| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Aristotelian Tragedy | Tragedy is the showing of events based on what may happen due to cause-and-effect chain. It follows the order and laws of the universe and is unique to a narrative or history because those simply tell the story, while tragedy illustrates what may happen in a human condition. |
| Hamartia | It means the mistake that causes the downfall of the character. This flaw is not caused by his moral fibres or his choices, but is a consequence and follows the laws of the universe and the cause-and-effect chain. It is not a flaw or mistake that is just made by the character, but can happen to anyone, it is a human mistake or a human flaw. |
| Peripeteia | This means that the character will try and do something, but the opposite outcome will occur. For instance, if the character wants a woman to fall in love with him and he goes and gives her a rose, but the rose reminds her of her dead father and she treats the gesture as a sadistic, the woman then hates the man. This leads to the downfall of the character and in the cause-and-effect chain leads to the anagnorisis. |
| Anagnorisis | This term means the gaining of knowledge or truth that was hidden from the protagonist earlier in the play. This is caused by the peripeteia and results in the catastrophe |
| catharsis | The term literally means purging, but in Aristotle uses it to define the way the audience connects with the emotions of the play. The audience will feel pity and fear, but will cleanse themselves of these emotions in a vicarious way as the characters in the tragedy become more aware and knowledgeable. It is, in a way, how the audience lives through the characters in the play. |
| catastrophe | Also known as the change of fortune, this is the event which leads to the final "scene of suffering" and which is included in the downfall of the character. |
Combine with other sets
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