invented by the ancient Greeks to show the actions of a tragic hero or heroine. (Ex: Oedipus Rex.)

tragic hero/heroine - the protagonist, or main character, in the play.




 



• Aspects of the Greek tragic hero:
  
  
  
  • he/she must be of noble birth or hold an important social position
  
  
  • he/she is generally virtuous
  
  
  • he/she has a desire to do good deeds
  
  
  • he/she dies in the end of the play
  
  

  The hero/heroine seems "better" than the other character(s), but there is a fate which overpowers this "good" character.

  
  

  Poor judgment by the protagonist (hero/heroine) causes a fall from grace and social ranking. Poor judgment is a tragic flaw, or error, called hamatria. It leads to personal catastrophe and unintended harm to others.

  
  

  Hybris (hubris), which means excessive pride or arrogance, is the most common type of hamatria.

  
  

  A hero/heroine's misfortune is an example of human fallibility (human's tendency to fail).

  
  

  Learning from the mistakes of others was an important part of Greek tragedy.

  
  

   



• Aspects of tragedy in Greek drama:
  
  
  
  • crisis of feeling - painful or harmful experience that may upset or depress the audience.
  
  
  • catharsis/purgation - the audience cleanses their emotions. For example, they may feel uplifted and/or get a new sense of spiritual understanding or tragic pleasure.
  
  
  • reversal/peripeteia - the hero/heroine goes through a significant change in fortune for the worse. Reversal may happen after a discovery (anagnorisis,)or a recognition of something previously not known to the hero/heroine.
    

    Example:
    

    
    

    In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus experiences a reversal when he gets the message that his father, Polybos, has died of old age. Oedipus is at first relieved to find out that the prophesy that he would kill his own father was wrong. Then his dread is renewed when the same message reveals that Polybos was not his biological father (Kennedy 871).

    
    

    (Comedies can have reversals too, but in comedy, the change is almost always for the better).

Modern tragedy - unlike Greek tragedy, the protagonist is often a common or middle class person, not high born, noble or important. Ordinary people exemplify basic issues of social and personal conflict.