Death of a Salesman- Aristotle

Outline of the paper

Research paper discusses the Miller's writing “Death of a student” as described by the Aristotle. In this paper I will discuss the complete review of the Aristotle description about the death of a salesman, and I will conclude it by giving the points that whether it is tragic or not.

Thesis Sentence

The main purpose of this thesis is to discuss the death of a salesman as described by Aristotle and to define that whether this statement or literature is a tragedy or not.

Introduction

Aristotle's Poetics defines the making of a dramatic or epic tragedy and presents the general principles of the construction of this genre. Surprisingly, over the centuries authors have remained remarkably close to Aristotle's guidelines. Arthur Miller's twentieth century tragedy Death of a Salesman is an example of this adherence to Aristotle's prescription for tragedy (Smith, 32). It is significant to test Aristotle's definition and requirements of tragedy by comparison and contrast, against a contemporary tragedy and to make observations with regard to what influence society and culture may have on the genre (Smith, 32). This discussion however, will be confined to the realm of plot and the more notable aspects of the construction of the incidents in tragedy because of the complexity of this element.

Discussion

In 350bc, Aristotle wrote Poetics, and in that discourse he defined the elements of a tragedy as compared to other plays like an Epic. According to Aristotle, “Every Tragedy…must have six parts, which parts determine its quality- namely, Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, and Song. (Miller, 109)” When Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, is compared to Aristotle's definitions for tragedy; we can indeed put it in the ranks of Aristotelian tragedy in more of a modern form. My senses tell me that a Greek tragedy played out in exacting 350BC Greek style would seem strange to the modern viewer (Miller, 109). The choric song, for example, would not suit modern tastes any more than three actors changing full head masks. Therefore I submit that, short of the modifications necessary to make a play interesting to a modern audience, Death of a Salesman indeed fits the spirit of Aristotelian tragedy in a modern style.

According to Aristotle, “Character holds the second place” in importance to a tragedy (Miller, 109). An ideal central character should be “that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty.”

The reason for this is clearly to “imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation (Miller, 1030).” In Willy we have such a man. He is imperfect, for he has weaknesses that the audience can relate with, but it is not those weaknesses that bring him down. He began as a great and successful man of prosperity, and ends with tragedy through error of judgment followed by the revelation that he is worth more dead than alive. In part fifteen ...