American Literature

Based on the definition of tragedy as given by Aristotle, then the drama Death of a Salesman is definitely a tragedy.  Throughout this analysis, the reader will see how the Arthur Millers drama, Death of a Salesman fits into each of the six categories that Aristotle defines as being pertinent to the concept of a dramatic tragedy.  There are critics who do not believe that any type of modern drama can be defined as tragedy.  They believe that dramas written at the time and after Ibsen and the abandonment of romanticism lack many of the important parts that make a classic tragedy (Gassner 3).  This essay will show not only how Millers Death of a Salesman can be defined as a tragedy, but how those critics who no longer believe there is any tragic drama created have taken the concepts of Aristotle out of context, and that even Aristotle would acknowledge as much (Lee 237 Martin 98 Schipper 534).

The first thing one must do is to define Aristotles view of tragedy.  From the definitions then the reader can follow with the analysis of the drama against the definition.  Aristotle defines tragedy in the following 

Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play in the form of action, not of narrative through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions (Poetics 1.6). 

This was only the beginning of the definition (Martin 99).  He takes the above definition then categorizes the definition on six levels. It is within these six levels that the essay will show the drama Death of a Salesman to be a tragedy as based on the definition of Aristotle.

The first level of the definition is the plot of the drama (Martin 99 Poetics 1.7 Schipper 534).  For Aristotle this meant four things.  The first is that the plot must be whole with a beginning, a middle, and an end. In regards to Death of a Salesman, this factor is met (Poetics1.7). For Aristotle the dramatic tragedy must adhere to these and neither begins nor ends indiscriminately.  In this the drama begins with the main character Willy Loman admits to himself that he is at the end of his career.  He follows that acceptance with the realization that his family deserves better than he can provide, thereby resolving to commit suicide.  The end of the drama allows each of the secondary characters to give their understandings of the situation and the actions of Willy Loman, thereby giving not only Willy his last words, but those that the events have affected. 

The second level of the plot is the unity or completeness of the plot in which each event leads to the next event ending in the tragedy but must also incorporate fear or pity (Poetics 1.8). The drama, Death of a Salesman incorporates a bit of fear with a lot of pity.  The audience is given the idea that Willy Loman has tried to commit suicide before the current moment, which lend just a hint of fear that he may try again.  However, it is the emotion of pity as the audience watches Willy move between reality and memories feels and understand the best in relation to this character.

The third part of Aristotle plot division is the magnitude and order of the plot (Poetics 1.7).  Aristotle meant that the dramas length must be of a certain length so as not to rush to the climax, but that it must also be in the right tone and mood for the drama to be seen as tragic.  Death of a Salesman has a very defeated type of mood as well as the frame of mind that people do no live up to the expectations of others.  This mood gives the right feel.  The length of the drama is appropriate in that the audience not only sees the current life, but many of the events that have led to the character of Willy that is currently portrayed.

The last level of the plot is the concept of simple or complex plot (Poetics 1.10).  In a simple plot, the story should move forward but only a change in fortune takes place (Poetics 1.10). A complex, which best describes Death of a Salesman, is one that has reversal and the recognition as part of the story line (Poetics 1.10).  In the case of Millers drama, the reversal is the fact that Willy was never the successful salesman that he claimed to be to his family.  The recognition was his final acceptance that he would not live up to his own expectations, but he could die and give his family a better chance at life. 

After understanding the plot, one must consider Aristotles second category, which is character.  In this level, Aristotle meant that the main character or the tragic character will cause their own downfall (Poetics 2.13). In this sense, then Willy Loman is definitely a tragic hero. Instead of being honest with himself and other, he tells them how many of his clients like him and how well he is doing in sales.  When in reality, he is not well liked and is not doing that well (Schipper 535).  This is emphasized in the requiem of the drama when Linda asks Why didnt anybody come It would seem that she wanted to believe that he had the friends he told her, but she knew deep down that he was exaggerating.  Another example is when Biff states that his father had the wrong dreams and that he never knew who he was (Miller, Requiem). Willy knew what he was, but he was trying to be someone he was not.  He believed that he needed to be in sales to be a success, but in reality it was this ignoring of his true identity that allowed for Willy to make the resolution of suicide to take care of his family (Martin 100).  In this sense, then, Miller portrayed his main character in the way that Aristotle had defined. 

The third factor is the thought.  For Aristotle this meant that one can see what kind of things a man chooses or avoids (Poetics 1.7).  However, it also means the themes and rhetoric of the character (Poetics 2.19).  For Death of a Salesman one can see the first idea quiet easily.  Within the living memories of Willy Loman, the audience can see why he made certain decisions and what events led to outcomes that can only be understood in the current moment of the drama. In the second instance the theme of the play is understood in several ways, such as knowing who one is, or being true to yourself and your family.  Both of these themes are carried throughout the drama and thereby satisfy this third category of Aristotles definition. 

Diction follows thought in that it is the description of the use of words in a tragedy (Poetics 3.22).  In this sense, then the memories in which Willy interacts is the use of words that are incorporated and lend themselves to flow within the genre of tragedy.  They are not used in the normal everyday occurrence, but in flashbacks, and in mental breaks that Willy seems to have throughout the drama, up until he commits suicide. 

The song or melody of the drama is the fifth category, and to Aristotle it should be an integral part of the whole (Poetics 2.18).  For Death of a Salesman, Miller used the Requiem of the play as the chorus, in which it brings all the lose ends together and ties them up neatly, which also is part of the category of the plot in which the end is not concluded randomly (Martin 103.  The Requiem allows everyone to have their say and to express their feelings as to the life and final death of Willy Loman. 
The last category of the tragedy definition is the spectacle, which is not so much a part of the drama itself, but is a factor that is associated with the way in which the drama is portrayed on stage.  For Death of a Salesman this part of the spectacle could be understood by the set up of the stage, the fact that the kitchen is the central part of the house, and is also symbolizing the heart of the family.  The living room is not ever seen, but the bedrooms of the boys and Willy and Linda are included.  It is these main areas that are central to the lives of the characters especially Willy and the reasoning behind his decisions.  The other main scene is the hotel where Biff realizes that his father is having an affair for this scene is a major factor in Biffs life.  However, the spectacle is more than the stage set up either.  It also includes the actors and directors and the feeling that the actors and actresses portray in the drama during production.  As pertaining to Aristotles definition, the spectacle can not be met by the drama itself, but by the production company and is therefore not applicable to this discussion.

When taking into account the drama and the definition as explained by Aristotle it would seem that Arthur Miller definitely created a tragedy, but there are those who do not view it thus.  For example in the article The Possibilities and Perils of Modern Tragedy it is assumed that while the story line may be dynamic the language limps behind the action and limits its tragic resonance (Gassner 4).  It is also stated that the use of psychology, sociology and science to explain the moods and changes within the human disallows for the concept of tragedy to be part of the dramatic theater (Gassner 4-5).  These are but two of the many examples that are being used against the modern drama.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are critics that believe the drama to be a tragedy.  In fact, it has been assumed that Willy is a tragic victim in that he believes it is necessary to sacrifice his life in order to provide for his son (Martin 103).  Another fact is that many critics and even Aristotle do not defining the tragedy in terms of eternity, but in terms of his own time (Gassner 7 Lee 237).  The true sense of the tragedy is in the six categories that are apparent to tragedies and not to the specific types of tragedies written in a particular time frame.  Based on this Death of a Salesman is not only a tragedy, but one of the best written tragedies of the 20th Century and into the modern times.