English Literature / Unit 2 ENL 0118 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Tragedy and the Tragic Hero
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The idea
Tragedy is drama built on suffering that befalls a main character, traditionally aiming at catharsis, the purging of the audience's emotion. The tragic hero is an admirable figure undone by hamartia, Greek for "missing the mark": a mistake, misperception or flaw.
In practice
A great figure, a flaw, a fall.
Where people slip
Hamartia is often a mistake, not a vice.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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