Classical tragedies
What is a classical tragedy?
A classical tragedy is the story of a hero (or heroine) that experiences a reversal of fortune set in motion by the gods as a result of hubris. The hero of the tragedy is often of a high status and the story often ends in their death.
The concept was an idea that was first thought up by the Greeks in ancient Athens during the 5th century BC.
Examples of early classical tragedies include:
- ‘Oedipus the king’ by Sophocles, which was first performed in 429BC
- ‘Oedipus at Colonus’ by Sophocles, in 406BC
- ‘The Oresteia’ by Aeschylus, was first performed during 45BC
- ‘The Trojan Women’ by Euripides, was produced in 415BC
- ‘Hippolytus’ by Euripides, was first produced in Athens in 428BC
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who was alive between 384BC
and 322BC. He is best known his books which include work on subjects like
poetry, theatre, music, biology, physics, zoology, and logic
‘Poetics’- Aristotle
This was written in 335BC by Aristotle giving his theory on
tragedies. In this book Aristotle defines the aim of a tragedy bring about
catharsis of the spectators, to arouse in them feelings of pity and fear and to purge them of these
emotions so that they leave the theatre feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a
heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men.
Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody are the
six component parts which Aristotle says make up a tragedy.
Aristotle also states in this book that there are several
things that make a good tragedy, these include 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. 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.
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.
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 behaviour, or
the insolence that leads to ruin, the antithesis of moderation or rectitude.
Peripeteia:
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.
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.
