Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Tragedy

Learning outcomes…

• What is a tragedy? • What is the difference between a Greek tragedy and a Shakespearean tragedy? • To use terminology to identify the features of tragedy in my set texts Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The history of tragedy… tragedy NOUN 1An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe. ‘a tragedy that killed 95 people’ mass noun ‘his life had been plagued by tragedy’

2A play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character. ‘Shakespeare's tragedies’ 2.1mass noun The dramatic genre represented by tragedies. ‘Greek tragedy’ Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The history of tragedy…

Origin

The origin of the word ‘tragedy’ comes from the Greek ‘tragōidia, apparently from tragos ‘goat’.

Scholars suspect this may be traced to a time when a goat was either the prize in a competition of choral dancing or was that around which a chorus danced prior to the animal's ritual sacrifice. Other interpretations could be ‘harvest song’. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The history of tragedy…

The primary source of knowledge of Tragedies is the Poetics of Aristotle. Aristotle was able to gather first-hand documentation from theatre performance in Attica, which is inaccessible to scholars today. His work is therefore invaluable for the study of ancient tragedy, even if his testimony is open to doubt on some points.

According to Aristotle, tragedy evolved from the satyr dithyramb, an Ancient Greek hymn, which was sung along with dancing in honor of Dionysus. The dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Satyr play

The original Tragedy was brief and burlesque in tone because it contained elements of the Satyr play. Gradually, the language became more serious and the meter changed from trochaic tetrameter to the more prosaic iambic trimeter. The dithyramb was originally improvised, but later written down before performance. The Greek chorus of up to 50 men and boys danced and sang in a circle, probably accompanied by an aulos (instrument), relating to some event in the life of Dionysus.[ A Greek chorus is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action. The chorus consisted of between 12 and 50 players, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison and sometimes wore masks. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The development of the Greek tragedy

• Aeschylus was to establish the basic rules of tragic drama. He is credited with inventing the trilogy, a series of three tragedies that tell one long story, and introduced the second actor, making the dramatization of a conflict possible. Trilogies were performed in sequence over a full day, sunrise to sunset. At the end of the last play, a satyr play was staged to revive the spirits of the public, possibly depressed by the events of the tragedy. • Reforms of Sophocles: He introduced a third actor and introduced scenery and the use of scenes. The chorus became less important in explaining the plot and there was a greater emphasis on character development and conflict. The events that overwhelm the lives of the heroes are in no way explained or justified, and in this we see the beginning of a painful reflection on the human condition, still current in the contemporary world. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The development of the Greek tragedy

• Euripides: Increased attention for feelings, as a mechanism to elaborate the unfolding of tragic events. • He turned the prologue into a monologue informing the spectators of the story's background • Introduced the deus ex machina (plot device whereby a seemingy unsolvable problem is suddenly and unrepentantly resolved) • gradually diminished the choir's prominence from the dramatic point of view in favor of a monody (song, lament) sung by the characters. • Euripidean drama is represented by the realism with which the playwright portrays his characters' psychological dynamics. The hero described in his tragedies is no longer the resolute character as he appears in the works of Aeschylus and Sophocles, but often an insecure person, troubled by internal conflict.

Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

In Summary

• A form of drama based on human suffering • Performed in amphitheatres in ancient Greece • Is a performance, not a script • Originally used as a form of worship for the Greek god Dionysus • Included a chorus (up to 50 people who danced and sang) • In Greek tragedy, the focus is on man’s insignificance, emphasising that it is FATE or DESTINY that is the cause of bringing havoc and ruin to human life. It is the powerlessness of man against such uncontrollable divide orders that is the substance of Classical tragedy. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The history of tragedy…

Aristotle

His own definition: Tragedy is, then, an enactment of a deed that is important and complete, and of [a certain] magnitude, by means of language enriched [with ornaments], each used separately in the different parts [of the play]: it is enacted, not [merely] recited, and through pity and fear it effects relief (catharsis) to such [and similar] emotions. — Poetics, VI 1449b 2–3

What we know of tragedies today come from Artistotle’s works. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The history of tragedy… Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Unity of Action

• One single plot without any digressions • No sub-plots should interfere with the main plot Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Unity of Time

• Ideally 2-3 hours, the time taken for the play to be performed • Timespan of the play should not be any longer than 24 hours • Previous events leading up to the present situation were recounted on stage. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Unity of Place

• Setting should be limited to one location • In comedy, it is often set in a street • Oedipus Rex is set on the steps before the palace Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Othello

