Can Tragedy be Noblebright?

This is a guest post I wrote for C.J. Brightley’s Noblebright blog. I was feeling a little bit cruel after finishing the first draft of book four, and beta readers are confirming my cruelty. Here’s my justification:

I finally had to come to the conclusion that much of the series I’m writing can be called tragedy. Far too many characters will have no happy ending, and a great many others will have to endure a lot of hardship before finding peace, if not happiness. Since it’s based on a truly horrendous event (30 Years War 1618-48), it’s even possible I’m not creating enough tragedy to accurately reflect reality.

And I won’t lie, I really dig tragedy. Nearly all of my favorite Shakespeare plays- Julius Caesar, Macbeth, King Lear-are tragedies, and I adore classic writers like Hugo, Tolstoy, and Dickens, all of whom are masters at reducing their readers to gibbering, sobbing messes at various times.

I think it’s fairly easy to make the case that tragedy is noblebright when it involves sacrifice, when beloved character deaths have a greater meaning. But what if they don’t? What if the deaths are just pointless and well, tragic?

Read the rest of the post here.

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