William Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564 Started as a performer in “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” His...
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Transcript of William Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564 Started as a performer in “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” His...
William Shakespeare
Born April 23, 1564
Started as a performer in “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”
His theater was called The Globe
Where does tragedy come from?
The Greek philosopher Aristotle first defined “tragedy” in his book Poetics written in about 330 B.C.
Aristotle’s definition of tragedy had SIX parts:
Plot(Dramatic Structure) CharacterThoughtDiction (delivery/elocution)Spectacle
(visual demonstration)Melody (musical/fluidity)
What Defines Shakespearean Tragedy?A Tragic Hero
The Tragic Flaw or Hamartia
Reversal of Fortune
Catharsis (emotion)
Restoration of Social Order
The Tragic HeroThe tragic hero is someone we, as an audience, look up to—someone superior.
The tragic hero is a character that the audience can identify with
The tragic hero features a fatal flaw that exposes his/her weakness.
What makes each of these figures a tragic hero?
Tragic FlawThe hero is nearly perfectThe hero has one flaw or weakness We call this the ‘tragic flaw’, ‘fatal flaw’, or hamartia.
Ex: Pride
Reversal of FortuneThe ‘fatal flaw’ brings the hero down from his/her elevated state.
(Frankenstein? Winston?)Renaissance audiences were familiar with the ‘wheel of fortune’ or ‘fickle fate’. What goes up, must come down.Cycle of life
CatharsisWe get the word ‘catharsis’ from Aristotle’s katharsis.
‘Catharsis’ is the audience’s purging of emotions through pity, fear, anger, etc.
The spectator is purged as a result of watching the hero fall.
This is why we cry during movies!
Restoration of Social Order
Tragedies include: a private element (within a family or small group) a public element (society or governmental order)
The play cannot end until society is, once again, at peace.