The form of a possible good rises up from under
the actual evil. The story of oppression becomes the praise of freedom;
the picture of death, a vision of life. I know of no finer example of
this in all literature than Sophocles' _Ajax_. Ajax has offended
Athena, so he, the hero of the Grecian host, is seized with the mad
desire to do battle with cattle and sheep. In lucid intervals he laments
to his wife the shameful fate which has befallen him. How glorious his
former prowess appears lost in so ridiculous a counterfeit! And his
despair creates its magic.
In almost all so-called tragedies, true tragedy and pathos are
intermingled; for we feel both pity and admiration, and the pity
intensifies the admiration. The danger that threatens or the disaster
that overwhelms the values which the hero embodies make us realize
their worth the more. Throughout the _Antigone_ we admire the
heroine's tragic courage of devotion; but it is at the point when,
just before her death, she laments her youth and beauty that shall go
fruitless--
Alechron, anymenaion, oute ton gamon
mepos lachousan oute paideion tpophaes
that we feel the fullness of strength that was needed for the sacrifice.
One might perhaps think this lament a blemish of weakness in a picture
of fortitude; but the impression is just the opposite, I believe; for
force is measured by what it overcomes.
There are so many different theories of tragedy that it would be
impossible, were it worth while, to embark on a criticism of all of
them.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126