Tragedy conventions

Question 1

What are Aristotle’s 6 essential core components of tragedy?

Answer 1

Plot
Character
Diction (The language used in the play, including vocabulary, rhythm, and style)
Thought (The ideas and themes explored in the play, and the way they are presented)
Spectacle (The visual elements of the play, including scenery, costumes, and staging)
Song: The musical elements of the play, including choral songs and other musical accompaniment.

Question 2

what is meant by peripeteia?

Answer 2

reversal of fortune, occurrence of a catastrophic event

Question 3

what is hubris?

Answer 3

excessive pride

Question 4

how does the protagonist start off?

Answer 4

in a position of high rank or power (possibly of noble birth)

Question 5

The protagonist must suffer hugely. This suffering causes…

Answer 5

… pity and fear (from the audience)

Question 6

what causes the protagonists downfall?

Answer 6

tragic flaw

Question 7

what is meant by hamartia?

Answer 7

Scene where the protagonist comes to understand their own flaw
Recognition of hamartia - the error that caused their downfall

Question 8

what is meant by catharsis?

Answer 8

release of emotions

Question 9

what are the elements of Shakespeare’s theory of tragedy?

Answer 9

Tragic hero
Tragic villain
Tragic victim
Violence and revenge
Order and disorder
Death of tragic hero
Suffering of every character (and some death)
Peak of happiness, and then peripeteia
Element of fate

Question 10

what is meant by denoument?

Answer 10

The end of a story, in which everything is explained, or the end result of a situation