In response to my slide on Aristotle's components for Greek Tragedy a student said, "Hey, we should make our own tragedy!" Really?
Aristotle wrote that tragedy included plot, characters, thought, diction, spectacle, and melody. My initial thought was, Ugh...High School Musical. Zach Efron, saccharin smiles, and bubbly enthusiasm are just not my speed.
But now I'm thinking, Humm...High School Musical with class, style, depth...tragedy. I used to joke with parents at open house that there was no more perfect piece of literature for 9th grade than Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. But a real contemporary tragedy could be perfect for 12th graders in AP Lit.
Can we create hamartia, hubris, and catharsis of our own? Suggestions for spectacle and melody sparked great discussion, but could we pull it off? How long would it take? Would it really work? We may not know until we try.
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