Upon reading the Wikipedia article on "tragedy," the most riveting concept that I came across was the paradoxical phenomenon of tragedy.
The concept of literary tragedy is paradoxical because from reading about/watching others experience pain, and experiencing feelings of sorrow as well, humans feel pleasure.
It's strange to consider that humans intentionally put themselves through and enjoy an emotional experience other than happiness, or humor.
An overall theme of the human enjoyment of tragedy is catharsis. Catharsis, a very strange concept, is defined as the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or painful emotions. What is it about tragic works of literature, drama, or art that causes catharsis, and what makes catharsis pleasurable? Is the enjoyment of tragedy through catharsis an unconscious mental flexibility? Do humans, like cats chasing fake mice, construct situations for ourselves to exercise our emotional instincts, as opposed to a cats' hunting instincts? After all, why do humans watch plays or read fiction, tragic or not?
Something I could not understand about tragedy are its implications about human nature. Does that fact that humans can be obsessed with the suffering of other fictional humans reveal that humans are extremely empathetic creatures, or that they are innately sadistic?
I personally am clinging onto the hope that humans are empathetic. Perhaps people can relate to the pain of the fictional characters, and therefore enjoy reading about/watching it. Perhaps they enjoy the tragedy, as it is happening to other people, but not them. Either way, I have hope.
As we study tragedy further, I hope that tragedy's revelations of human nature will become clearer to me. I'm looking forward to reading Oedipus and Antigone. My acting teacher told me I would play a good Antigone.
Is this comparison a tragic one?
One can only hope so. Or not.
Until the next blog,
Mia
The concept of literary tragedy is paradoxical because from reading about/watching others experience pain, and experiencing feelings of sorrow as well, humans feel pleasure.
It's strange to consider that humans intentionally put themselves through and enjoy an emotional experience other than happiness, or humor.
An overall theme of the human enjoyment of tragedy is catharsis. Catharsis, a very strange concept, is defined as the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or painful emotions. What is it about tragic works of literature, drama, or art that causes catharsis, and what makes catharsis pleasurable? Is the enjoyment of tragedy through catharsis an unconscious mental flexibility? Do humans, like cats chasing fake mice, construct situations for ourselves to exercise our emotional instincts, as opposed to a cats' hunting instincts? After all, why do humans watch plays or read fiction, tragic or not?
Something I could not understand about tragedy are its implications about human nature. Does that fact that humans can be obsessed with the suffering of other fictional humans reveal that humans are extremely empathetic creatures, or that they are innately sadistic?
I personally am clinging onto the hope that humans are empathetic. Perhaps people can relate to the pain of the fictional characters, and therefore enjoy reading about/watching it. Perhaps they enjoy the tragedy, as it is happening to other people, but not them. Either way, I have hope.
As we study tragedy further, I hope that tragedy's revelations of human nature will become clearer to me. I'm looking forward to reading Oedipus and Antigone. My acting teacher told me I would play a good Antigone.
Is this comparison a tragic one?
One can only hope so. Or not.
Until the next blog,
Mia