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II Second level of meaning

Just like the classical Greek tragedies, Yeats’s drama represents human fallibility, pride, tragic mistakes and the consequences the human being has to suffer because of the mistakes. It does so in a particularly tight dramatic structure and a masterful reversal in the line of action.

 

However, there is also another level of meaning to the play, which we will recognize if we think about the ritual origins of drama. We saw earlier on that tragedy developed from ancient fertility rituals, more exactly, from the ritual sacrifice. In the centre of this tragedy, we also have a ritual sacrifice, performed quite ritualistically, with repeated stabbings, by the Old Man. In this respect, with the ritualistic theme, the drama takes on a metadramatic aspect: it is a drama which is about dramatic issues and theatrical themes, since it is a tragedy about the ritual origins of tragedy. Purgatory is not only a tragedy about the pride and the suffering of the human being, but it is also a tragedy about tragedy: it is a highly intense metadrama.