Tragedy in The Crucible

1. Tragedy in The Crucible (Explored Using Examples from Hamlet, so we don’t leave the Tragedy group with nothing to present!)

2. The Key Ideas: • Aristotle • Serious but not Cynical • The Hero • Reversal of Fortune • Hamartia • Anagnorisus?

3. Aristotle • Our commonly used definition of tragedy comes from Aristotle’s Poetics • Genre is based on Ancient Greek tragedy

4. Serious…but not Cynical • “Tragedy is, then, an enactment of a deed that is important and complete, and of [a certain] magnitude” (Aristotle) • Raises questions about human existence/nature (Why must humans suffer? Are the causes of suffering internal or external? Why is justice so elusive?)

5. Serious…but not Cynical • “Tragedy must maintain a balance between the higher optimisms of religion or philosophy… on the one hand, and the pessimism that would reject the whole human experiment as valueless and futile on the other. Thus the opposite of tragedy is not comedy but the literature of cynicism and despair, and the opposite of the tragic artist’s stance, which is one of compassion and involvement, is that of the detached and cynical ironist.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)

6. The Hero • “A man of noble rank and nature” (Aristotle) who experiences…

7. Reversal of Fortune • Can be from bad to good, but more effective when from good to bad (according to Aristotle) because it evokes pity and fear in the audience • This leads to catharsis, interpreted as emotional purification, purgation, or an intellectual clarification

8. Hamartia • A mistake that causes the reversal of fortune • Often interpreted as a tragic flaw • The “inevitable but unforeseen result” of an action • Must be brought about by the hero’s mistake or flaw, not just external forces • Not caused by the hero’s villainy, but an error in judgment

9. Anagnorisis? • The tragic hero may achieve anagnorisis, some sort of revelation about human fate/destiny • Described by Aristotle as “a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate”