The Play as Tragedy

• The Play as a Tragedy

  There are three main competing views regarding the classification of Death of a Salesman as a tragedy.
• Debate

  • Since its first performances, critics and commentators (and Arthur Miller himself) have become embroiled in the debate over whether Death of a Salesman should be considered a tragedy.
• Miller

  • As there is no single, universal definition of what constitutes a tragedy, this is an argument that can never be settled.
  • Miller has himself changed his mind on the matter several times while also arguing that it simply does not matter how the play is categorised, admitting, “I have often wished I had never written a word on the subject of tragedy”.
• Different views

  • The next section will introduce you to three competing views on Death of a Salesman as a tragedy.