Comparative Analysis of Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, Essays (high school) of English

Download Comparative Analysis of Tragedy: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and more Essays (high school) English in PDF only on Docsity! Manisa Celal Bayar University Department of English Language and Literature ING 1110 Classical Literature 2020-2021 Spring Final Exam (Due: 21 June 2021 17:00) “Modern critics have often conflated Aristophanes and Aristotle to produce a caricatured account of tragedy’s development. According to this conventional schema, Aeschylus was primitive, Sophocles the mature artist, while Euripides brought the genre into decline” (Rutherford 54) Explain the quotation and discuss the development of tragedy and its transformation in the light of it. Refer to the theoretical texts and plays covered in the class and give specific examples (thematic and technical) that support your exploration. (100 pts.) For modern critics like Aristophanes and Aristotle, tragedy needs to have some qualification that determines the quality of the work. While these features are portrayed perfectly in some works, in other works these features are radically changed or didn't fulfill expectations for tragedy. Aeschylus was considered primitive because his work provides our first look at tragedy. Yet, his plays lack some qualifications. He named his work Agamemnon, and he is the tragic character in the play, however, his lines are few and he enters the play quite late. He didn't define characters enough, and his complex language makes it hard to understand. Another thing about a tragic character is to need to be someone who is between good and bad, so when that character makes a mistake, readers feel pity towards the, however we can't say such a thing for Agamemnon because of his mistake caused by his hubris. Even though considered primitive, Aeschylus reduces the significance of the chorus and highlights the role of dialogue and tragedy evolved and refined until it reached the mature form in Sophocles' hands. Sophocles portrayed his tragic features perfectly in Oedipus the King. Characterization and plot incredibly successful in the play. The plot is so powerful it can be read as a primitive detective story. It includes incest, patricide along mystery. Also, characters