economic stature. More complex standards were set for tragedies to come. In Antigone Sophocles created a story lacking complexity for the most part. This left the audience to simply experience the play and not have to do much contemplation along the way. There was no sub-plot in Antigone, which also aids in the simplicity of this piece. This provides a basic example of works from this time period. King Lear has a more intricate plot than that of Antigone. The main plotline of the story involves a king named Lear who banished his daughter Cordelia. Lear also has two other daughters, Regan and Goneril, who have split his former kingdom. Their marriages to Cornwall and Albany diverge into their own subplot, if you will, but th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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