Gryphos
Auror
I've been thinking a lot recently about Tragedy and what it means in storytelling from a structural perspective, and this has had me develop an interesting way of looking at the relationship between a story's protagonist and antagonist.
The basic conceit of this line of thought is that a tragic plot is one in which the protagonist fails in their narrative goal (yes, I know the discourse surrounding what defines Tragedy is literally millennia old, but this is my definition and it works with what I'm about to discuss). This is as opposed to a ... regular plot? I don't know what to call it, one in which the protagonist succeeds in their goal. Seriously, someone needs to come up with a viable term for the inverse of a tragic plot (I know that comedy is classically the inverse, but nowadays the term 'comedy' is too closely tied to humour to have more general use).
But anyway, granting this definition, there are two types of stories, ones where the protagonist succeeds (regular plot) and ones where they fail (tragic plot). I propose that almost every story can be conceptualised as possessing both a regular and a tragic plot.
Everyone knows the saying: "a villain is the hero of their own story". I would expand upon this line of thinking to suggest that in most stories, the villain is the tragic hero, inasmuch as they usually fail in their goal. And in tragic stories, the villain is a, uh ... regular hero (seriously, we need a better term). In other words, the arcs of the protagonist and antagonist exist in negative correlation. If the protagonist succeeds, the antagonist fails, and vice versa.
I would take Othello to be a good example. What does the protagonist Othello want? What's his goal? I would argue, his fundamental goal, as established in the first scene, is simply to remain happily married to Desdemona. Iago's goal is to destroy that relationship. Othello, through the events of the narrative, fails, while Iago succeeds. It doesn't matter that Iago is apprehended in the end; he still succeeds in his original goal.
So what's the practical utility of this framework? I believe it enables you to create a more compelling villain if you conceptualise them as a tragic hero. Enormous fulfilment can be gained from constructing a story in which the outcome is brought about not only because of the protagonist's development, but also the antagonist's — a combination of the hero's learned virtue and the villain's tragic faults. To put it simply, try thinking of your story as containing two narratives instead of one.
Sorry if this was a bit rambling, but what do you guys think of this framework? Is there a benefit to building a villain as a tragic hero? And what the hell are you supposed to call a plot that isn't tragic?
The basic conceit of this line of thought is that a tragic plot is one in which the protagonist fails in their narrative goal (yes, I know the discourse surrounding what defines Tragedy is literally millennia old, but this is my definition and it works with what I'm about to discuss). This is as opposed to a ... regular plot? I don't know what to call it, one in which the protagonist succeeds in their goal. Seriously, someone needs to come up with a viable term for the inverse of a tragic plot (I know that comedy is classically the inverse, but nowadays the term 'comedy' is too closely tied to humour to have more general use).
But anyway, granting this definition, there are two types of stories, ones where the protagonist succeeds (regular plot) and ones where they fail (tragic plot). I propose that almost every story can be conceptualised as possessing both a regular and a tragic plot.
Everyone knows the saying: "a villain is the hero of their own story". I would expand upon this line of thinking to suggest that in most stories, the villain is the tragic hero, inasmuch as they usually fail in their goal. And in tragic stories, the villain is a, uh ... regular hero (seriously, we need a better term). In other words, the arcs of the protagonist and antagonist exist in negative correlation. If the protagonist succeeds, the antagonist fails, and vice versa.
I would take Othello to be a good example. What does the protagonist Othello want? What's his goal? I would argue, his fundamental goal, as established in the first scene, is simply to remain happily married to Desdemona. Iago's goal is to destroy that relationship. Othello, through the events of the narrative, fails, while Iago succeeds. It doesn't matter that Iago is apprehended in the end; he still succeeds in his original goal.
So what's the practical utility of this framework? I believe it enables you to create a more compelling villain if you conceptualise them as a tragic hero. Enormous fulfilment can be gained from constructing a story in which the outcome is brought about not only because of the protagonist's development, but also the antagonist's — a combination of the hero's learned virtue and the villain's tragic faults. To put it simply, try thinking of your story as containing two narratives instead of one.
Sorry if this was a bit rambling, but what do you guys think of this framework? Is there a benefit to building a villain as a tragic hero? And what the hell are you supposed to call a plot that isn't tragic?