The Tragedy of Macbeth Important concepts you will need to understand.  What is tragedy?  What is a tragic hero?  What purpose does tragedy serve?  What are dramatic conventions?  What key literary devices and concepts will we need to recognize and analyze?

What is tragedy?  According to Aristotle’s Poetics (4 th century B.C.), tragedy is a serious and dignified play that recounts the story of a person of significance whose actions result in a reversal of fortune, culminating in a catastrophic ending.

What is a tragic hero?  He must be a person of high renown, prosperity, and significance (king, prince, general, leader, etc…)  He starts off highly esteemed, admired, or liked by all.  Early in the play, the tragic hero will demonstrate a “tragic flaw,” called the hamartia, taken from the Greek word meaning “to err” or “to miss the mark.” Hamartia is a subtle inner weakness of character—usually pride or hubris—that leads the tragic hero to make a mistake in judgment.  In a vain attempt to overstep or “cheat” normal limitations, the tragic hero will break a “moral law.”  But prior to breaking the “moral law,” the tragic hero will receive and ignore “divine warning.”

What is a tragic hero? (Continued)  As the story progresses, the tragic hero will experience a reversal of fortune. Oftentimes hubris—overreaching pride—will cause him to develop a false sense of invincibility, infallibility, or invulnerability.  Eventually, the tragic hero will “recognize” the error of his way; he will experience an epiphany—a sudden awakening—but it will be too late to turn things around.  By this time, the actions of the tragic hero has resulted in the suffering of innocents, which is a prerequisite for wisdom.  His life culminates in a miserable ending, called catastrophe, as a direct result of his own actions.

What purpose does tragedy serve?  According to Aristotle, tragedy serves as a catharsis.  Catharsis: the events in a tragic play should inspire pity and terror in its viewers, allowing them, through vicarious participation in the dramatic event, to attain an emotional purgation, moral purification, or clarity of intellectual viewpoint.  When we view the downfall of a great man—his “fall from grace”—it evokes pity and fear in us. We think: “How awful!” and “If it can happen to him, it could happen to us.”  By viewing a tragedy, the audience sees the consequences of the protagonist’s flaw, which then “purges” or “empties” us of similar ill thoughts, feelings, or desires  In the end, our minds, hearts, and souls are purified and cleansed; our moral viewpoint is “set straight” again.

What are the conventions of drama?  Soliloquy  Aside  Monologue

Soliloquy  Definition A long speech said by a character ALONE on stage. Example from Romeo and Juliet [Enter FRIAR LAWRENCE alone, with a basket.] FRIAR: The gray-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night, Check’ ring the eastern clouds with streaks of light; And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels From forth day’s path and Titan’s burning wheels. Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye. The day to cheer and night’s dank dew to dry.

Aside  Definition A short statement said by an actor in a play; the aside expresses the character’s thoughts. Example: Romeo (Act II, scene ii) Romeo overhears Juliet speaks at the beginning of the balcony scene. ROMEO. [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

Monologue  A speech by a single character without another character's response. [JULIET appears above at a window] ROMEO. But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

What key terms will I need to know?  Alliteration  Allusion  Diction  Foil Character  Heroic Couplet  Hubris  Imagery  Irony  Metaphor  Mood  Motif  Onomatopoeia  Oxymoron  Personification  Rhyming couplet  Simile  Syntax  Tone

Test on Monday, March 2nd  Be able to explain Aristotle’s definition of tragedy.  Be able to explain the key conventions of the tragic hero.  Be able to define and explain catharsis, catastrophe, hubris, epiphany, hamartia.  Be able to articulate the purpose of tragedy.  Be able to define and explain the three dramatic conventions.  Be able to define the key concepts from the glossary of terms.

Setting  The Tragedy of Macbeth takes place in Scotland around the year 1200 A.D.

So, where’s Scotland?

Scotland

Motifs

The heaths of Scotland

The Three Witches

Macbeth, Thane of Glamis

Lady Macbeth

Macbeth’s Castle