Peripeteia or plot reversal is a tragic element that can be found in two tragic plays “Agamemnon”, “Hamlet” and “John F. Kennedy’s Secret Society Speech.”
Main Points
Both Agamemnon and Hamlet fulfill Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. There is an error in judgment involving one of higher standing, error results in suffering which in turn causes pity and fear in the audience. (Hamlet and Agamemnon and the audience in Secret Society Speech)
Both Agamemnon and Hamlet are Kings, their personalities contribute to their downfall. Kennedy on the other hand is the President of the United States. He is basically lecturing the media. All three protagonists are of high status.
Although Hamlet takes revenge, Agamemnon is the victim of revenge yet
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The media is aware of their mistake; that they might have leaked information that could put public safety at risk. The press must change with how they report news and that their lack of support can lead to compromising national security. Kennedy asks the media when reporting . He explains that he wants coverage of international news and wants the government to provide information to the public
His downfall is about two and a half years later, when Kennedy is assassinated.
Rewording of thesis:
Hamlet and Agamemnon are two tragic plays that are similar in that the protagonists are both men of power ultimately fall to their death. Peripeteia is evident in similar ways. The Secret Society Speech on the other hand is slightly different in that the protagonists are the audience.
Summary of points:
Agamemnon, although a warrior, falls to his death by falling in his wife’s trap. Cassandra, his slave has the gift of prophecy and sees their death but no one believes her. Hamlet on the other hand is a philosopher, he takes his time in avenging his father’s death thus meeting his fate.
Significance:
Plot reversals or peripeteia means that a situation changes in the plays/speech. This change can result in situations which can be difficult or in Hamlets and Agamemnon’s case
Aristotle, Antigone and Billy Budd In Poetics, Aristotle explains tragedy as a kind of imitation of a certain magnitude, using direct action instead of narration to achieve its desired affect. It is of an extremely serious nature. Tragedy is also complete, with a structure that unifies all of its parts. It is meant to produce a catharsis of the audience, meant to produce the emotions of pity and fear and to purge them of these emotions and helping them better understand the ways of the gods and men. Tragedy is also in a language in both verse and song. Aristotle's definition is clearly applicable to both Herman Melville's Billy Budd and the famous Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles.
...e a brother's wife and pride, causes a ten year war between the Greeks and the Trojans. One cannot argue that Hamlet is somehow an allegory for the fall of Troy, it is simple that the epic pathos, or parody there of, that Hamlet so enjoyed in the player's speech is rekindled. Nowhere is this pathos clearer than in Horatio's explanation of what has occurred, .".carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, of accidental judgements, casual slaughters, of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause..." . The audience is left with four dead bodies on stage at the end of Act five. A tragedy has occurred that has cost many lives. Unlike Pyrrhus, however, Hamlet will not be worshiped as a hero after his death. He is only the hero of his own tragedy as he astutely notices as he dies, ."..You that look pale and tremble at this chance, That are but mutes or audience to this act..."
The play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Hamlet was a man that looked up to his father throughout his life, during and after his father's death. The younger Hamlet tried to follow in his father's footsteps, but as much as they were alike, they were very much different. The man named Hamlet had a son named Hamlet and after everything was over, that is one of the few things that they had in common. King Hamlet and Hamlet compare in that they are both upset by the Queen’s marriage, they both hate Claudius, they are both brave, and they are both dead by the end of the play. They contrast in that while Hamlet’s father was king, Hamlet will never have the kingship, Hamlet does not leave a legacy and they die differently.
One of the foremost Elizabethan tragedies is Hamlet by William Shakespeare and one of the earliest critics of tragedy is Aristotle. One way to measure Shakespeare's work is to appraise it using the methods of classical critics and thereby to see how if it would have retained its meaning. Hamlet is one of the most recognizable and most often quoted tragedies in the all of English literature. Aristotle, is concerned with the proper presentation of tragic plays and poetry. Aristotle defines tragedy as:
Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.
Mark Rose, in “Reforming the Role,” highlights the “double plot” structure within Hamlet and another tragedy:
If one were to push a boulder up a hill with a gentle incline, it would be rather difficult to discern that pivotal moment when it is poised for a split-second at the summit. In tragedy, this moment is known as the ultimate peripeteia or the point of no return for the protagonist. From this point on, the protagonist moves downhill with increasing momentum and decreasing control over where they're headed. Act 3 of Hamlet is filled with dramatic and powerful moments that are each in their own way, minor peripeteia. However, there is only one critical action that lies precisely at the peak or the turning point. This action involves Hamlet's decision not to slay Claudius while he prays. Although the remaining actions may be within centimeters away, they all posses certain vital flaws that prevent them from occupying the spot reserved for the actual ultimate peripeteia.
