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March 29, 2024, 12:44:08 pm

Author Topic: Peripeteria & Tragic Heroes  (Read 3501 times)  Share 

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caffinatedloz

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Peripeteria & Tragic Heroes
« on: August 31, 2020, 06:30:40 pm »
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Hey guys!
I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand with understanding tragic heroes. In particular, how to use all of the associated terminology like peripeteria, anagnorisis and catharsis.

I'd love examples of those sorts of words in a sentence.

Thanks heaps guys!

literally lauren

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Re: Peripeteria & Tragic Heroes
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2020, 12:07:02 pm »
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Hey guys!
I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand with understanding tragic heroes. In particular, how to use all of the associated terminology like peripeteria, anagnorisis and catharsis.

I'd love examples of those sorts of words in a sentence.

Thanks heaps guys!

Love a good tragic hero! I'll explain these using Shakespearean examples since that's usually most people's first English exposure to these characters, but its origins are in Ancient Greek plays which is why there are so many cool Greek words like 'peripeteria'.

A good overall definition for what makes a tragic hero is: a noble, sympathetic characterwhose major flaw leads to a tragic outcome. Characters like Macbeth, Hamlet, and Othello are all classic examples (and the fact that those plays are named after the protagonists shows how much a tragic hero can dominate a text!).

Crucially, the hero themselves has to do something to bring about their own downfall. So it's not really accurate to call Romeo and Juliet 'tragic heros,' since the misfortune in that play is a result of tragic circumstances, as well as dramatic irony where the audience knows things that the characters do not (i.e. we know Juliet is faking her death, but Romeo does not, so he kills himself).

Arguably the defining feature of a tragic hero is a trait that serves as their hamartia - a fatal flaw that brings about their downfall. For instance, Macbeth's hamartia is his ambition, Othello's is his jealousy, and Hamlet's is his inertia. These aren't just 'bad' attributes - these are at the heart of why the characters die, kill, fall, or fail - the fundamental reason for why bad stuff happens.

And a crucial moment within the tragic trajectory/journey of a tragic hero is the moment of anagnorisis, which refers to a profound and crucial realisation. This is typically an Act 5 "oh shit" moment where the character realises how much they've screwed up. Othello has the best example of this, in my opinion. Othello has just killed his wife Desdemona because he has been lead to believe she was unfaithful to him, and his jealousy compelled him to murder... then he finds out it was all a lie, and Desdemona was madly in love with him - it was his enemy Iago who had been manipulating people and situations to play on Othello's jealous mind. So Othello's anagnorisis occurs as he stands over his wife's smothered corpse and realises... "well drat, I probs shouldn't have smothered her."

In some texts, you may also observe a progression of peripeteia or a reversal of fortunes, where a character goes from having everything and feeling on top of the world to losing it all - this will often happen because of their hubris or excessive pride/arrogance/self-confidence. Basically, picture someone at the start of 2020 proudly declaring "this is going to be the best year of my life! I'm going to travel the world, and nothing will stand in my way!! :D :D" Flash cut to 8 months of COVID and murder hornets later...

Peripeteria isn't as common as anagnorisis, but you could argue that Othello experiences this reversal of fortunes when you compare his status at the play's opening (a respected war general with a loving wife) to his status at the end (dead wife, and then suicide). However, Othello is also a victim of racial prejudice at the beginning, so it's not like everything is perfect. Similarly, you could consider Macbeth's rapid ascent to king and then rapid downfall and death as an example of peripeteria, though this is complicated by the witches' prophecies and the fact that even when he becomes king, he hardly feels fortunate or content. He has to commit regicide, and his position is never secure. You can certainly discuss elements of peripeteria within plays, but I think it's hard to find a textbook example outside of traditional Greek theatre.

The other word you've mentioned, catharsis, is the one that's most relevant beyond the world of tragic heros. To experience a feeling of catharsis is to have a sense of relief from tension or repressed emotions. This can refer to a whole bunch of things - imagine a sitcom that lasts for multiple series before two characters finally kiss, or a movie where two characters are looking for one another but keep missing one another by a few seconds, heightening tensions and frustrations until they finally meet. In fact, you can think of moments of catharsis as being moments where the audience feels like shouting "OH THANK GOD, FINALLY!!" as they experience a long-awaited feeling of cathartic reassurance or satisfaction.

That should cover the basics, but let me know if you have questions about any of these words or ideas. Happy to provide more specific examples if you're working on a particular text in class at the moment too :)