The Eternal Scenery In Changes

Tragedy, with its specific artistic charm and deep cognitive value, is praised as the highest from of poetical art and enjoys great concern for thousands of years. There are numerous philosophers, psychologists, writers and critics in history who have participated in the study of Tragedy. Among them the most important are Aristotle, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, whose deep insight in Tragedy exerts enormous influence upon later generations and provides far-reaching guiding significance for tragic study and creation. On the basis of the analysis of relevant theory and the application of socialhistorical approach, new ideas are put forward by the dissertation. A comparative study is made between Greek Tragedy, Shakespearean Tragedy and O'Neill's Tragedy, the representative writers with their works of the three generally acknowledged most important periods in the history of Tragedy from the aspects of the author, the text and the reader. By doing so, we aim to excavate the connotation of Tragedy and probe into the general character of Tragedy, expecting to make complements to tragic study from a new angle.In the first chapter, the dissertation inquires into the necessity of the author's tragic sense in the creation of Tragedy. The tragic sense, as an outlook of life, a kind of consciousness of crisis and suffering in times of peace and welfare, expresses the writer's penetrative acumen into the whole universe. "We are tragedy — the most appalling yet written or unwritten." (O'Neill) The tragic sense plays an indispensable role in the creation of Tragedy. Then, we make a further analysis of the different forms of expression of the tragic sense in tragicworks. It not only makes up fatalism and mysticism in Tragedy and fills tragic works with paradoxes, but also shows the consciousness and self-consciousness of man: the consciousness of self-fulfillment and the awareness of his own tragic situation — any truth is achieved at the high price of destruction.In Chapter Two, the focus of attention moves from the tragic sense of the author to the tragic conflict in the text. First of all, we have a survey of Hegel's theory of tragic conflict and point out that his tragic theory is in fact a special application of the law of the unity of opposites. To him, everything in the universe can be rationally explained or justified. Tragedy results from the conflict between two incompatible ethical powers and the final consequence is either destruction or reconciliation of the two sides. Hegel's theory of tragic conflict has far-reaching influence but he overlooks the part played by fate and the existence of irrational elements in Tragedy. So, through the analysis of Greek Tragedy, Shakespearean Tragedy and O'Neill's Tragedy, we propose a new idea of the tragic conflict: the tragic conflict is nothing else but the conflict between Man's Free Will and Fate. Fate, as a basic element in Tragedy, exists extensively in the ancient and modern tragedy. In Greek Tragedy, fate is reflected by the will of gods; in Shakespearean Tragedy, fate displays itself in chance occurrences, some supernatural power or the destruction of universal order; along with the development of science, the progress of the society and new discoveries in psychology and physiology, fate is shown in O'Neill's Tragedy as "internal psychological fatalism." However, no matter in what forms the powerful fate appears, it cannot deny the existence of man's free will. "The significant form", the conflict between man's free will and fate becomes the ideal aesthetic form ofthe exploration of the mystery of man and the recognition of the value and significance of his existence in the ancient as well as modern Tragedy.The reception theory of art tells us that the fulfillment of a work does not end with the author's finishing the text but with the involvement of the readers or audience. A complete investigation of the relationship between artistic works and the real society should attach importance to the participation of acceptors. Thus, in Cha...