In The Dark Knight, movie begins with Batman an appreciated hero who saves the city only to fall and become the enemy of Gotham City. Similarly in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Claudius is introduced as the new honored king of Denmark. As the play progresses, we find out he usurped power in killing King Hamlet, which will lead to his downfall. In Aristotle’s Poetics, he believes that objects of imitation are men in action and the men must be either of a higher or a lower type. A tragedy should aim for characters of a higher state or are better than in real life. Hamlet makes a good tragedy by its use of strong story structure, actions bringing about pity and fear, and Reversal in Recognition.
One might think of a tragedy being a terrible and destructible event in one’s life that causes great pain and may contain great loss. One particular play written by William Shakespeare – one of the most well known poets in history, happens to be a tragedy-filled story. Othello, the Moor of Venice, set during the captivating renaissance era portrays a character named Othello who reveals characteristics of a tragic hero. The brilliant philosopher Aristotle from the fourth century B.C. developed his own definition and idea of what a tragic hero is. Eric Engle, author of “Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero,” said, Due to Aristotle’s influence, his tragic flaw has distorted western thought ever since its conception” (Engle). “The enquiry of whether Othello is a true tragic hero is debatable. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero was a protagonist who is socially superior to others, but then has a downfall due to a “tragic flaw,” typically caused by the character’s solitary weakness. Due to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Othello possesses the qualities from his definition that fulfill the role of being a tragic hero.
When one hears the word tragedy, one can assume that the human emotions are responsible for the collapse of an individual. To the Greek philosopher Aristotle, however, a tragedy is “an imitation of an action of high importance…in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties…[or] by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions” (Kennedy & Gioia, 945). He defined a tragic hero as having three common characteristics: hamartia, or the tragic flaw in the character which coupled with hubris (pride which results in overconfidence) causes his downfall and demise; katharsis, the purgation of the audience’s emotions, which causes the audience to feel “not depressed, but somehow elated”; and anagnorisis, or the recognition of some fact not previously realized by the true identity of the main character (Kennedy & Gioia, 946). Therefore, as defined by Aristotle’s concept of tragedy, William Shakespeare’s Othello could be classified as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play includes jealousy and intrigue, which intertwined with pride and suspense create the finest of Aristotelian tragedies. Othello complies with the requirements for a tragic hero as Aristotle began with the premise that the hero must be of “high estate,” as if he were the member of a royal family; however, he yet falls from a hierarchy of power to one of abashment. He has married the daughter of a Venetian nobleman. He starts out well, but his end is one of drama. Moreover, Shakespeare’s plot develops as Othello’s katharsis is revealed through the climax and conclusion of the play, while the anagnorisis with the recognition that Iago was a traitor and Desdemona his innocent victim.
Tragic heroes tend to have very pre-determined paths; usually making the most virtuous of characters destined to suffer. The hamartia or ‘tragic flaw’ is the typical reason the hero falls. Shakespeare was noted to be one of the best writers of tragedies, one of his most prominent to be Othello. In Othello, we find a number of tragic flaws two including pride and ambition. In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, pride and ambition are used to identify the outcomes for the main characters in the play when seeing the resolution of the play, perceiving those who survive and those who don’t, and considering each character’s role in the turn of events.
In 350 B.C.E., a great philosopher wrote out what he thought was the definition of a tragedy. As translated by S.H. Butcher, Aristotle wrote; “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Melody. (http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html)” Later in history, William Shakespeare wrote tragedies that epitomized Aristotle’s outline of a tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one such tragedy.
Oedipus the King has the ingredients necessary for the plot of a good tragedy, including the peripeteia. According to Aristotle, a peripeteia is necessary for a good plot. Peripeteia is "a reversal in his fortune from happiness to disaster" (Abrams 322). Oedipus's reversal of fortune occurs when he realizes that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. The messenger comes to Oedipus assuming that he will relieve the King of the fear that he will kill his own father as predicted by the Oracle. But by revealing the secret that Oedipus is not who he thinks he is and he was found and he was given to his father Polybus, the messenger does the opposite. The messenger makes Oedipus more fearful instead and he reverses Oedipus' life. The Chorus says, "You are my great example, you, your life your destiny, Oedipus, man of misery - I count no man blest" (1318-20). The Chorus states that its idea of human happiness is now destroyed by Oedipus's reversal of fortune.
In Poetics, Aristotle defines plot as “the arrangement of the incidents” (Aristotle 12). He indicates that there are six elements in every tragic play, which are plot, character, thought, diction, melody and spectacle, among these plot is placed in the foremost positi...
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.