GNHU 285 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Euripides, Pentheus, Hamartia
Document Summary
Tragedy (as a genre)-imitation of human life, noble, reversal of fortune because he has a tragic flaw. Characters are heroes-not common people- but allow issues to be explored- power, excess and abuse. March-still winter-have time to have festival because the people are working on their farms. Comedies are topical-deal with a particular current event or issue being debated in society. Aristotle tries to defend tragedy from plato-evoke emotions. Catharsis-something that changes you; providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions. Understand plot and feel the emotions of it. Tragic protagonists-noble but more realistic than heroes, completely human and don"t do superhuman things, unusual moral integrity. Extraordinary qualities cause their problems, such as heroes in myths. Arrives in a place and the people reject his divinity. Will punish his own family because they reject his divinity. Dionysus came to thebes to punish the city for not worshipping him-his own family-agave is dionysus" aunt-uses pentheus as vehicle for revenge.
