Tragedy & The Tragic Hero

Tragedy &The Tragic Hero Aristotle defined tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself."

Sophocles • c.496-406 B.C. • Lived through most of Athens’ Golden Age • Actor, playwrite, and elected official (imperial treasurer and general) • Portrays great misery in his works • Gained recognition at twenty-eight dramatic competitions • Won twenty-four first prizes over the next six decades (a record) • Produced 123 plays; only seven survive today

Oedipus Rex and Antigone • Two of Sophocles’ three “Theban plays” – three tragedies about King Oedipus of Thebes and his family. • Sophocles wrote these three tragedies over a thirty-six year period. • All violence takes place offstage; audience sees only the responses of those who must live with the truth or perish. • Important literary elements to the tragedy = IRONY, FORESHADOWING, FLASHBACK!

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

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

A tragic hero is: • Larger than life; seems invincible • Neither exceptionally virtuous or exceptionally evil • Often a lonely character • 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 • Will meet a tragic end/death that they face with honor

Tragic Wheel Catharsis (purging) Tragic Hero Tragic Wheel Hamartia (Tragic flaw) Peripeteia (reversal) Anagnorisis (Recognition)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Greek Stage

Tragedy & The Tragic Hero