The main thing that this paper explores is to clarify how Arthur Miller objects to the view that playwrights are unable to show human dignity in the modem period and how Miller develops the idea that they are still capable of offering an optimistic view of humanity. The protagonist of Greek drama pursued a tragic course by imposing moral claims upon his actions. His actions, motivated by his concern with the public or what was beyond his personal desires, revealed greatness of human spirit. From the Renaissance onward, tragedy gradually moved toward giving more emphasis on individual interests and self-consciousness. In the modem period, this movement has come to a mere presentation of subjective suffering and frustration that were imposed upon individuals by the suppressive power of society. Modern playwrights thus often failed to show that tragedy was an expression of faith in man`s greatness, raising a question about death of tragedy. This question was brought into debate by Joseph Wood Krutch who declared that modem playwrights could no longer produce true tragedy since they had lost a conviction of human dignity at the confrontation with the overwhelming society. Krutch`s view was shared by many critics who argued that playwrights were unable to show man`s greatness in the modem period. However, Arthur Miller refutes these critics and asserts that playwrights are still capable of bringing to the audience an optimistic view of humanity. Miller states that most modem playwrights present the protagonist`s glad acceptance of defeat and fail to give the audience the right sense of the tragic. In Miller`s view, tragedy is a mode of optimism that brings enlightenment to the audience. The enlightenment does not lie in the disaster of the protagonist`s downfall but in the hope of possible victory. This hope is produced in the audience when the protagonist demonstrates the invincible spirit of human courage that might enable him to succeed in gaining his rightful position in society. By exposing a possible victory that the protagonist might lead, tragedy enlightens the audience as to the right way of living in the world.