The word 'tragedy' (or often in this day an age, just the word 'tragic') is thrown around pretty often, but usually in a more comical sense to describe inconveniences in life as opposed to more dramatic or serious events, as demonstrated by Kim Kardashian in this photo. Before I do any research on the definition of tragedy, I think that tragedy is when sad or unfortunate things happen to people who don't necessarily deserve. When I hear the word "tragedy," I think of events like natural disasters, shootings, and unexpected deaths such as by car accidents or due to cancer. As it seems that I view tragedy in a sense of real life events, how is tragedy portrayed in literature? By definition, Tragedy is "a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying pleasure in audiences." It originated in the theaters of ancient Greece and is found most prominently in novels, poems, drama, and short stories. The oldest surviving form of tragedy is called Athenian tragedy and involves a form of dance-drama that was important in the theatrical culture of Greece. Another popular form of tragedy is known as revenge play, where the protagonist seeks revenge for an injury either real or imagined. Hamlet is an example of a revenge tragedy. My understanding of tragedy is somewhat similar to the literary definition of tragedy in the sense that it involves human suffering. I think that it's interesting how we enjoy reading about tragic events happening to lovable protagonists in stories, because in real life situations we feel sympathy for those effected by tragedy. I did not know about revenge tragedy prior to researching it, and I find it interesting that there is a whole other sub-genre of tragedy that even stories I know of (well, just Hamlet really) are considered to be!
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