Aristotle’s Tragedy in On the Waterfront and Raging Bull

In Classical Literary Criticism Aristotle’s Poetics gives a literary breakdown of the types of poetry that exist. Tragedy, as explained by Aristotle, is comprised of six parts: plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle, and song. Clips from On the Waterfront and Raging Bull both posses the qualities needed to be declared as tragedies.

Aristotle describes tragedy as “a representation of an action that is serious, complete, and of some magnitude; in language that is pleasurably embellished, the different forms of embellishment occurring in separate parts; presented in the form of action, not narration; by means of pity and fear bringing about the catharsis of such emotions.” Aristotle found fear and pity an essential element in tragedy and to show pity, the main character must be betrayed by someone close to them. In On the Waterfront, Marlon Brando’s character, Terry, is betrayed by his brother and this allows the audience to feel and hear his betrayal. In Raging Bull, Robert De Niro’s character, Jake, quotes On the Waterfront and explains that “some people aren’t that lucky” but from the text you would assume that he is using the reference to give an example of someone else who like himself was unlucky. Jake uses Terry as an example helps the audience relate Terry’s experiences to Jake’s. This helps the audience realize the tragedy that has happened to Terry is similar to what has happened to Jake.

Aristotle thought that the plot was the most important part of a tragedy. In a tragedy, the plot must show a change in fortune for someone of prosperity due “to some great error either in such a man as I have described or in one better than this, but not worse.” In On the Waterfront, Terry had everything and it was all taken away by his brother who made bad decisions for him. At the conclusion of the scene from Raging Bull, Jake is telling himself, “You’re the boss.” This could be seen as a way of trying to convince himself of his own words. This could lead the viewer to assume that Jake is no longer who he used to be. He also said that he had his shot at the title and no one can take that away from him. This could lead the audience to assume that although he had his shot, he lost.

Another important element of tragedy in both films is diction. Aristotle said that the audience must be able to recognize the plot and actions by the specific words being used. In On the Waterfront, Terry uses the sentence “It was you,” multiple times in the clip. This is emphasized to show the audience how hurt Terry is by Charlie’s actions and his shock is heard without the words being spoken. He tells his brother, “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody.” These sentences are meant to make the audience feel the characters pain and betrayal. In Raging Bull, he uses the same words as a way of relating his situation to someone who was less fortunate. This is done as an illusion to convince the audience that “some people aren’t that lucky.” Jake is very unlucky but he refers to the fact that he had his title shot and Terry did not as a way of convincing himself that his life could have been worse. Aristotle would have said that both of these films are portrayed as tragedy because they possess all of the necessary elements.

Works Cited

Aristotle. "Poetics." Classical Literary Criticism. Trans. Penelope Murray and T.S. Dorsch. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. 57-97.

You Tube. 28 March 2008. 14 July 2009 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0waNRaz6wU>.

You Tube. 19 January 2009. 14 July 2009 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESGdDEZGfdA>.