> But consider the reaction of the British public to the death of Diana
> Spenser...
IMHO, that made pretty straightforward sense as a drama of social representations. Kind of like the OJ trial here. It allowed people to express strong emotions in relief. A fissure in the tectonics of social symbology.
I'm actually a big fan of Smith's _The Theory of Moral Sentiments_ but I think his theory of tragedy, while delightfully worded, is wrong. Tragic heroes represent societies, or split societies, or warring ways of life. Their fates are more compelling than others' because they represent multitudes. Their rises and falls embody the fate of thousands.
Michael