Page 20 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

British Drama

Notes

The misunderstanding over the term hamartia can be corrected if we realize that
Aristotle discusses hamartia in the Poetics not as an aspect of character but rather as an incident
in the plot. What Aristotle means by hamartia might better be translated as “tragic error”.
Caught in a crisis situation, the protagonist makes an error in judgment or action, “missing
the mark,” and disaster results.

• Peripeteia—a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s tragic flaw.

• His actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge.
• The audience must feel pity and fear for this character.
• His downfall is usually due to excessive pride (hubris).
• He is doomed from the start, he bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw, but bears
responsibility for his actions.
• He has discovered fate by his own actions, and not by things happening to him.
• He is usually a king, a leader of men—his fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or number
of people. Peasants do not inspire pity and fear as great men do. The sudden fall from greatness
to nothing provides a sense of contrast.
• The suffering of the hero must not be senseless: it must have meaning!
• The hero of classical tragedies is almost all male: one rare exception is Cleopatra, from Antony
and Cleopatra.

The heros of all classical tragedies are almost all male, elaborate this statement citing
some examples of dramatic works where tragic hero appears.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
16. Tragic hero, does not appear in which of the following dramatist’s works
(a) P.B. Shelley
(b) Aeschylus
(c) Seneca
(d) Shakespeare.

17. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero who should serve as the main character may
not be
(a) a good man falling from prosperity to misfortune as it will inspire revulsion
(b) a good man falling from happiness to misfortune as it will inspire revulsion,
not pity or fear
(c) a wicked man rsising from ill fortune to prosperity
(d) an evil man falling from prosperity to misfortune.

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