TRAGEDY AND THE TRAGIC HERO

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle – 4th century BCE philosopher and theorist

- Most famous student of Plato

- Tutor to Alexander the Great

- His theories heavily influenced all sorts of

thoughts in many subject areas: physical sciences,

politics, education, logic, and literature. His book

Poetics is where we take this lecture from

GREEK THEATREAncient Greek Theatre – centre was Athens – theatre was a profound

part of a festival called Dionysia after the god Dionysus (the god of

the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility,

theatre, and religious ecstasy).

- It wasn’t voluntary like now – going to the theater was a form of

prayer – morality/social norms reaffirmed - Ancient Greek theatre

wasn’t really considered entertainment, in the sense that we think of

theatre today. Plays were part of religious events; they served a

communal function in that they contributed to the good health of the

community by purging individuals of harmful emotions and feelings.

GREEK TRAGEDY

In Aristotle’s Poetics, he says a great deal about

structure, purpose, and the intended effect of tragedy.

Here is a basic definition of tragedy:

A drama or literary work in which the main character

is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow in

consequence of his/her tragic flaw, or moral weakness

– they come to learn the error of their ways too late.

“Tragedy is a representation of

action that is worthy of serious

attention, complete in itself and of

some magnitude – bringing about

by means of pity and fear, the

purging of such emotions - Aristotle

Poetics – “a man cannot be a hero until he has seen the

root of his own downfall”

History only tells what HAS happened, tragedy is superior

because it shows what MAY happen, and that is infinitely

more interesting. It dwells in reasonable possibilities.

Tragedy, however, is rooted in the fundamental order of the

universe; it creates a cause-and-effect chain that clearly

reveals what may happen at any time or place because that

is the way the world operates. Tragedy therefore arouses

not only pity but also fear, because the audience can

envision themselves within this cause-and-effect chain.

Definition of tragedy: A story

that evokes the agony of life

A tragedy must have a tragic

hero – the audience must

identify with him/her – their

circumstances must induce pity,

not outrage.

The following

qualifications must be in

place for a character to be

considered tragic:

1. Nobility – the tragic hero is a

character of noble stature with a

measure of greatness. While the

nobility can be technical (a title or

position like king, general, president,

etc.) it can also be nobility of character

in the more modern incarnations. They

have to inhabit a high position of status

as well virtue.

2. Relatability – while the hero must

be great, they are not perfect. We, the

rest of the flawed humans, must be able

to relate to them. They are not a

“superhuman,” but a person, like us,

who has risen to power/influence.

3. Hamartia- the hero must have a

tragic flaw – one that leads to his/her

downfall. Their fall, then, must be the

result of a choice of personal failing…

not an accident or act of villainy.

Typically, it’s the result of an error of

judgment based on a character flaw.

One of the more common hamartias is

called hubris, which is a sort of

arrogant pride.

4 Reversal of Fortune – the hero falls.

They basically lose all of that nobility

that they started with. But, the

misfortune must not be wholly

deserved – in the case of the tragic

hero, the punishment must exceed the

crime.

5. Realization- the fall cannot be pure

loss. The character cannot simply be hit

by a car, killed, and that’s that. He or

she must experience some sort of

awareness, some gain of self-

knowledge, or some sort of discovery in

the process of the fall. Basically, they

understand what they have done to

cause the reversal of fortune.

6. Catharsis – though the hero’s story will arouse solemn emotions, a tragedy does not leave an audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argued that the function of tragedies was to purge unhealthy emotions such as pity and fear through a catharsis, which essentially cleanses us of this emotional baggage. We leave feeling like the world has returned to normal – that justice is served – that all things happened as they were supposed to.

OTHER FEATURES:

- The hero often has a showdown with a

counterpart/villain

- The hero must discover their own fate/wrongs on

their own

- The hero should be physically and spiritually

wounded

- The hero must be intelligent enough to

understand his flaw

- There can be supernatural elements, but they are

not necessary

- The suffering of the hero must have meaning

SHAKESPEAREShakespeare wrote his plays two thousand years

after the height of Ancient Greek theatre….do they

still qualify as tragedies?

It’s up to you to decide.

Here is an additional detail:

Shakespearean Tragic Heroes must die by the

story’s end. They must be doomed from the start,

and understand and accept their fate just before

their death.

The heroes of classic and Elizabethan tragedies are

almost universally male – though argument can be

made in favour of Lady Macbeth, though she misses

the awareness mark a bit on account of her madness.

The 19th century novels have more of them, like Tess

from Tess of the D’Urbervilles or Catherine from

Wuthering Heights.

Can you think of any other tragic heroes?

i.e. Snape, Darth Vader, Michael Corleone, etc.