Joesph Krutch gave his definition of tragedy in his essay "The Tragic Fallacy" and it was a very interesting idea for tragedy.
He gives us everything he thinks tragedy is not. He disagrees with Aristotle's definition because he thinks true art cannot be defined as an imitation but an adaptation and the concept of nobility is too abstract. I do agree with this because everyone has their own ideas of everything. The reason that everyone loves tragedy is that they can find a connection with it. Tragedy wouldn't be as well loved if no one could relate to the characters or the story, just like any other genre.
Krutch continues on to tell us how we can relate to tragedy. Tragedy is not all about doom and gloom, but rather "an expression not of despair, but of the triumph over despair and of confidence in the value of human life." I really like this line. It tells us that yes tragedy is about human suffering but it also tells us that people are show passion, power, and perseverance to come out of their tragedies. Tragedies help us see what we are capable of.
The last point Krutch makes it that tragedies have a "happy ending'. This sounds awful but think about it. The characters don't necessarily have a happy ending, but the ending is always satisfactory for the audience. Think of Hamlet. Even though everyone dies (spoiler alert) Hamlet gets his revenge and the audience is satisfied with that. Krutch says:"We accept gladly the outward defeats which it describes for the sake of the inward victories which it reveals." The characters learn from their experiences and we love the meaningful endings.
He gives us everything he thinks tragedy is not. He disagrees with Aristotle's definition because he thinks true art cannot be defined as an imitation but an adaptation and the concept of nobility is too abstract. I do agree with this because everyone has their own ideas of everything. The reason that everyone loves tragedy is that they can find a connection with it. Tragedy wouldn't be as well loved if no one could relate to the characters or the story, just like any other genre.
Krutch continues on to tell us how we can relate to tragedy. Tragedy is not all about doom and gloom, but rather "an expression not of despair, but of the triumph over despair and of confidence in the value of human life." I really like this line. It tells us that yes tragedy is about human suffering but it also tells us that people are show passion, power, and perseverance to come out of their tragedies. Tragedies help us see what we are capable of.
The last point Krutch makes it that tragedies have a "happy ending'. This sounds awful but think about it. The characters don't necessarily have a happy ending, but the ending is always satisfactory for the audience. Think of Hamlet. Even though everyone dies (spoiler alert) Hamlet gets his revenge and the audience is satisfied with that. Krutch says:"We accept gladly the outward defeats which it describes for the sake of the inward victories which it reveals." The characters learn from their experiences and we love the meaningful endings.