Othello, apart from Act I in Venice, is located entirely within the fortress at Cyprus. Although logically the play covers an unspecified time lapse of, we presume, two or three weeks, it proceeds, more or less, by major scenes through the hours of the day, starting in Venice with the elopement after midnight, the Senate meeting at dawn, then at Cyprus with the morning storm and afternoon landings and developments, the fateful drinking party in the early evening and the murder at bed time. This is not to say that everything happens in the same day; it obviously cannot, but the impression is of an abstract day unfolding. The plot is fairly unified, focusing on Othello and his fate, and dealing with other people and events only in so far as they are relevant to this focus. Othello is about as near as Shakespeare gets to classical tragedy. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

An Inspector Calls

Arguably we can read ‘An Inspector Calls’ as a tragedy because of the desperate and lonely fate of young Eva, and we can clearly see the three unities that make up the play’s structure: we follow the action as it happens – there are no flashbacks or gaps in the plot; the action happens over a period of several hours, no more than 24; and the stage is set in the Birling’s dining room, champagne and all. Tension seems to be at the heart and soul of this play and without the strict and sturdy walls of the three unities, perhaps as noted earlier, it might become “disturbed”. Not a breath is allowed to escape from the dining room and even Eric’s absence serves to perpetuate the palpable tension in the room; Gerald too is only allowed to leave with the permission of the Inspector who controls the action in the play and dictates its course irrevocably. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Shakespearean Tragedy

In comedy, the instincts that lead to disorder are laughed at. In tragedy, they are viewed seriously, with the dramatist fully considering the disruptive effects of people's behaviour.

In Shakespeare's tragedies, the society in the play has shifted so far from any orderly standard of behaviour that it collapses into violence, and the main character is the principal victim of this violence. This evil results not just in the death of the tragic hero, but in the deaths of the innocent, who seek to be singled out for destruction for no other reason than that they are innocent. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Shakespearean Tragedy

PATTERN OF SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY:

Early on we meet the tragic hero, a great figure like a king or ruler. Through his own actions his life and the life of those around him is thrown into disarray. In every play, we are confronted with disorder in the central stages. But in tragedy this is so extreme that the whole of life seems close to chaos and meaninglessness. The terrible disorder leads to the death of the tragic hero. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Tragic Hero

• The term hero is derived from a Greek word that means a person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger. However, sometimes he faces downfall as well. When a hero confronts downfall, he is recognized as a tragic hero or protagonist. • Aristotle defines a tragic hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment.” A tragic hero’s downfall evokes feelings of pity and fear among the audience. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Stature/nobility

• The hero will he an individual of some high rank or status • Their tragic fall involves the fate of a whole nation Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Hamartia

• The hero is neither completely virtuous or evil • The hero’s tragic flaw • This brings about the hero’s downfall • Whereas, Greek tragedy presents the hamartia as being inflicted by destiny, Shakespeare, emphasises the responsibility of an individual in bringing about his ruin. It is human action independent of Destiny that causes the hamartia e.g. Macbeth’s ambition • Moral purpose: to encourage people to improve their characters by removing the flaws that can cause a tragedy in their lives. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Tragic Flaw in Othello

• Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. • A more modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him. In his heart he had come to believe what they believed: that a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, unworthy of love. • Thinking this, he could not believe that Desdemona could truly love him for himself. Her love must be a pretense, or a flawed and corrupted emotion. Iago hinted at these ideas, and Othello rushed to accept them, because they echoed his deepest fears and insecurities. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Tragic Flaw in Frankenstein

• Victor, in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, is another character whose downfall is caused by a tragic error. His hubris, or extreme pride and arrogance, decides his fate in the narrative. He strives to become an unparalleled scientist, and creates a monster that ultimately becomes the cause of his disaster. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Hubris

• Excessive pride/ overconfidence • The main cause for the hero’s path to destruction • Usually found in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position, who overestimates his capabilities that he loses contact with reality • “Young men and the rich are hubristic because they think they are better than other people.” Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Hubris in Doctor Faustus

An instance of hubris can be spotted in Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus”. Faustus’s arrogance and extreme pride in his scholarship and his irresistible desire to become superior to all other men of his age forces him to sell his soul to “Lucifer” by signing a contract with his blood. He learns the art of black magic and defies Christianity. Finally, he has to pay for his arrogance and pride. The devils take away his soul to Hell and he suffers eternal damnation. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Peripeteia

• Being hubristic, the hero finds himself heading towards catastrophe • This results in a sudden reversal of fortune from happiness to misery, rich to poor etc • Culminates, inevitably, in his death Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

The Gods

• The hero is involved in an internal religious struggle • Or a struggle with the god’s themselves • Exposes the hero’s vulnerability, and his suffering moves us Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Fate

