The term, tragedy, by dictionary definition, can be defined as "A story with a sad or unhappy ending." (Arthur Miller, Tragedy and the Common Man). Although there is some truth to this, the true definition of tragedy goes much deeper. The notion of tragedy has been a part of English literature since the beginning of the Classical times. Tragedy is available in almost all literary forms, such as, novels, play wrights, film, etc. Shakespeare, for …showed first 75 words of 2223 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2223 total…aspects which are contained in every true tragedy is the tragic hero, the hero's tragic flaw, and the catharsis. This becomes evident through comparing and contrasting William Shakespeare's, Hamlet, with Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman. It is these features which allow tragedy to appeal to audiences today, just as much as they did hundreds of years ago. Tragedies have been popular for centuries and they will continue to be popular for centuries to come.