What is Tragedy?
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An “imitation of an action that is
serious, complete, and has sufficient
size, in a language that is made
sweet…exciting pity and fear, bringing
about a catharsis of such emotions,” is
now Aristotle defined tragedy
Hubris
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Hubris or hybris (Greek ὕβρις), according to its
modern usage, is exaggerated self pride or selfconfidence, often resulting in fatal retribution. In
Ancient Greek hubris referred to actions taken in
order to shame the victim, thereby making oneself
seem superior.
Hubris was a crime in classical Athens. Violations of
the law against hubris ranged from what might
today be termed assault and battery, to sexual
assault, to the theft of public or sacred property.
Crucial to this definition are the ancient Greek
concepts of honor (timē) and shame. The concept
of timē included not only the exaltation of the one
receiving honor, but also the shaming of the one
overcome by the act of hubris. This concept of
honor is akin to a zero-sum game.
Hubris

Aristotle defined hubris as follows:
– to cause shame to the victim
– not in order that anything may happen to you,
nor because anything has
– happened to you, but merely for your own
gratification. Hubris is not the
– requital of past injuries; this is revenge. As for
the pleasure in hubris, its
– cause is this: men think that by ill-treating
others they make their own
– superiority the greater.
Hubris

Hubris against the gods is often said to be the
"tragic flaw" ("error") of characters in Greek
tragedy, and the cause of the "nemesis" or
destruction, which befalls these characters.[citation
needed] However, this represents only a small
proportion of occurrences of hubris in Greek
literature, and for the most part hubris refers to
infractions by mortals against other mortals.
Therefore, it is now generally agreed that the
Greeks did not generally think of hubris as a
religious matter, still less that it was normally
punished by the gods.[2]
Hamartia
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Hamartia (Ancient Greek: άμαρτία) is used in
Aristotle's Poetics, where it is usually translated as a
mistake, flaw, failure, fault, or sin.
There is debate as to what exactly hamartia means
in Aristotle's Poetics. It has been interpreted as
referring to a 'tragic flaw in the character of the
protagonist (the tragic hero), but the word, in
Homeric Greek, refers to a warrior who has missed
his mark. If an archer or a spear thrower misses,
άμαρτες has occurred. Those who prefer this
interpretation argue that the Greek tragedies
contain no clearly identifiable tragic flaws, and have
been twisted to fit the supposed 'tragic flaw'
theory.[citation needed]
Peripeteia
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Peripeteia (Greek, περιπετεῖα) is a reversal of
circumstances, or turning point. The term is
primarily used with reference to works of literature.
The English form of peripeteia is Peripety. Peripety
is a sudden reversal dependent on intellect and
logic.
Aristotle defines it as "a change by which the action
veers round to its opposite, subject always to our
rule of probability or necessity."
Peripeteia includes changes of character, but also
more external changes. A character who becomes
rich and famous from poverty and obscurity has
undergone peripeteia, even if his character remains
the same.
Peripeteia
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When a character learns something he had
been previously ignorant of, this could be
described as peripeteia; the character has
been turned from a state of ignorance to
that of knowledge, or from doubt to
certainty. However, this is normally
distinguished from peripetia as anagnorisis
or discovery, a distinction derived from
Aristotle's work.
Aristotle considered anagnorisis, leading to
peripeteia, the mark of a superior tragedy.
Anagnorisis
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Anagnorisis is the recognition by the
tragic hero of some truth about his or
her identity or actions that
accompanies the reversal of the
situation in the plot, the peripeteia.
Oedipus's realization that he is, in fact,
his father's murderer and his mother's
lover is an example of anagnorisis.