Compare the Ways that Tragic Conventions are employed in Acts One and Three of Translations

Translations is a tragic play that adheres to the conventions of classical tragedy, as defined by the ancient Greek tragedian, Aristotle. Conventions such as the role of Manus and Owen as the tragic protagonist and antagonist, as well as the use of structural conventions like the use of pathetic fallacy, the presence of a tragic fall and the use of catharsis, all contribute to the tragic nature of Translations as a play, and the manner in which these conventions are used differs in Act Three, compared to Act One. Manus can be identified immediately as the tragic protagonist, due to the aspects of his character that are in concordance with the tragic conventions. Manus is first seen helping Sarah to speak, coaxing her gently. This act of selflessly helping another individual presents Manus as a morally good character, which complies with the convention that the protagonist must initially be more noble than evil, and the manner in which Manus encourages Sarah gently, further emphasises his good-natured intentions. Friel goes on to craft our first impression of Manus as one who always acts with a kind of zeal, which demonstrates his enthusiasm and willingness to act selflessly in Act One, and when Manus kisses the top of Sarahs head, it presents a striking parallel to the actions of Christ, the single most tragic and altruistic figure in written history. Another of the conventions presented in Aristotles poetics dictates that the tragic protagonist must be of high stature, and be a focal point within their society. Manus job is working as an unpaid assistant, his clothes are described as shabby, and he is lame. Compared to tragic heroes in classical tragedies such as Shakespeares Hamlet, or Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Manus can be perceived as being socially inferior to the conventional tragic protagonist. However, Friel presents Manus as an individual whose defining characteristic is his selflessness, and so although Manus is not inherently of high social standing, morally, Manus is of a much higher status than any of the other characters, making him a focal point in that respect. Friel presents Manus unselfish personality as a catalyst for his tragic fall, since his hamartia derives from his altruistic character, with his flaw being his selflessness. Manus flaw is one that derives from his praxis, making the tragedy resulting from his flaw even more evident, and this is demonstrated most prominently through Manus refusal to challenge his father for the Job at the national school, which is a choice he made based oh his morals; when queried by Maire, he responds I couldnt - I cant go in against him. In Act Three, there is a clear contrast in Manus character, noticeably of a less noble demeanour, resulting from his tragic fall. Manus is described as moving determinedly and urgently, as he goes about choosing books examining each title carefully. Now, Manus interest lies not in the well-being of others as it was in Act One, but in that of himself, since the zeal presented at the beginning of the play has been replaced by a selfish concern for his own future, due primarily to Manus inevitable removal from the community. Friel draws the audiences attention to Manus change in demeanour further by his initial refusal to respond to Owen, a lack of communication that until now did not exist, and the reference by Owen to Saint Muranus. When Owen muses The originals Saint Muranus, the similarity between the name Muranus and Manus is too great for it to be considered a coincidence, which makes Owens ironic query Dont you think we should go

back to that? effective at expressing a yearning for the revival of the former, unselfish Manus. The fall from grace of an individual whose flaw was moral purity would come across to the audience as wildly unfortunate and unfair, adding to the emotionally cleansing catharsis that is evident in Act Three. The change undergone by Manus, and hence the manifestation of the catharsis, is explored again through Christ-like parallels when Manus remarks do you remember that pet lamb I reared? The image of Manus as a shepherd concords directly with the image of Christ the shepherd, yet the reminiscent use of the word remember secures that ideal in the past, with the Manus of Act One. As with classical tragedies, Friel heightens the tragedy of Translations through the use of the tragic antagonist, Owen, who is even upon his entry singled out as a character that does not belong in the quaint rural community of Baile Beag, and as an antithesis to Manus. Owens social confidence and egoism is conveyed through the manner in which all attention is centred on him upon his arrival, hence Doaltys cry of Look boys! Its Owen Hugh! but also through the description of his character being easy and charming, since he feigns politeness, am I interrupting you at all? but without sincerity or concern for the response. Owens overconfident nature is developed further in his deliberate mistranslation of Lanceys explanation, as he summarises the verbose, detailed summary given by Lancey into a few words, A new map is being made of the country, and justifies his translation by smiling reassuringly. Unlike with tragic protagonists, antagonists are not bound as much by convention, and in general, the audience would expect the antagonist to manipulate and twist the other characters depending, for example, on the personality of the antagonist, or the circumstantial context of the play. For this reason, Friel uses Owens overconfidence as a mask for whether or not he realises the severity of mistranslating Lanceys speech, which, as the audience would assume due to the play being a tragedy, is later incredibly dangerous to the well being of all the characters. Friel also presents Owen as a polar opposite to Manus, confirming his role as the tragic antagonist. At the end of the scene, Manus almost jealously watches Owen move confidently across the floor, which is something Manus is unable to do, physically, because of his lameness, and morally, due to his humble nature. It is Owens conceitedness and ignorance that set him apart from the other characters, and ultimately destroy Baile Beag. Owens role as the antagonist develops as the play progresses, and his importance as a tragic device becomes evident in Act Three. Just as with the Christ parallel Friel conveys with Manus, Owen can be compared to Judas, the traitor in the story of Christ who was responsible for Jesus arrest and execution. Feeling guilty about Manus desperate situation, Owen offers to lend Manus money, telling him I can give you money. Im wealthy, which draws parallels to the money Judas was given by the Roman Empire for his betrayal of Jesus. Judas, like Owen, was disillusioned in his ideals, and because of this, Owen is the one responsible for Manus fall, through his affiliation with the British Empire, and his overzealous, greedy actions. The emotional cleansing of the audience is attributed to Owen as a cathartic device, since it is because of his selfish, ignorant actions, that one as pure as Manus is forced out of his community, which to the audience, is tragic due to its injustice. Friel utilises structural conventions as well as characteristic conventions, such as dramatic irony. In Act One, Hugh ironically assures Owen that Your friends are our friends, referring to the British cartographers, who in fact are a catalyst in the destruction of Baile Beag. Maires reference to the best harvest in living memory, through her remark I dont want to see another like it, is an example of dramatic Irony, since it foreshadows the renowned potato famine that plagued Ireland shortly after the play was set, and the inevitability of the potato famine, due to its historical validity,

also acts as a device for the foreshadowing of other inevitable tragedies in the play, such as the conventional tragic fall and catharsis. Friel also employs pathetic fallacy to emphasise the change in atmosphere from benign and well-being in Act One to desperation and tragedy in Act Three, due to the good weather implied by the continuation of the hot weather in Act Two being contrasted in Act Three, in which it is bluntly stated It is raining. A false sense of well being is also established in Act one with the birth of Nellie Ruadhs baby, the birth of a child being an implication of new life and innocence, and it is later revealed that the baby dies in Act Three, bringing an end to the prosperity and innocence explored in Act One. Tragic conventions are employed in Acts One and Three to demonstrate the development of a play which the audience knows is of a tragic nature to begin with. The tragic conventions Friel utilises in Act One establish the inevitable tragedy of the play, and hence the audience can be assured that the play will develop in a tragic manner, adhering to the conventions of tragedy that we have become used to. The audience will expect to witness the fall of a tragic protagonist, and experience the emotion cleansing of a catharsis predominantly because the play is established as a tragedy from the beginning, and the development and manifestation of tragic conventions between Acts One and Three is present to define the play as a tragedy.

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