ELEMENT OF TRAGEDY KEATS MILLER
Justice and injustice. Is the world depicted as a Isabella or The Pot of Basil “Pop! I’m a dime a dozen and so are you!”
just place? Do the characters deserve their
- Biff to Willy, shows the injustice of
suffering? Do any characters escape punishment?
capitalist society. Dehumanising, people
- “The guerdon of their murder they had
are only respected on the basis of the
got and so left in a moment’s space”
monetary value they bring to a company
- “With blood upon their heads…”
- Leitmotif of money/business even in
- “brother’s bloody knife” meaningful and emotional scenes shows
the emotional repression in the Loman
- “once proud quivered loins did melt” family which they are forced to
- The brothers caused immense suffering perpetuate in order to stay afloat
(both physical and psychological) to the
lovers. By the end of the poem, it is clear
that they are going through immense “I don't say he's a great man. Willie Loman never
psychological turmoil so in that sense made a lot of money.”
justice is achieved. However, they do
- Injustice as Willy, a symbol for the
escape blame.
average man in American society, slaved
- Lorenzo and Isabella did not deserve what away his entire life for minimal gain
they went through therefore in that sense
- In the Aristotelian sense, justice is served
it is an injustice. It may be argued that due
as Willy attempts to overstep his social
to their societal ignorance and naivety
status by pretending something he is not.
they overstepped the social norms
He was never a successful businessman so
therefore to some extent deserved their
it could be argued his death was deserved
“punishment”.
and not tragic. However, Miller believes
Death of a Salesman depicts “the common
man”
,La Belle Dame sans Merci
- “O what can ail thee knight at arms” “(as the car speeds off, the music crashes down in
a frenzy of sound)”
- “O” is a lament, shows a grave mental
state (introduces immediate tone of - Music as a leitmotif in the absurdist piece
suffering) for Willy’s memories. This stark contrast
to the “gay” and “happy” music previously
- “So here I sojourn…Alone and palely
mentioned shows Willy’s depleting
loitering”, injustice as the Knight - one
mindset
who should have been destined for
success - faces a tragic downfall. - His death in itself is an injustice as he did
Reiterates a sense of being incomplete, nothing wrong to deserve it, or the
like Isabella. Reiterates the sense of emotional turmoil that preceded it. He
suffering. Present tense, no closure for merely wanted to be a successful
the Knight. He is stuck in a continual, businessman, idolising figures like Dave
never-ending state of suffering (a liminal Singleman, so his suicide is as a result of
state between life and death, a purgatory) the flawed philosophy of his time
- La Belle Dame never faces a consequence
for her actions, unlike traditional tragic
nemeses. The cyclical structure (“and no
birds sing”) shows inevitability of injustice
in society.
“The Eve of St Agnes”
- “Young Porphyro with heart on fire”,
unjust as he is young, innocent. Perhaps
Keats may be arguing that oftentimes
negative fates befall those that are naive.
Erotic imagery implies he is lusty, perhaps
, suggesting their going out into the storm
is a deserved end. Porphyro = purple, the
colour of lust and sensuality.
- “These lovers fled away into the storm”;
potent reminders to nature and its
inevitability reiterates this sense of poetic
justice.
- Alternatively, the ending is left open (not
definitive), perhaps showing that by going
into the “real world” their rose-tinted
view of life is hindered. Therefore, we as
readers are unable to come to the
conclusion as to whether justice is served.
However, judging by the familiar tragic
narrative Keats utilises, it is clear to
assume they face abrupt demise.
Lamia
- “Like a stooped falcon ere he takes his
prey”. Predatory imagery in relation to
Hermes shows that those in power never
have to face reality, thus are able to bask
in their imaginations without
consequence.
- “Frightful scream”: Lamia’s death is a lot
more grotesque than Lycius’. This implies
that perhaps, in the poetic sense, justice is
, served. This is because Lamia is technically
the nemesis, considering she causes
Lycius to overstep the worldly boundaries.
- “The bald head philosopher… brow-
beating her fair form”. Plosive bs create a
sense of animosity. Portrays Apollonius as
the villain. In reality, he acts as an agent of
justice. Keats presents him as evil as he
represents the truth, logic.
Hope and hopelessness. Does the tragedy offer Isabella or The Pot of Basil “I’m tired to the death.”
any hope at all, or present love/dream in a
- Spoken by Willy in the first scene. It is
positive light? Or is it all negative?
foreboding, with an ominous undertone
- “Oh Melancholy, turn thine eyes away.”
thus creating a hopeless undertone.
- “Two zephyrs by the wind blown apart Reiterating that Willy will die, and
only to meet again…” subsequent hints at it later in the piece,
create a sense of hopelessness as we
- “even bees, the little almsmen of spring know he is destined to die prematurely.
bowers, know there is sweetest juice in
poison flowers” - Alternatively, creates a sense of
inescapability, that those who work under
- “Hope’s accursed bands” capitalism are drained of energy and
- The tragedy has some hope at times but individuality. They are demoted to being
the morbid undertone of the narrative “a salesman”. Thus, Willy Loman could be
gives a sense of hopelessness said to act as a symbol for the average
man.
- Zephyrs quote is quite ironic, creates a
sense of hope but they are by the end
reunited in a metaphysical manner “Don’t say? Tell you a secret, boys. Don’t breathe
- This shows Keats’ negative view on life, it to a soul. Someday I’ll have my own business,