• Determined by the Gods in Greek Tragedies • In Shakespearean versions, fate is determined by the individual • Death: It's worth remembering that the word "fatal", meaning "deadly" is rooted in the word "fate". Life is fatal: it ends inevitably. There is no escaping this fact. Thus, each and every life carries a tragic fate: we all fall from a great height, despite all of our greatest efforts. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

The Fates

• Three mythical goddesses from Greek mythology • Their number became fixed at three: Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (allotter) and Atropos ('unturnable', a metaphor for death). • They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Fate in Macbeth

• Shakespeare pits the prophecies of the three weird sisters against his own dramatization of Macbeth’s internal conflict • Macbeth may be fated to be king, but he decides all on his own that he will murder Duncan in order to obtain the crown. His actions suggest that fate may be predetermined, but free will determines how a people reach their destinies. • Three weird sisters- ‘wyrd’ which means fate Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Fate in The Great Gatsby

The fact that the end of Gatsby’s story is known to the narrator at the start and acknowledged through his retrospective narrative position gives The Great Gatsby an obvious sense of inevitability. The frequent use of foreboding and an elegiac narrative voice, heard when Nick describes “the foul” that preyed on Gatsby and through his reference to “savage, frightening dreams”, creates the sense that Gatsby and his dreams are doomed from the start. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are an interesting symbol in regards to fate. Wilson sees them as the eyes of God warning that God sees everything. It is possible to argue that Fitzgerald suggests that God has pre-ordained Gatsby’s end. However, if the eyes are God’s, then they belong to an unfair God who does nothing to punish Tom Buchanan, his wife and those with inherited wealth. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Anagnorisis

• Through suffering, the hero is brought some knowledge of self-knowledge • He discovers that the earlier reversal of fortune was his fault • Normally occurs near death or when everything is lost • “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall”- Aristotle Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Anagnorisis in Macbeth

One such moment in “Macbeth” occurs in the final scene when Macbeth, on the battlefield, encounters vengeful Macduff, who declares that he is not “of woman born,” but instead “untimely ripped” from the womb of his mother. This is the moment when Macbeth learns that the prophecy of witches is about to come true, and that Macduff would kill him. Though Macbeth realizes that he is destined, he continues to fight with Macduff, who eventually kills him. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Anagnorisis in Othello

There is another example in another play “Othello.” Othello believes only what others tell him, especially those who come to see him first. He believes in the story of deceit of Iago, though it is based on words and a handkerchief, yet he does not trust Desdemona, his wife. The moment of recognition occurs when he realizes that he has wrongly killed his beloved wife. Therefore, he kills himself too. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Nemesis

• A punishment that the protagonist cannot avoid, usually occurring as a result of his hubris. • Poetic justice • Good characters are rewarded for their virtues • The term comes from the goddess of revenge in Greek mythology • Inescapable punishment Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Nemesis in Frankenstein

Nemesis

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the protagonist Victor exhibits hubris in his venture to become an unrivaled scientist. After years of experiments, he triumphs in creating a “monster,” which he calls “Frankenstein.” Ironically, the thing which he considers his supreme invention proves his nemesis. Frankenstein ultimately becomes the source of Victor’s disaster, punishing him justly for his over-ambition. Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

The Features

Catharsis

• Relief is felt by the audience at the end • We pity what the tragic hero has lost • And feel that the natural order has been restored • We also feel relief as it puts our own concerns in to perspective • ‘emotional cleansing’ • ‘purgation’ or ‘purification’ Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Catharsis in Macbeth

In Act 1, he is made the thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, which makes him a prodigy, well-regarded for his valor and talent. However he gets carried away by ambition, and the supernatural world as well. Subsequently, he loses his wife, his veracity, and eventually his life. The temptation of ambition robs him of the essence of his existence as a human being, and leaves behind nothing but discontent and a worthless life. In Act V, Macbeth gathers this idea in his soliloquy. He says, while speaking of his life:

“… a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

Greek Vs Shakespeare

• Both deal with human suffering • Fate/destiny vs individual ‘character is destiny’ AC Bradley • Unity vs variety • Real vs unreal characters • Political/religious vs anything else • Staging: masks and amphitheatres and religious festivals vs stage • Chorus vs no chorus • Absence of supernatural vs supernatural Terminology: tragedy, tragic hero, hamartia, hubris, imagery, dramatic irony, motif, symbolism

In conclusion

These tragedies force us to ask how qualities like goodness, love, justice and loyalty can survive in the world, given people's capacity for evil and destruction.

The moment the façade of order is shattered we see the cruel, vicious and murderous side of people, the self-seeking, hatred and violence. The moment the usual social restraints are relaxed, an overwhelming force of nature is released.

The great tragedies consider the possibility that human beings are no more than vicious animals.