Greek Tragedy and Tragic Flaws — Flashcards

Grade 10 · English · Flashcards

Master Aristotelian tragedy terms and tragic hero concepts for Grade 10 English.

Flashcards

Hamartia

Tragic flaw or error of judgment — an internal quality that, pushed too far, destroys the hero.

Catharsis

Emotional purging (pity + fear) that Aristotle said tragedy produces — leaves the audience cleansed and satisfied.

Hubris

Excessive pride or arrogance, especially against divine order or fate — most common hamartia in Greek tragedy.

Peripeteia

Sudden reversal of fortune — the pivot point when the hero's situation turns from good to bad.

Anagnorisis

The moment of recognition — when the hero discovers a crucial truth (Oedipus realizing his identity).

Tragic hero

Aristotle's protagonist: high-status, admirable, undone by internal flaw, whose fall produces pity and fear.

Chorus (Greek drama)

Group of performers who comment on the action, represent public opinion, and provide context for the audience.

Sophocles

Greek playwright who wrote Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus — master of the form Aristotle analyzed.

Aristotle's Poetics

c. 335 BCE text defining tragedy, hamartia, catharsis, and the structural elements of effective dramatic literature.

Dramatic irony in tragedy

When the audience knows the truth the hero doesn't — creating unbearable tension as they watch the hero approach doom.

Fate vs. free will in Greek tragedy

Greek tragedy explores whether heroes can escape prophesied fates — usually the attempt to avoid fate is what fulfills it.

Oedipus Rex (plot)

Oedipus investigates a plague; discovers he unknowingly killed his father and married his mother; blinds himself.

Willy Loman (Death of a Salesman)

Modern tragic hero — his hamartia is refusing to accept reality; Miller deliberately updates Greek tragedy for the common man.

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