Post on 19-Jan-2016
transcript
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.