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

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Presentation on theme: "What Defines Tragedy?. Where does tragedy come from? The Greek philosopher Aristotle first defined tragedy in his book Poetics written in about 330 BCE."— Presentation transcript:

1 What Defines Tragedy?

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

3 Aristotle’s definition of tragedy Whole plot with a central theme The plot is an emotional reflection of life Incidents are beyond the hero’s control

4 What Defines Shakespearean Tragedy? A Tragic Hero The Tragic Flaw Reversal of Fortune Catharsis Restoration of Social Order –Resolution

5 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

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

7 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.

8 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.

9 This is why we cry during movies!

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

11 The End


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