TERRY EAGLETON’S THEORY OF THE TRAGIC, REFLECTED ON CURRENT ARAB SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

Corona virus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic of today is a real tragedy for it has taken the lives of millions of people worldwide regardless of their social, political and material status. This will absolutely change the minds of those with classic views of tragedy. It is said that the concept of tragedy has changed greatly since early modern ages, more specifically in the sixteenth century. Modern people are supposed to view tragedy in a different way the classical people viewed it. Having grief towards an ordinary person and not a king, a queen or a prince defines modern views of tragedy. Terry Eagleton views the notion of tragedy differently, not only that, he rather redefines tragedy. The following paper would attempt to briefly engage with the following questions: why does Terry Eagleton come up with a new theory of the tragic? (in other words, what Terry Eagleton objects to in the earlier theories of tragedy?) What is his theory of the tragic? How is it relevant to our own world? Since Eagleton calls for a ‘planetary’ theory of tragedy that confronts global politics, a theory that connects art and life, I will apply some of his ‘interesting’ ideas to the contemporary situations the Arab world lives today, more specifically to the latest revolutions against some Arab tyrannical regimes.