Aristotle’s Six Ingredients to Classical Tragedy

1. Nobility

• The individual involved has to be a member of upper nobility in order to be a tragic hero

2. Hamartia

• The tragic hero must have some kind of flaw (hamartia) which might include a mistake in judgment or HUBRIS (pride), the greatest sin of all.

3. Reversal

• The story must contain some type of obvious reversal. This could be a reversal in attitude or fortune.

4. Suffering

• Not all tragic heroes die, but all suffer. Sometimes the suffering is mental, sometimes physical, however it is always great suffering.

5. Self-Awareness or Knowledge

• The tragic hero becomes aware of his situation or plight, but this always comes to the character when it is too late to do anything about the outcome.

6. Pity and Fear

• The audience must feel these in order for a tragic hero to be real: – Pity - punishment they received was too great – Fear - can see themselves in the hero; it could

be me

The Tragic Plot

Exposition

• Gives the status quo of the present, introduces the main characters, gives background

Inciting Action

• Incident which starts the plot, main conflict is introduced

Ascending Action

• Events that are caused by the conflict and lead up toward the climax

Climax

• The high point of the plot, usually a turning point for the main character.

Reversal

• The point at which there appears to be no home for the main character.

Descending Action

• When the actual suffering occurs

Catastrophe

• The catastrophic event of the story (ex: death, injury, loss)

Denoument

• The calming, leveling off of the plot; that which gives the audience a feeling that “all is well.”