Why tragedies are alluring - David E. Rivas

Zašto su tragedije privlačne - Dejvid E. Rivas (David E. Rivas)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

The story goes something like this:

Priča ide otprilike ovako:

a royal, rich or righteous individual, who otherwise happens to be a lot like us,

kraljević, bogat ili pravedan pojedinac, koji je mimo toga poprilično sličan nama,

makes a mistake that sends his life, and the lives of those around him,

napravi grešku, koja njega i živote njegovih bližnjih

spiraling into ruin.

strmoglavljuje u propast.

Sound familiar?

Zvuči poznato?

This is the classic story pattern for Greek tragedy.

Ovo je klasični obrazac priče u grčkoj tragediji.

For thousands of years,

Hiljadama godina,

we've spun spellbinding tales that fit this pattern,

ispredali smo očaravajuće priče koje odgovaraju ovom obrascu,

and modern storytellers around the world continue to do so.

a moderni pripovedači širom sveta i dalje tako rade.

Three critical story components influenced by Aristotle's "Poetics"

Tri ključna svojstva priče, inspirisana Aristotelovom "Poetikom"

help us understand the allure.

pomažu nam da razumemo čar tragedije.

First, the tragic hero should be elevated in rank and ability,

Pod jedan, tragični junak bi trebalo da bude uzdignut u činu i mogućnostima,

but also relatable.

ali i da se lako s njim poistovetiti.

Perhaps he is a king, or extraordinary in some other way.

Možda je kralj ili je izuzetan na neki drugi način.

But because you and I are neither unusually good

Ali kako vi i ja nismo ni neobično dobri,

nor unusually bad,

ni neobično zli,

neither is the hero.

tako nije ni junak.

And he has one particular tragic flaw, or hamartia,

A on ima jednu naročitu tragičku krivicu iliti hamartiju,

something like ambition, tyranny, stubbornness, or excess pride

poput ambicioznosti, tiranije, tvrdoglavosti ili preterane gordosti

that causes him to make a critical mistake.

zbog koje čini ključnu grešku.

And from that mistake comes disaster and downfall.

A iz te greške proizlazi nesreća i sunovrat.

As an example of these elements in action,

Kao primer ovih elemenata na delu,

let's look to Sophocles's "Oedipus Rex,"

pogledajmo Sofoklovog "Kralja Edipa",

about a man who doesn't know he was adopted,

priču o čoveku koji ne zna da je usvojen,

and is warned by an oracle that he's destined to murder his father

a proročanstvo ga je upozorilo da mu je suđeno da ubije svog oca

and marry his mother.

i oženi svoju majku.

In trying to escape this fate,

Pokušavajući da izbegne svoju sudbinu,

he kills a man who won't get out of his way at a crossroad.

ubija čoveka na raskrsnici koji neće da mu se skloni s puta.

He then cleverly answers the riddle of the monstrous Sphynx,

Potom mudro rešava zagonetku čudovišne Sfinge,

freeing the Kingdom of Thebes from a plague.

i tako oslobađa kraljevstvo Tebe od kuge.

He marries the widowed queen and becomes king.

Ženi obudovljenu kraljicu i postaje kralj.

But after he finds out that the murdered man was his father,

No nakon saznanja da je čovek koga je ubio, njegov otac,

and the queen he married is his mother,

a da je kraljica koju je oženio, njegova majka,

Oedipus gouges out his eyes and retreats into the wilderness.

Edip je sebi iskopao oči i povukao se u divljinu.

At the beginning of his story,

Na početku njegove priče,

Oedipus is elevated in ability, and he's elevated in rank.

Edip je uzdignut u svojim mogućnostima i uzdignut je u rangu.

He's neither unusually evil nor saintly.

Niti je neobično zao, niti je svetac.

He's relatable.

Možemo se poistovetiti s njim.

Notice the height of the fall.

Primetite dubinu pada.

Once a king, but now homeless and blind.

Nekada je bio kralj, a sad je slepi beskućnik.

It's more tragic, after all, if a king falls from a tall throne

Konačno, tragičnije je ako kralj padne sa visokog postolja

than if a jester falls off his step stool.

nego ako pajac padne sa svoje hoklice.

Oedipus's tragic flaw is hubris, or excessive pride,

Edipova tragička krivica je hubris iliti preterana gordost

and it causes him to attempt to avoid the fate prophesied for him,

i zbog nje on pokušava da izbegne prorečenu sudbinu,

which is exactly what makes it happen.

a upravo zato se proročanstvo ispunjava.

He's a particularly unlucky soul

On je naročito nesrećno biće

because his mistake of killing his father and marrying his mother

jer je njegova greška, ubistvo oca i brak sa sopstvenom majkom,

is done in complete ignorance.

počinjena iz apsolutnog neznanja.

Of course, these narrative principles transcend classic Greek tragedy.

Naravno, ovi pripovedački principi nadilaze klasičnu grčku tragediju.

In Shakespeare's canon,

U Šekspirovom kanonu,

we see Hamlet's indecisiveness lead to a series of bad decisions,

vidimo da Hamletova neodlučnost vodi do niza loših odluka

or perhaps non-decisions,

ili pak praznih odluka,

that culminate in the death of almost every character in the play,

a kulminacija svega toga je smrt skoro svih likova iz drame.

and Macbeth's ambition catapults him to the top

Magbeta ambicioznost katapultira na vrh,

before sending him careening to his grave.

pre nego što ga naglo pošalje u grob.

Even modern pop culture staples like "Game of Thrones" and "The Dark Knight"

Čak i moderni stegovi pop kulture, poput "Igre prestola" i "Mračnog viteza"

resonate with the tropes Aristotle identified over 2000 years ago.

imaju utočište u tropima koje je Aristotel prepoznao pre više od 2000 god.

So what's the point of all of this suffering?

Pa šta je svrha sve te patnje?

According to Aristotle, and many scholars since,

Prema Aristotelu i mnogim kasnijim izučavaocima,

a good tragedy can evoke fear and pity in the audience:

dobra tragedija može da izazove strah i sažaljenje kod publike:

Fear of falling victim to the same or similar catastrophe,

strah od mogućnosti da budete žrtva iste ili slične katastrofe

and pity for the height of the hero's downfall.

i sažaljenje zbog dubine junakovog pada.

Ideally, after watching these tragic events unfold,

Idealno, nakon posmatranja kako se ovi tragični događaji razvijaju,

we experience catharsis,

doživljavamo katarzu,

a feeling of relief and emotional purification.

osećanje olakšanja i emotivnog pročišćenja.

Not everyone agrees why this happens.

Ne slažu se svi u tome zašto se ovo dešava.

It may be that empathizing with the hero

Možda nam stavljanje na mesto junaka

allows us to experience and release strong emotions that we keep bottled up,

omogućuje da iskusimo i oslobodimo se snažnih emocija koje su potisnute u nama

or maybe it just lets us forget about our own problems for a little while.

ili nam to prosto pomaže da zaboravimo na kratko sopstvene probleme.

But regardless of how you feel when you watch poor Oedipus,

Ali bez obzira na to kako se osećate dok gledate jadnog Edipa,

never has there been a more salient reminder

teško da ćete da imate istaknutiji podsetnik

that no matter how bad things get,

da koliko god stvari krenule po zlu,

at least you didn't kill your father and marry your mother.

bar niste ubili svog oca i oženili svoju majku.