OriginsInfluences Greek TragedyAristotles classical definition NobleAdmirable Protagonist usually
Origins/Influences • Greek Tragedy—Aristotle’s classical definition – Noble/Admirable Protagonist (usually male) – Catastrophe/Fall ending in death – Fate/Fortune
Origins/Influences • Greek Tragedy—Aristotle’s classical definition – Tragic Flaw—hamartia (character flaw), hubris (pride) – Catharsis (emotional purging)—Fall evokes pity and terror in audience
Origins/Influences • Roman Tragedy—Seneca – Revenge Tragedy – Tyranny/Revenge – Excessive Violence/Bloody Horror
Elizabethan World View • Hierarchical • Existence followed a divinely ordained order
Elizabethan World View – God – Angels – Spheres (stars/planets) – Man – Animals – Plants – Elements
Elizabethan World View – King/Queen – Lords/Nobility – Knights – Gentry (landowners)/Artisans (skilled workers) – Merchants – Serfs (peasants)
Elizabethan World View • Order is divinely ordained • Order is disrupted in tragedy – Internal forces—human weakness – External forces—fortune/bad luck • Order must be restored – Restorer of Order—authority figure
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Mood—Earnestness • Theme – Illustrious/Serious – Life’s dark underside • Style – Elevated – Generally Verse
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Type of Characters – Noble but flawed – Upper class
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Character Motivation – Spiritual values – Feeling – Sincerity – Glorious/Failure – Spiritual Self-Realization
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Setting—Usually remote in time and place • Plot – Strict Cause and Effect – “Tragic Destiny”/Fate – Inward Action (hero’s internal struggle)
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Plot – Revolution of Fortune from High to Low (Glorious/Failure) – Ends in death
Characteristics of Shakespearean Tragedy • Effect of Play on Audience – Affects emotions – Stirs/moves audience – Catharsis
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