RESPONSE TO CLASSMATE POST:
The way we express tragedy today is an event that causes great sadness an example would be the loss of a loved one. We see and experience tragedy in our culture on a continual basis. The idea of a tragedy is associated with an event that causes an emotional strain on one's being.
The idea of Greek drama presents itself in two forms in Greek culture known as comedy and tragedy. The Comedy was marked by the smiling mask while tragedy was represented by a sad masked face (Babcock, 2011: pg. 3).The Greek drama was a very Philosophical in its approach to the audience as it brought the ideas of events to the theatre of that day.
Greek tragedy is related to how a hero is alienated from society in which one began in the center of that society (Babcock, 2011: pg. 8). The plot normally ends with the death of a hero during one's alienation. The idea of Greek tragedy is a breakdown of one being prominent in society.
The idea we have today of tragedy not only can affect the individual, but those who are around us in a great way. I believe our culture has a deeper meaning of the word as it relates to one who has experienced hurt and pain not as an outcast, but many times as an insider in which it reaches to many in our inner and outer circles. I am sure Greek culture would say that they carry the right meaning if the question was asking them to compare to another tragedy. I am used to the word tragedy as we know it today.