‘In tragic literature when characters die, their
deaths are always met with sadness.ʼ To what
extent do you agree with this view in relation to
two texts you have studied?
‘In tragic literature when characters die, their deaths are always met with sadness.ʼ To what
extent do you agree with this view in relation to two texts you have studied? Remember to
include in your answer relevant comment on the ways the writers have shaped meanings. [25
marks]
In Aristotleʼs Poetics, Aristotle stated that the death of a tragic hero should evoke feelings of
“pity and fear”, defined in the term catharsis. However, for some readers and audiences the pity
and fear may translate into the emotion of sadness not for just the tragic hero but all characters
who die. In this essay I will therefore discuss to what extent ‘when characters die, their deaths
are always met with sadnessʼ in Tess of DʼUrbervilleʼs and Death of a Salesman.
In Tess of DʼUrbervilles, the paradox of the sadness felt by the audience which contrasts the
pragmatism of nature causes the sadness felt towards Tessʼs death to be exaggerated. As the
“black flag” is raised to mark the death of Tess the birds eye view the reader receives of the
natural world juxtaposes the private personal tragedy of Tessʼs death with the indifferent of the
landscape. Through this Tessʼs death not only seems sad due to it acting like a quiet tragedy
but due to its relatability. Unlike Princeʼs death which is weighted heavily through the scientific
language describing how Tess was sprayed from “face to skirt in drops of crimson blood”,
where the blood fell to form “coagulation of iridescence” in a “pool of blood”, the
inconsequential depiction of Tessʼs death adds an existentialist tone to the novel. Hardy
presents a portrait of how little an individualʼs death truly matters in the grand scheme of fate
and the universe, with only the “shrunken heads” of Angel and Liza-Lu being the single change
in the locale. The critic Shires stated that due to this “the ending lacks catharsis”, however the
immense disillusionment and sadness evoked by the death makes the ending liable to
interpretation. Yet Tessʼs death after we have followed for pages in the bildungsroman narrative
and “fallen in love with her” (like Hardy stated) watching over “her like a stricken father” causes
the reader to feel immense sadness at her death.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy Lomanʼs death as an ‘every-manʼ figure holds a similar aspect of
existential dread and sadness at how little a human life matters. It is the lack of sadness
however in the play which causes the audience to feel more sadness to Willyʼs death. The
continuous exaggerated statements of “my funeral will be massive” and admiration for Dave
Singleman who had thousands at his funeral all seem to become meaningless as only Biff,
Happy, Linda, Charley, and Bernard are present at Willyʼs funeral, with Linda even being unable
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