Poetic devices

Aristotle was a greek philosopher who proposed a set of characteristics or traits which are to be used as criteria when evaluating characters and their status as tragic heroes. Put in a condensed manner, they are as follows: a tragic hero must have noble stature, be a victim of hamartia, be responsible for his own downfall, be admirable and pitiable, gain wisdom and repent before death, and conjure a cathartic release of emotions from the reader. These traits will be used to evaluate, by form of…

In a tragedy that results in death, one may think that many are at fault, however, in this story, one person stands out above all. There have been many aspects of this play that have been affected by the choices made by the characters. However, one person has made choices that affected the overall main events in this play. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is most responsible, the Friar's actions have formed the unfortunate outcome of this tragedy. The result of this…

The definition of a tragedy is a play dealing with tragic events and an unhappy ending. Julius Caesar is a tragedy written by Shakespeare. This play is about the history assassination of Julius Caesar and how it lead to the downfall of the Roman Empire. Shortly after the assassination of Caesar, Brutus and Antony separately make a public announcement to the Roman citizens. Brutus first explains to the public why Caesar had to be killed and the citizens agree with him, but then Antony makes a…

Hamlet is one of the most controversial tragic heroes in Shakespearean literature. A tragic hero can be defined as an individual who has heroic qualities but his fated to doom due to a character flaw but still manages to win over our admiration. Hamlet’s character flaw is his inability to distinguish between his expectations and reality. He has a deep hatred/disrespect towards woman and treats them unjustly but that does not rob him of his tragic hero status. Hamlet is afraid of women due to…

Questions 1: Of the plays we have read this term, Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III had interesting plot points outside of their respective genres. The first play is categorized as a comedy because of the nature of the plot and the happy conclusion. Despite the cheerful nature of the start of the play, there is a secret plot to ruin Claudio and Hero’s love that could have turned the final act into the ending of Othello. The other play, Richard III, is considered a history because it…

In some stories, we are taken through a journey with protagonist and at the end of his or her story, the protagonist finds his or herself facing a disastrous situation or a tragic ending. Certain actions arise that bring a morally good tragic hero from happiness to distress which is led by a hamartia; an error in judgement many times due to lack of knowledge or full understanding of a situation. According to our textbook, the definition of a Tragedy is “the representation of serious and…

In the novel, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the protagonist is faced with many challenges that ultimately end in tragedy. In addition, a tragedy in Shakespearean plays always involve a man of high estate, a flaw in character, misconceptions, rationalizations, murder, and death of a tragic hero. Order is always restored, but it takes the sacrifice of the hero to make this possible. A tragic hero is someone who leads to their own downfall from the start due to a personal weakness within their…

The Tragedy of the Duchess: (A poetic critic of the film The Duchess according to Poetics by Aristotle) Aristotelian poetics captures deep insights into humans and our expression of deep emotions. As I watched The Duchess I was able to relate Aristotle’s definitions of tragedy to this film. The movie’s protagonist is Georgina. In the beginning of the movie she becomes engaged to the Duke of Devonshire. A very prestigious match, that allows Georgina to move up socially. This sets up the…

Catharsis is having pity or terror. A character must scare the audience or make the audience feel bad for them. After the play audience must want to lead a better life. In Antigone, there is a girl names Antigone. She has two brothers who were soldiers. They both died, one had a proper burial and one was going to be left as food for the vultures, to be rotted away. Antigone did not want this to happen. She uses catharsis in this quote: “But the unhappy corpse of Polyneices / he has proclaimed to…

Greek tragedy is most definitely defined as a tragedy, because of the common knowledge that everyone dies at the end. However, the question between artists and fellow art appreciators is what defines a tragedy? At the Academy Awards how is it possible to pick one film over all of the others? Aristotle answered this question back in his lifetime of 384-322 B.C. Aristotle’s opinion of a true Tragedy is still effective to this day. His favorite play, and best example of a tragedy, is Oedipus Rex,…