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Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

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Is Death of a Salesman a Greek tragedy according to Aristotle?

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Death of a Salesman is not a Greek Tragedy, according to Aristotle.

Basically, a Greek tragedy is about a prosperous, renowned character bringing about his own downfall through a fatal flaw. Willy Loman is not prosperous or renowned, and you could argue whether he has a fatal flaw or suffers from clinical depression. 

In Poetics, which you can read more about on eNotes here, Aristotle said that a proper tragedy must have six elements: Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, and Melody, and then he went on to define details of these six elements.

Plot: Aristotle said that the plot should at least have a "change of fortune," or catastrophe. Fortune refers to fate. Willy Loman's fortune doesn't change in the plot of Death of a Salesman. At the beginning he is poor and depressed, and at the end he is poor and depressed (and dead.)

Characters: According to...

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Aristotle, the main character should be renowned and prosperous, so his reversal of fortune can be from good to bad, and the change should come about from a frailty in character, or character flaw. Willy Loman, though he wishes to be "well-liked," is not, as evidenced by the poor turn-out at his funeral. He certainly isn't prosperous.

Aristotle doesn't explain much about the third element, Thought, but Death of a Salesman seems thoughtful enough.

However, in the fourth element, Diction, Aristotle expects a 'good command of metaphor.' There are several excellent metaphors at work in Death of a Salesman, such as stockings symbolizing Willy's guilt over his extramarital affair.

Next is Melody. Aristotle's Greek tragedy should have a fully-integrated Chorus. Death of a Salesman has no chorus.

Aristotle also mentions Spectacle, but he prefers for a play to not rely too heavily on spectacle. When you read the stage directions, you can see that Miller uses a lot of lighting and other effects to enhance dream sequences and create a mood of pity and terror.

Finally, the tragedy should end in catharsis, or the purging of emotion. This catharsis should leave the audience with a feeling of pleasure. While sad and pathetic, Death of a Salesman has never left me personally with a catharsis or a feeling of pleasure. You may have a different response.

Overall, however, Death of a Salesman does not fit the definition of a Greek tragedy according to Aristotle. 

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How does Aristotle's concept of tragedy relate to Death of a Salesman?

Miller himself discussed how his definition of tragedy differs from Aristotle's in his article "Tragedy and the Common Man" ; the link is listed below.  In this famous article, Miller defined the tragic hero as one who refuses to remain passive as he attempts to achieve his rightful place in the universe.  This refusal, Miller contends, is what Aristotle called a flaw, but in actually is an inability to compromise one's integrity or vision.  You might give the article a look, and see how well Willy Loman fits Miller's own definition of a tragic hero and how well he fits Aristotle's.

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