On Traditional Tragedy and Tragic Heroes |
To be completed as a structured note guide prior to
reading Oedipus the King |
Due Friday, 2/20 |
The roots of traditional tragedy in drama stem from the Greeks, and most importantly the philosopher Aristotle who wrote extensively about it in his Poetics. Aristotle believed art should be an "imitation" of life. It should hold a mirror up to life. It should be "truthful," or "true to life." He went on to say this about tragedy: |
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If a play is complex rather than simple, it will challenge its viewers
in some way. Perhaps Aristotle felt that "simple" plays were a
waste of time, or an insult to his intelligence. When he says that tragedy
should represent terrible and piteous events, the purpose of this is to
elicit an experience he called "catharsis" in the audience. |
Aristotle also spends considerable time discussing one of the most important characteristics of a good tragedy: the characters, particularly “the tragic hero.” He tells us that, for tragedy, we can't have- |
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The appropriate tragic hero, then, is the character who sits between these extremes. He's not "preeminent in virtue and justice," but on the other hand, he isn't guilty of "vice or depravity," just some "mistake." He is a person of some importance, from a "highly renowned and prosperous place," a king, like Oedipus. |
The best tragic plot, he concludes, moves the hero from prosperity to misfortune, occasioned not by depravity, but by some great mistake he makes. |
Information adapted from http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-lit/tragedy.html
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Your Notes: After reading the information above as well as doing further research on the topic, write out a clear, complete definition of traditional, dramatic tragedy in your own words.
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Hamartia |
Pathos
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The Characteristics of a Tragic Hero |
Characteristic | Further Definition | Example from Hamlet |
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