Peripeteia

Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is someone of nobility who has a tragic, fatal flaw. He believed that there are three characteristics of a tragic hero: Hamartia, hubris, and peripeteia. Hamartia is a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero; hubris is excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things; peripeteia is the reversal of fate that the hero experiences. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, he displays all three of the characteristics of a tragic hero. The…

defines a hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience”, a person that is confronted with adversity and faces downfalls. Some of the characteristics that depict a tragic hero in Aristoteles’ eyes are Hamartia, Hubris, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and Catharsis. The tragic hero of The Crucible is John Proctor. He is considered a tragic hero because his character shows all the traits that would be found in a tragic hero, as described by Aristotle. According to Aristotle,…

to relate it to real life events. This story is a tragedy itself because it follows a specific tragic story arc. The tragic story arc includes the peripeteia, climax, anagnorisis, catastrophe, and the resolution. “The peripeteia is the reversal of fortune and the Anagnorisis is the discovery or recognition” (sparknotes.com). In this story, the peripeteia is when Tim’s eyes are starting to go bad and the anagnorisis is when they are going down the hill and he realizes he is going blind. This…

“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is complete and whole… (Aristotle 31)”. This theory conveyed by Aristotle in his renowned work Poetics expresses the idea that a successful tragedy consists of specific principles that reoccur in classic literature. The theory emphasizes that a tragedy represents reality and universal truths rather than historical particulars. This is achieved by creating a tightly-woven cause and effect chain or “unity of action” that centers around the plot rather…

Hamlet is portrayed as a gritty anti-hero with human flaws and qualities such as arrogance, apathy and paranoia, which are revealed in his hamartia and peripeteia. Hamlet’s selfishness fuels his revenge against Claudius but he follows through intelligently, but arrogantly as he refuses to consider the welfare of others. Hamlet’s revenge triggered a series of remorseless murders in the name of his father. The constant surveillance on Hamlet instigated his constant paranoia of being watched and…

Stemming from Aristotle’s views on tragedy, there must be an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude that can arouse the feeling of pity or even fear by incidents that occur throughout the play. In Antigone by Sophocles, tragedy is portrayed throughout the piece by the protagonist. Many grasp onto the assumption that Antigone is the tragic heroine. Although she contains many qualities that meet specific tragedy criteria, it is Creon who is the tragic hero. Due to Creon’s…

An Aristotelian Outlook on Two Very Different Tales Aristotle defines a tragedy as “the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions” (Meyer 2). Or to put in simpler terms, completing a serious action that has the depth within itself to arouse fear in an effort to cleanse any…

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex flawlessly demonstrates Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero through the protagonist, Oedipus. As required, the character exhibits errors of judgement, reversal of fortune due to such judgement, and acknowledgement of their self-inflicted misfortune. In addition, Oedipus exhibits extreme pride and receives a fate much colder than deserved. Shortly into the play, Oedipus reveals his hamartia, or flaw in judgement, when he refuses and mocks the advice of the blind…

Friends should not go behind one another 's back and plot against them. Brutus declares, “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more,” when he is explaining why Caesar is dead to the crowd of Romans (III.ii. 21-2). The intentions for stabbing Caesar are to simply protect Rome and the people. Killing Caesar is a result of Brutus’ tragic flaw. Evidence of Brutus’ tragic flaw also occurs when he fights against Octavius and Antony at Philippi. Normally Brutus appears as a peaceful man…

being able to trust the people Brutus thought he could. According to Aristotle’s definition of tragic hero, the tragic hero of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is Brutus because he fits all five characteristics: nobility, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis.…