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  3. There are two theories that have been used to explain ancient and modern tragedy

There are two theories that have been used to explain ancient and modern tragedy

游客2024-01-12  24
问题 There are two theories that have been used to explain ancient and modern tragedy. Neither quite explains the complexity of the tragic process or the tragic hero, but each explains important elements of tragedy, and, because their conclusions are contradictory, they represent extreme views. The first theory states that all tragedy exhibits the workings of external fate. Of course, the overwhelming majority of tragedies do leave us with a sense of the supremacy of impersonal power and of the limitation of human effort. But this theory of tragedy is an oversimplification, primarily because it confuses the tragic condition with the tragic process: the theory does not acknowledge that fate, in a tragedy, normally becomes external to the hero only after the tragic process has been set in motion. Fate, as conceived in ancient Greek tragedy, is the internal balancing condition of life. It appears as external only after it has been violated, just as justice is an internal quality of an honest person, but the external antagonist of the criminal. Secondarily, this theory of tragedy does not distinguish tragedy from irony. Irony does not need an exceptional central figure: as a rule, the more ignoble the hero the sharper the irony, when irony alone is the objective. It is heroism that creates the splendor and exhilaration that is unique to tragedy. The tragic hero normally has an extraordinary, often a nearly divine, destiny almost within grasp, and the glory of that original destiny never quite fades out of the tragedy.
    The second theory of tragedy states that the act that sets the tragic process in motion must be primarily a violation of moral law, whether human or divine; in short, that the tragic hero must have a flaw that has an essential connection with sin. Again it is true that the great majority of tragic heroes do possess hubris, or a proud and passionate mind that seems to make the hero’s downfall morally explicable. But such hubris is only the precipitating agent of catastrophe, just as in comedy the cause of the happy ending is usually some act of humility, often performed by a noble character who is meanly disguised.  [br] The author contrasts an honest person and a criminal (see lines 19-21) primarily to
选项 A、prove that fate cannot be external to the tragic hero
B、establish a criterion that allows a distinction to be made between irony and tragedy
C、develop the distinction between the tragic condition and the tragic process
D、introduce the concept of sin as the cause of tragic action
E、argue that the theme of omnipotent external fate is shared by comedy and tragedy
答案 C
解析 For what reason does the author draw a contrast between an honest person and a criminal? The contrast is presented during the discussion of the first of the two theories of tragedy; in particular, it is introduced to question whether fate is necessarily external in the tragic hero. The author suggests that fate, as conceived in ancient Greek tragedy, is initially the internal balancing condition of life. However, fate becomes external once the tragic process is unleashed. The tragic process begins when the theory violates this internal balance, ultimately leading to the tragic condition.
From this perspective, fate is both internal and external during the tragic process. Attributing sin to the tragic hero pertains only to the discussion of the second theory of tragedy. Note that no reference to comedy occurs in the context of the contrast drawn between an honest person and a criminal.
A    The passage suggests that fate can be external as well as internal in ancient Greek tragedy.
B    The distinction between tragedy and irony is offered as a critique of the first theory of tragedy; it is not presented as derived from the preceding discussion about fate.
C    Correct. As explained above, the contrast between the internal and external forms of fate is presented to distinguish between the tragic process itself and the tragic condition that is the outcome of the tragic process.
D    The attribution of sin to the tragic hero figures only in the discussion of the second theory of tragedy; therefore it is not associated with the mentioned contrast.
E    While the passage briefly mentions come by, it is not in association with the contrast mentioned.
The correct answer is C.
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