"What is a Tragedy?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

[@SWLF]

This video now includes Spanish as well as English subtitles. For a full list of dual-language videos in our series, please see the following site: liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/oregon-state-guide-english-literary-terms

[@Khatoon170]

Tragedy comes from Greek word literary song of goat . Ancient Athens where tragedy was first performed on stage . Tragedy is branch of drama that treats in serious sorrowful or , terrible events encountered or caused by heroic individuals. Types of tragedy are complex made up of peripheral and anagnorisis , second tragedy of suffering, third tragedy of character , fourth tragedy or spectacle. Aristotle argued that tragedy cleansed heart through pity and terror, purging us of our petty concerns and worries by making us aware that can be nobility in suffering. Thank you for your wonderful educational literary channel.

[@hemalakshmi4250]

Some examples: Ancient Tragedy - Oedipus Rex, Antigone by Sophocles Medea by Euripides Medieval Tragedy - Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by William Shakespeare Modern Tragedy - Death of a Salesman, A view from the Bridge, The Misfits by Arthur Miller

[@SWLF]

Thanks for sharing these examples, Hema!

[@dessyyasmita383]

Love this explanation. I translated the explanation of the origin of 'tragedy' to be used in my literature workshop with link and "Oregon State University - School of Writing, Literature and Film' attached (mention) back here. Thanks for making the explanation easy to grab. That really helps on translating it, compare to other resources.

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much, Dessy! If you'd like to see the full transcripts of any of the videos, you can check out the following link, which contains all of them: liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/oregon-state-guide-english-literary-terms Into what language did you translate the video?

[@leetintary5710]

Thank you for adding dramatic terms to the list!

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much, Lee! Quite a few of the upcoming videos we have in our schedule will deal with dramatic terms, so stay tuned!

[@SWLF]

If you liked this video, let us know by dropping us a comment, asking a question, or sharing your favorite example of tragedy! Doing so will help to establish this comment section as a rich digital learning environment.

[@soarabhkashyapsoarabhkashy8790]

Thanks for guiding about tragedy

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much for your kind words, Soarabh! We hope you enjoy the other videos in our series as well.

[@shahrizodasidiqjanova6472]

My today's presentation

[@SWLF]

We hope the lesson proved helpful to you, Shahrizoda!

[@shahrizodasidiqjanova6472]

Yep it was very helpful . Btw loved her pronunciation and accuracy❤️

[@silas.karayel]

Thanks alot

[@SWLF]

We're happy you enjoyed it, Christopher!

[@tetzlaffjo]

So, waaaaaait. I spent this entire video waiting for Professor Bude to talk about Walter White-partly afraid she'd ruin my chance at commenting by bringing him up herself. In Breaking Bad, we have an average, middle-class man who goes desperately wrong, ostensibly pulled along by his fatal flaw-his ego, his need to provide for his family posthumously, his need to be *the best* meth maker there ever was. Am I right in thinking he's the tragic hero of our generation? (well, someone's generation). If so, what's his flaw? How do we know quite what the flaw is? And if not, why not? Also, if my day ends in disarray with all of my children crying themselves to sleep, is that a tragedy?

[@SWLF]

Yes! Breaking Bad is an EXCELLENT example of a modern tragedy: it concerns a middle-class protagonist, it is more than a little ironic at times, and it starts in order and ends in total disarray. We'd say if he isn't THE tragic hero of our generation, he's up there. And he isn't totally good or bad (at least until the very end). We agree that is fatal flaw is his ego--his sense that he and he alone can put the world to order. Thanks so much for pushing the conversation forward, Jodi! Here's hoping your bedtime tragedy turns into comedy!

[@athiramohang8601]

Thanks Mam for this💙 It's really good to understand 😊

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much for your kind words, Athira! We hope you enjoy the other videos in our series as well!

[@jihadanwarr]

Thank you!💛

[@SWLF]

You're very welcome, Gehad! Thanks so much for supporting the series.

[@Kk-rg4qb]

Thank you

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much, K! We hope you enjoy the other videos in our series as well!

[@suhainakhatun7255]

Thank you for this... And I really like the vdo

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much for supporting the series, Suhaina!

[@bellzawowza]

can't believe I've been saying 'hamarsha' all this time...

[@SWLF]

Ha! To be honest, we may have too until Prof. Bude clarified it for us!

[@hibavadakkan7016]

Thanyou Ma'am

[@SWLF]

Thanks, Hiba! We hope you enjoy the other videos in our series as well.

[@hibavadakkan7016]

Of course...I have subscribed your channel😍

[@MustyKuje-uu3nq]

Nice one lady

[@SWLF]

Thanks so much, @MustyKuje-uu3nq ! We hope you enjoy the other videos in our series as well!

[@OBrienmyers]

A tragedy is an accident that made someone suffer a lot before they die.

[@SWLF]

Thanks for the post, O'Brienmyers! That use of the term "tragedy"--as in something bad that happens to someone--is actually a metaphor that has lost its original meaning. In earlier moments, those real-life events were compared with the genre of tragedy in the metaphor--sort of like how people say "It was just like being in an action movie" when something exciting happens to a person. Now, that metaphor is "dead" and we just use the term in our everyday lives to mean bad thing.

[@lordronn472]

What is a tragedy: not passing an exam 😢😢😢

[@SWLF]

Ha! Well, if a lord fails, that might count as the fall of a great man...

[@lordronn472]

@@SWLF you’ve said it

[@212Romulus]

Yo ...camera man tell homegirl in the test shots to look at the camera...she is clearly looking at an off angle script smh ...for the level of production that's an oversight for sure

[@SWLF]

At the time this video was recorded, Oregon State's COVID restrictions prohibited anyone else from being in the recording room, so Prof. Bude recorded this all on her own. We'd say she did a great job under the circumstances.

[@GreaterLemon]

911

[@pghewrexham2704]

Nick gurr

[@benkruse5533]

I agree.

[@tygeburgess8769]

this video is a freakin' tragedy..

[@SWLF]

Ha! How so?