What Is the Genre of Woyzeck - 1640 Words

By examining what is meant by the concept of theatrical ‘genre’, how would you characterize the genre of Woyzeck? Today, whenever somebody is asked to think of a typical Tragedy, his or her immediate answer would be; Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, possibly even King Lear. This is because these plays constitute what is conventionally known as a Tragedy. They mostly follow the conventions outlined in Aristotle’s Poetics, and have characteristics recognisable of a Tragedy, for example, the tragic hero being of upper class or noble background, and the tragic hero’s actions leading to inevitable consequences. As Buchner’s Woyzeck does not solely fit into this template, its genre can be deemed as a little confusing. However, Woyzeck is undoubtedly a†¦show more content†¦This is certainly true of Woyzeck, as Woyzeck himself does all that he can to earn money for Marie and his child. He bears all the scientific experiments for the love of Marie, facing the humiliations of the Doctor and the Officer, and because of this the audience regard Woyzeck as a character that is inherentl y good. On finding out that Marie has had an affair, Woyzeck’s world, meaningful only through his love, breaks down, and consequently we cannot help but feel immense pity for him, even though he does kill Marie. The most important element of a tragic drama to Aristotle was the idea of Catharsis, and so if we are to follow Aristotle’s views of tragedy, then because of these â€Å"incidents arousing pity and fear† in us, then Woyzeck is undoubtedly a Tragedy. There are however some aspects to Woyzeck that make characterizing it as a tragedy slightly difficult. Traditionally within tragedies the tragic hero is of noble stature and has greatness, as common people did not interest Aristotle. It is evident to the audience however, that Woyzeck is from a working class background. In Scene 6 when Woyzeck is shaving the Officer, Woyzeck repeatedly states that he is poor, â€Å"Poor, that’s what we are.† â€Å"You see, us common folk,† â€Å"