Myself

Myself

What Defines Tragedy?

A SERIES OF ACTIONS LEADS TO THE DOWNFALL OF THE MAIN
CHARACTER OR TRAGIC HERO
What are some of your favorite tragedies?

Where does tragedy come
from?
The Greek
philosopher
Aristotle first
defined tragedy in
his book Poetics
written in about
330 BCE

Aristotle’s definition of
tragedy had SIX parts:
Plot
Character
Thought
Diction
Spectacle
Melody

What Defines
Shakespearean
Tragedy?
A Tragic Hero
The Tragic FlawHamartia
Reversal of Fortune
Catharsis
Restoration of Social
Order –Denouement

The Tragic Hero
The tragic hero is
someone we, as an
audience, look up to—
someone superior.
The tragic hero is
nearly perfect, and we
identify with him/her

Tragic Flaw
The hero is nearly
perfectThe hero has one flaw
or weakness
We call this the ‘tragic
flaw’, ‘fatal flaw’, or
hamartia.

Reversal of Fortune
The ‘fatal flaw’ brings
the hero down from
his/her elevated state.
Renaissance audiences
were familiar with the
‘wheel of fortune’ or
‘fickle fate’.
What goes up, must
come down.

Catharsis
We get the word
‘catharsis’ from
Aristotle’s katharsis.
‘Catharsis’ is the
audience’s purging of
emotions through pity
and fear.
The spectator is purged
as a result of watching
the hero fall.

This is why we cry
during movies!

Restoration of Social Order
Tragedies include a
private and a public
element
The play cannot end
until society is, once
again, at peace.

The End
In your journal: think of one popular
story that you consider to be a tragedy.
Examine the main character. Would you
consider them a tragic hero?

Similar Essays