1.
They present tales of suffering and calamity, often
involving violence and death (though in Greek tragedy, the violence and death
always occurs offstage).
2.
They lead to the deaths of ‘exceptional’ men such as
royalty, nobility, etc.
3.
They include misfortunes that arise from the
protagonist’s hamartia, which is a major flaw or weakness in
personality that results in his/her downfall; an act or omission for which the
hero is responsible. (In other words,
the tragic hero/ine does things s/he shouldn’t do, or doesn’t do things s/he
should be doing.) (Hubris
is a form of hamartia; it is excessive pride that results in characters
breaking divine or moral laws.)
4.
They convey the sense of causal connection
(cause and effect) of character, actions and catastrophe. Things happen for a reason because there is
always the dominant theme of Fate as the governing force
controlling the cosmos. Everything that the
characters do is pre-scripted by destiny; everything is ‘written in the stars.’
5.
Often in tragedies there is peripateia
or ironic reversal of fortune; that is, one who starts at the top of the
metaphorical wheel of Fate often ends up at the bottom, and vice versa.
6.
Though tragedies depict external conflicts, readers
are caught up in the internal moral struggle/conflict going on within
protagonists. The tragic hero is usually
isolated/alienated from others.
7.
They include grave threats that are posed to the
natural order by the ‘evil’ characters, who must
necessarily be destroyed. For example,
killing ones brother and then marrying his wife means that one deserves to die,
because that constitutes retributive justice or nemesis. Nemesis = the Greek goddess of revenge, who
pursues the tragic hero. (Nemesis
can also mean a character’s foil: one who is a complete opposite in
personality/actions.)
8.
There are contrasts in action and character (foils)
throughout the tragedies.
9.
Tragedies always contain an anagnorisis:
the moment of recognition/discovery on the part of the tragic hero/ine when
s/he realizes the mistake s/he has made; a change from being ‘ignorant’/not
understanding to a state of ‘knowledge’/understanding.
10.
catharsis:
feelings of pity and fear for characters – particularly for the tragic
hers/ine – on the part of readers/the audience; pity is experienced in that
readers feel ‘sorry’ for /empathetic towards the character(s), and fear in that
we recognize the lesson(s) to be learned.
In other words, fearful that we as people could also suffer the same
fate: being too proud, not recognizing the truth until it’s too late, not
compromising when we really should, etc.
Tragedies are ‘cathartic’ in that there’s a sense that the evil/curse
has been ‘purged;’ the world is rid of it and temporarily safe, and therefore
the good characters who remain living at the end have an opportunity to make
things right and start over.
1.
The hero begins in a position of greatness (not just
in rank – king, prince, noble, great general, etc.) but as the embodiment of
the virtues of society.
2.
The hero has a ‘tragic flaw’, which causes his
downfall.
The tragic
flaw(s) can be: a) a
moral flaw in character
b)
an intellectual weakness
c) an
error in judgment
d) an
error due to inadequate knowledge
of particular
circumstances
OR
e) fate –
a force OUTSIDE his character
3.
The tragic hero moves in relation to the group (the
rest of society) from a central and revered figure to a position of tragic
alienation/isolation: the greater the separation between the hero and the
group, the greater the stature of the hero.
4.
The hero is heroic because of his response to
suffering.
5.
Out of the tragic situation comes knowledge and
affirmation of both good and evil.
1.
Conflict: rivals in love or war, within families,
between families
2.
Order and disorder: the disturbance in persons,
society, and nature.
3.
Change (metamorphosis): characters change in some way
– learn new understandings from the suffering they endure.
4.
Appearance versus reality – spying and deception,
acting
5.
Madness – real and feigned
6.
Revenge
7.
Delay – action/inaction
8.
Sin/salvation – incest
9.
Friendship and faithlessness
10.
Fate/Wheel of fortune
11.
Memory
Disease/corruption (pain/suffering, death, disorder in
nature)
Function of the Ghost