What makes the glass menagerie a tragedy

At first glance it is clear that audiences today may, indeed, class it as such. However, if, looking at the traditional definition of the classification ' tragedy ', one can more easily assess whether or not the Glass Menagerie fits under this title. To do this I will be using the views of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, who first defined the word 'tragedy' and in his views, a tragedy contained certain, distinctive characteristics.

His work was written in between and BC, and his views were taken on by some of the more traditional …show more content… Laura, whose situation appears to be most serious, is crippled so she is physically disabled, but the shyness this causes also leads her to become psychologically malfunctioned.

These people's situations are, indeed, very serious. Aristotle then goes on to argue that a tragedy must 'excite the emotions of pity and fear. Even though we sometimes laugh at Amanda, William's himself puts forward that there is 'as much to love and pity' which reminds us that her situation could, indeed, happen to anyone.

Tom's world is filled with ideas of escape, mainly through adventure and war, but he is unaware of the horrendous World War that is impending. We fear that we too, longing for adventure and change, may be on the edge of the unknown. We do, also, pity Tom somewhat, as we understand his desire to be released from his overbearing mother's grip, and the burden of his family.

In Laura's case we do, indeed, feel great pity for her. We are aware that she has the potential to be beautiful, as suggested in the quotation 'a fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out' and yet we know that it will not be lasting. Her hopes and dreams will be ruined; not only by Jim's desertion, and also that she is physically disabled.

We pity her and fear that her situation could indeed, happen to us. On the above. Get Access. In his play The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare utilized worldwide influences and weaved them into his piece to produce his own spinoff of the story. It is evident that the piece that pride, betrayal, and fate are the prime thematic topics, but Shakespeare blurs the line between the allusion of a life full of fortune, and the reality of the burdens that come with life.

However, many sections of MacBeth do not describe a tragic hero, but merely a villain or a lord who is overly ambitious and pays the consequences for his actions. MacBeth is a tragedy that challenges the very foundations of that genre, set by Aristotle and Plato in the third century B.

It is his strong emphasis on certain elements that prove his case. The final tragic moment in the story serves as an inevitable consequence of character flaws. Additionally, he uses all the conventions and themes of a revenge tragedy that where extremely popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era and present in The Spanish Tragedy. But Shakespeare moves well beyond the usual revenge tragedy form in this play. Hamlet became a play were the themes are complicates and the psychology of its models is deepened.

Irwin, B. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie as a Tragedy The Glass Menagerie has, of course, been labelled as many different types of play, for one, a tragedy. At first glance it is clear that audiences today may, indeed, class it as such.

However, if, looking at the traditional definition of the classification 'tragedy', one can more easily assess whether or not the Glass Menagerie fits under this title. To do this I will be using the views of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, who first defined the word 'tragedy' and in his views, a tragedy contained certain, distinctive characteristics. His work was written in between and BC, and his views were taken on by some of the more traditional playwrights, such as William Shakespeare.

As I develop through this essay, it will be clear to see how Shakespeare's tragedies indeed fit into Aristotle's definitions. To begin with, in order for a play to be a tragedy, it must involve 'an action that is serious' Aristotle argues. I believe that, in relation to the Glass Menagerie, it is certainly one that William's has used, as the whole situation that the Wingfields find themselves in does appear to be very serious indeed. Unlike the other characters and many people of the time, Tom fulfils his dream of freedom and total independence.

Tom was ironically described as a "selfish dreamer" by Amanda, selfish yes; but a dreamer no. Want to read the rest? Sign up to view the whole essay and download the PDF for anytime access on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

Don't have an account yet? Create one now! Already have an account? Log in now! JavaScript seem to be disabled in your browser. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website.

Join over 1. Page 1. Save View my saved documents Submit similar document. Share this Facebook. How has Tragedy been depicted throughout The Glass Menagerie? Extracts from this document Introduction How has Tragedy been depicted throughout the play? Middle With this dwelling on him Tom finds it difficult to get on with his life.

The above preview is unformatted text. Found what you're looking for? Not the one? Search for your essay title Brick says that 'Mendacity is a system we live in.