Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie as a Tragedy

Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie as a Tragedy

The Glass Menagerie has, of course, been labelled as many different

types of play, for one, a tragedy. At first glance it is clear that

audiences today may, indeed, class it as such. However, if, looking at

the traditional definition of the classification 'tragedy', one can

more easily assess whether or not the Glass Menagerie fits under this

title.

To do this I will be using the views of Aristotle, the Greek

philosopher, who first defined the word 'tragedy' and in his views, a

tragedy contained certain, distinctive characteristics. His work was

written in between 384 and 222 BC, and his views were taken on by some

of the more traditional playwrights, such as William Shakespeare. As I

develop through this essay, it will be clear to see how Shakespeare's

tragedies indeed fit into Aristotle's definitions.

To begin with, in order for a play to be a tragedy, it must involve

'an action that is serious' Aristotle argues. I believe that, in

relation to the Glass Menagerie, it is certainly one that William's

has used, as the whole situation that the Wingfields find themselves

in does appear to be very serious indeed. The world is looming upon

World War II, and America has hit the Great Depression. The whole of

the United States is stricken by poverty. Therefore, it is not only

the Wingfield family, but indeed all families, who are in this serious

situation.

To add a little more detailed analysis into the actual characters, I

would suggest that they each have their own very serious, almost

disturbing problems. To begin, Tom has an unnatural desire to escape,

and leave his famil...

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...e play. The whole of Amanda's existence is to find

a gentleman caller, through Tom, for her daughter. This is the main

point of the play, involving every character, and which, when not

accomplished, tears the family apart.

Therefore, I would argue that time, place and action of the play are

actually fairly united, even though it does not appear this way at

first.

After examining Aristotle's views I would define the play as tragedy.

Although the Glass Menagerie does not consist entirely of his views,

the main points are clearly there, as I have discussed, and

consequentially agree with the critic's argument.

Works Cited:

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. In Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 4th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. 1519-1568.