Explain How ‘a View from the Bridge’, by Arthur Miller, Follows the Convention of Tragedy

'A View From The Bridge' is based on Greek tragedies where a tragic hero has a fatal flaw and then dies. In these plays the tragic hero commits an offence, often unknowingly. He must then learn his fault, suffer and perhaps die. In this way, the gods are vindicated and the moral order of the universe restored. However, in the modern version of a Greek play, 'A View From The Bridge' has a tragic flaw in Eddie Carbone so he dies and order is restored. This play shows that Eddie Carbone is highly respected amongst his peers which leads to fate coming into the play and him swirling into a downward spiral leading to death.

During the course of this essay, I intend to look at the convention of tragedy from ‘A View From The Bridge’. In a convention of tragedy, there is a tragic hero who has a tragic flaw. She or he commits a serious offence which leads to the downfall of their respective character. As the result of this, she or he must suffer and die – which is the only way for order to be restored. An example of tragedy is, Macbeth. Macbeth is an essentially noble character who, because of his ambition or his fatal flaw is eventually led to death and destruction. In ‘A View From The Bridge’, there are several elements which resemble Greek tragedies. In this case, the focal character of the play Eddie Carbone is the tragic hero who is swirled helplessly in a downward spiral in the face of this terrible fate.

After Eddie, Alfieri's is probably the most important role in the play. He is, of course, is in some of the action, as Eddie consults him. This is essential, as it explains how he has come to know the story. Miller has said that he wanted to make this play a modern equivalent of classical Greek tragedy. In the ancient plays, an essential part was that of the chorus: a group of figures who would watch the action, comment on it, and address the audience directly. As the play is based on a Greek tragedy, Alfieri acts as the chorus in the play. A chorus is a...