Classical Tragedy

Classical tragedy Definitionpreserves the unities -- one timespan, one setting, one story -- as they
originated in the Greek theater. It also defines a tragic plot as one with
a royal character losing, through his own pride, a mighty prize.
Origin and example
The classical tragedy originates in the 5th centaury from ancient
Greece. Early tragedy writers include Aeschylus who lived between (c.
525 - c. 456 BCE).Plays were submitted for competition in groups of
four (three tragedies and a satyr-play), Aeschylus often carried on a
theme between plays, creating sequels. One such trilogy is
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers (or Cheoephori), and The Furies (or
Eumenides) known collectively as the Oresteia.
Aristotle
Aristotle was a famous philosopher who lived in ancient Greece
between 384 BC and 322 BC. Aristotle wrote his study of the tragedy
genre entitled the Poetics in 335 BC. Aristotle believed the aim of
tragedy was and defined it as
imitation of an action that is admirable, complete and posses
magnitude
and should excite emotions of pity and fear. Aristotle defines
tragedy according to seven characteristics: (1) it is mimetic, (2) it is
serious, (3) it tells a full story of an appropriate length, (4) it contains
rhythm and harmony, (5) rhythm and harmony occur in different
combinations in different parts of the tragedy, (6) it is performed rather
than narrated, and (7) it arouses feelings of pity and fear and then
purges these feelings through catharsis.
Aristotles theories
Aristotle believed there were 6 main components to tragedy1. Plot
2. Character
3. Diction
4. Reasoning
5. Spectacle
6. Lyric poetry
Aristotles Structure
A well-formed plot must have a beginning, which is not a necessary
consequence of any previous action; a middle, which follows logically
from the beginning; and an end, which follows logically from the middle
and from which no further action necessarily follows. The plot should
be unified, meaning that every element of the plot should tie in to the
rest of the plot, leaving no loose ends. This kind of unity allows tragedy

to express universal themes powerfully, which makes it superior to

history, which can only talk about particular events. Episodic plots are
bad because there is no necessity to the sequence of events. The best
kind of plot contains surprises, but surprises that, in retrospect, fit
logically into the sequence of events.
Aristotles roles in tragedy
For a tragedy to arouse pity and fear, we must observe a hero who is
relatively noble going from happiness to misery as a result of error on
the part of the hero. Our pity and fear is aroused most when it is family
members who harm one another rather than enemies or strangers. In
the best kind of plot, one character narrowly avoids killing a family
member unwittingly thanks to an anagnorisis that reveals the family
connection. The hero must have good qualities appropriate to his or
her station and should be portrayed realistically and consistently. Since
both the character of the hero and the plot must have logical
consistency, Aristotle concludes that the untying of the plot must
follow as a necessary consequence of the plot and not from stage
artifice, like a deus ex machina (a machine used in some plays, in
which an actor playing one of the gods was lowered onto the stage at
the end).
Hamartia- (Greek for "error.") An offense committed in ignorance
of some material fact; a great mistake made as a result of an error
by a morally good person.
Tragic flaw- A fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that
brings him or her to a bad end. Sometimes offered as an
alternative understanding of hamartia, in contrast to the idea that
the tragic hero's catastrophe is caused by an error in judgment.
Hubris- Overweening pride, outrageous behavior, or the insolence
that leads to ruin, the antithesis of moderation or rectitude.
Peripeteia- (Anglicized as peripety; Greek for "sudden change.") A
reversal of fortune, a sudden change of circumstance affecting the
protagonist. According to Aristotle, the play's peripety occurs when
a certain result is expected and instead its opposite effect is
produced. In a tragedy, the reversal takes the protagonist from
good fortune to catastrophe.
Recognition- In tragic plotting, the moment of recognition occurs

when ignorance gives way to knowledge, illusion to disillusion.

Katharsis, catharsis- (Often translated from Greek as purgation or
purification.) the feeling of emotional release or calm the spectator
feels at the end of tragedy. The term is drawn from Aristotle's
definition of tragedy, relating to the final cause or purpose of
tragic art. Some feel that through catharsis, drama taught the
audience compassion for the vulnerabilities of others and schooled
it in justice and other civic virtues.