3. William Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564
Started as a performer in “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”
His theater was called The Globe

7. What Defines Tragedy?

8. Where does tragedy come from?
The Greek philosopher Aristotle first defined “tragedy” in his book Poetics written in about 330 B.C.

10. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy had SIX parts:
Plot
(Dramatic Structure)
Character
Thought
Diction (delivery/elocution)
Spectacle
(visual demonstration)
Melody (musical/fluidity)

11. What Defines Shakespearean Tragedy?
Theme: is focused on someone who has great qualities but is influenced by a flaw in their character-we learn that even the great can fall and we are warned not to repeat their errors.
Conflict: External Conflict is complex-the hero is involved in both major and minor conflicts. Murder and death are part of the external conflict. Internal Conflict is revealed through asides and soliloquies.
Tragic Mood: dark and oppressive, by the end there is exaltation rather than depression

12. What makes each of these figures a tragic hero?
The Tragic Hero
Every tragedy has a hero whose demise is intended to send a message to us all.
Many commit evil deeds in the process.
What makes each of these figures a tragic hero?

13. Personality
The tragic hero is someone we, as an audience, look up to—someone superior/extraordinary
The tragic hero is a character that the audience can identify with .
The tragic hero features a fatal flaw that exposes his/her weakness

14. Tragic Flaw/Hamartia The hero is nearly perfect
The hero has one flaw or weakness
We call this the ‘tragic flaw’, ‘fatal flaw’, or hamartia.
The flaw rules their behavior and often involves an intense passion or desire.
The hero seeks to satisfy his/her desire and becomes his/her own worst enemy, making decisions that lead to their own destruction
Ex: Pride

16. Sympathy
Despite the actions of the hero, in order to maintain a positive tone at the end of the play-the audience must feel sympathy for the hero.
His/her weaknesses must be recognizable so that we (the audience) can relate to them.

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

18. Catharsis We get the word ‘catharsis’ from Aristotle’s katharsis.
‘Catharsis’ is the audience’s purging of emotions through pity, fear, anger, etc.
The spectator is purged as a result of watching the hero fall.
This is why we cry during movies!

19. Restoration of Social Order
Tragedies include:
a private element (within a family or small group)
a public element (society or governmental order)
The play cannot end until society is, once again, at peace.