Tragedy

1
Tragedy The Tragic Hero

• Aristotle defined tragedy as "the imitation of an
  action that is serious and also, as having
  magnitude, complete in itself."

2
Tragedy

• A form of drama where the protagonist comes to an
  unhappy end.

3
The three unities of Greek drama

• Unity of action the action should be one story
  line that maintains the interest of the audience
• Unity of place the action should be limited to a
  single location
• Unity of time the time represented should be
  limited to at most one single day

4
A tragic hero is

• Larger than life seems invincible
• Neither exceptionally virtuous or exceptionally
  evil
• Often a lonely character
• Set against a force that is often
  incomprehensible to him/her
• Illustrates human smallness in relation to the
  universe

5
(cont.) A tragic hero is

• Nobler than the common citizen and is often of
  royal birth
• Endowed with a tragic flaw, and doomed to make a
  serious error in judgment because of this flaw
• Will fall from high esteem
• Will realize they have made an irreversible
  mistake

6
(cont.) A tragic hero is

• Will face death with honor
• Will meet a tragic end/death
• Inevitably destroyed because of some tragic flaw

7
Tragic Wheel
Tragic Hero
Catharsis
Tragic Wheel
Hamartia
Peripeteia
Anagnorisis
8
Hamartia

• Tragic flaw
• The hero is neither good nor evil, but rather
  very human with a moral weakness or error
• Hubris or excessive pride is a common hamartia.

9
Anagnorisis

• Recognition
• This is the moment of comprehension when our
  tragic hero becomes aware of his hamartia.
• Typically at this point the hero will attempt to
  rectify events all to no avail.

10
Peripeteia

• The reversal from one state of affairs to its
  opposite
• This is the point at which the hero realizes all
  is lost.

11
Catharsis

• The purging of emotions by the audience.
• A good tragedy will evoke both pity and fear in
  the audience.
• All of the destructive actions that take place at
  the close of the drama lead to the release of
  this emotion.

12
Chorus

• Group of 12-15 men who sing and dance in the
  orchestra during the plays. They often represent
  the collective community, but not necessarily the
  poet's thoughts. The leader of the chorus was
  called the choryphaeus. This person would often
  step forward to speak with the protagonist.

13
Organization of a Greek Tragedy

• The basic structure of a Greek tragedy is fairly
  simple. After a prologue spoken by one or more
  characters, the chorus enters, singing and
  dancing. Scenes then alternate between spoken
  sections (dialogue between characters, and
  between characters and chorus) and sung sections
  (during which the chorus danced). Here are the
  basic parts of a Greek Tragedy

14
Organization of a Greek Tragedy (cont.)

• Prologue Spoken by one or two characters before
  the chorus appears. The prologue usually gives
  the mythological background necessary for
  understanding the events of the play.
• Parodos This is the song sung by the chorus as
  it first enters the orchestra and dances.
• First Episode This is the first of many
  "episodes", when the characters and chorus talk.

15
Organization of a Greek Tragedy (cont.)

• First Stasimon At the end of each episode, the
  other characters usually leave the stage and the
  chorus dances and sings a stasimon, or choral
  ode. The ode usually reflects on the things said
  and done in the episodes, and puts it into some
  kind of larger mythological framework.

16
Organization of a Greek Tragedy (cont.)

• For the rest of the play, there is alternation
  between episodes and stasima, until the final
  scene, called the...
• Exodos At the end of play, the chorus exits
  singing a processional song which usually offers
  words of wisdom related to the actions and
  outcome of the play.

17
Conventions of a Greek Tragedy

• All of the actors were men.
• Plays were performed outdoors.
• Playwrights usually directed and acted in their
  own plays.
• Typically there were only three actors and the
  chorus. If there were more than three characters
  the actors would simply change masks.

18
Conventions of a Greek Tragedy (cont.)

• The actors wore masks in order to have their
  characters be easily recognized by the audience,
  be heard by the audience (they contained
  megaphones), and to play multiple roles.
• Greek plays were performed as part of religious
  festivals in honor of the god Dionysus, and
  unless later revived, were performed only once.

19
Conventions of a Greek Tragedy (cont.)

• Tragedies almost exclusively dealt with stories
  from the mythic past (there was no "contemporary"
  tragedy).
• Plays were funded by the polis (the city
  state), and always presented in competition with
  other plays, and were voted either the first,
  second, or third (last) place.