Exam Essay Prompt

According to a 2012 study conducted at Ohio State University, watching/reading tragedies causes audiences to feel better about themselves and about life in general.  This effect on audiences is essentially the same as the one that Aristotle observed centuries ago in his Poetics: “the soul of tragedy has a paradoxical ability to be uplifting, even exhilarating” (Baxter).

This optimistic response seems counter-intuitive.

Psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl offers this remark on tragic suffering: “I speak of … an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action” (Frankl).

Aristotle says in his Poetics that a tragedy ought to cause us to “leave the theater feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men” (“Aristotle on Tragedy”).  For more of Aristotle’s views on this: https://www.iep.utm.edu/aris-poe/#H3 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. 

Prompt: Consider the body of tragedies we have read this semester and discuss how it is possible to view them as tales that lead us as an audience to a sense of optimism about the human condition.  You do not need to comment specifically on all of the plays (in fact, you probably shouldn’t), but you should deal specifically with at least two (i.e. use them as examples in a substantive way).

You should plan to spend about forty minutes on this.