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Shakespearean Tragedy

Shakespearean Tragedy. “Romeo and Juliet”: Archetypes and the theory of the tragic flaw. “Romeo and Juliet”. Archetypes An archetype is a pattern from which copies can be made. Archetypes fall into two major categories: characters and situations/symbols. Characters include:

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Shakespearean Tragedy

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  1. Shakespearean Tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”: Archetypes and the theory of the tragic flaw

  2. “Romeo and Juliet” Archetypes • An archetype is a pattern from which copies can be made. • Archetypes fall into two major categories: characters and situations/symbols. • Characters include: • The hero: the courageous figure, the one who's always running in and saving the day. Example: Dartagnon from Alexandre Dumas's “The Three Musketeers.” • The outcast: The outcast is just that. He or she has been cast out of society or has left it on a voluntary basis. The outcast figure can often also be considered as a Christ figure. Example: Snowball from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. • The scapegoat: The scapegoat figure is the one who gets blamed for everything, regardless of whether he or she is actually at fault. Example: Piggy from William Golding’s The Lord of The Flies. SOURCE: http://www.essortment.com/all/literaryarchety_rabl.htm

  3. “Romeo and Juliet” • The star-crossed lovers: This is the young couple joined by love but unexpectedly parted by fate. Example: Romeo and Juliet from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. • Romeo and Juliet have been immortalized as the archetypes of true love because they are willing to sacrifice everything —including themselves —for their love.

  4. The Tragic Flaw Three views of tragedy: • Catastrophe results from a flaw in the character of the hero. • The hero’s tragic flaw results from fate or coincidence. • Tragedy results from an error of judgment committed by the hero, one that may or may not have as its source a weakness in character.

  5. The Tragic Flaw • Typically, tragic protagonists make mistakes; they misjudge other characters, they misinterpret events, and they confuse appearance with reality. • Often, the hero’s fall from glory crushes not only himself but other related characters.

  6. The Tragic Flaw Aristotle’s criteria for tragedy: • The hero is of noble birth or occupies a highly respected, public position. • In a tragedy, the hero is not necessarily good or just, but his misfortune is brought about by some error or frailty, rather than by vice or depravity. • A tragedy tracks the hero’s gradual downfall, usually brought about by his own misjudgment.

  7. The Tragic Flaw • The play progresses logically, showing the audience the step-by-step events that lead to destruction and death. • This is the tragic flaw: It may be caused by bad judgment, inherited weakness, or any of several other possible causes of error. • Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are made of the stuff we find within ourselves and within the people around us.

  8. The Tragic Flaw • In almost all instances, we see a marked one-sidedness, a predisposition in some particular direction; a fatal tendency to identify the whole being with one interest, object, passion, or habit of mind.

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