In a figurative sense a tragedy (from
Classical Greek τραγωδία, "song for the goat", see below) is any event with a sad and unfortunate outcome, but the term also applies specifically in
Western culture to a form of
drama defined by
Aristotle characterized by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune (
Peripeteia). (Aristotle's
definition can include a change of fortune from bad to good as in the
Eumenides, but he says that the change from good to bad as in
Oedipus Rex is preferable because this effects
pity and
fear within an audience.) According to Aristotle, "The structure of the best tragedy should be one that represents for that is peculiar to this form of art." This reversal of fortune must be caused by the tragic hero's hamartia, which is often mistranslated as a character flaw, but is more correctly translated as a mistake (since the original
Greek etymology traces back to hamartanein which is a sporting term which refers to an archer or spear-thrower missing his target). According to Aristotle, "The change to bad fortune which he undergoes in not due to any moral
defect or
flaw, but a mistake of some kind." It is also a misconception that this reversal can be brought about by a higher power (e.g. the
law, the
gods,
fate, or
society), but if a character’s downfall is brought about by an external cause Aristotle describes this as a "
misadventure" and not a tragedy.
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