Anagnorisis Essay

Aristotle was a famous disciple of Plato who first defines fine arts and he differs with his teacher Plato in his book of Poetic. His Poetic deals with the principles of Poetic art in general and tragedy. He defines Tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude” (Aristotle, 2017). He also constituent parts of tragedy and they are plot, characters, thought, diction, song and spectacle. The first three plot, characters and thought are the object of…

The short story “A Mere interlude” written by Thomas Hardy makes effective use of narrative voice to reveal the intentions of Hardy in crafting such a story. The irony of the title, as what was supposed to be “A Mere Interlude”, Baptista’s short and tragic marriage to her ex-lover Charles Stow, eventually takes form as a major turning point in her life. It subjects her to much emotional turmoil and eventually leads her back to the one thing she hoped to escape from through her marriage to…

According to Aristotle, tragic heroes must acquire some qualities, including a superior stature, tragic flaws, and the ability to evoke in the audience a sense of sympathy. Oedipus in the Greek play Oedipus the King by Sophocles is described as eminent, confident, and caring. Romeo in the play The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is presented as handsome, sensitive and passionate. The two characters, although created in two ages that have a gap of two thousand years, satisfy…

Tragedy is the fall of someone who is great, or at least is great in the eye of the observer. The key to a tragedy is not that outside forces are the ones that cause the fall, but that the fall is triggered by a flaw in the protagonist. This flaw can be minor or major, but must be significant enough to cause the terrible outcome of a fall from grace. I will be comparing two plays written centuries apart and relate why they both meet the criteria of being a tragedy, as well as how they differ and…

Tragedy hero was concerned as archaic and kingly. But Arthur Miller shows us how a modern normal people could also called tragedy hero in Death of a Salesman. Also, Arthur Miller says that “tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need, to secure one thing— his sense of personal dignity” in his article Tragedy and the Common Man. By support his own idea, Miller gives the examples of Willy Loman defrauds insurance money,…

John Proctor is the tragic hero in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The downfall of John in the play is due to a human flaw, which largely qualifies him as a tragic hero. John is a respectable farmer, who has a high social status .The tragic flaw was the physical attraction he had towards Abigail Williams, yet he had a wife. His wife realizes his husband’s acts of adultery and gets jealous. Proctor knows that he has the option to confess the deed. However, his pride comes in his way and he is…

Rex and The Kite Runner both include examples of irony to help develop major themes within the stories. They also both include moments of anagnorisis within the stories. Authors will sometimes use irony and anagnorisis to help better the stories to move them in the right direction. My goal during this essay is to identify examples of irony and anagnorisis to show how they were used for both Oedipus Rex and The Kite Runner. There are different types of irony that can help develop themes in…

dramatic fall after a significant discovery or an anagnorisis. Anagnorisis, by definition, is a pivotal discovery made by the protagonist. That discovery can be a fatal flaw, such as Richard II discovering how his mismanagement has led to him being dethroned by Bolingbrook. It can also be the catalyst to revenge, such as Hamlet’s discovery of his father’s murder or Titus’ discovery of Tamora’s treachery. With all three protagonists, the anagnorisis is a trigger for a significant shift in their…

to Aristotle. Macbeth accurately demonstrates the specific characteristics of hubris, anagnorisis, and peripeteia. Therefore, Macbeth is considered a tragic hero. Firstly, one of the characteristics of a tragic hero Macbeth demonstrates is hubris. Hubris is when a hero makes a…

in literature. Although difficult to find a character fitting of these qualities, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is deserving of the tragic hero status. In accordance to Aristotle’s poetics, Macbeth is not all good and not all bad, he undergoes proper anagnorisis, as well as proper peripeteia, making him a tragic hero. To be a tragic hero, Aristotle writes in Poetics that the hero must be not all good and not all bad. Scholars who argue Macbeth is not a tragic hero say he is solely a tyrant. Conversely…