Tragedy and the Tragic Hero

A tragedy

• is a type of play that centers on a tragic hero who is doomed, and usually ends in the character(s)' death. 
• is super funny.

Hamartia is

• a tragic hero's reversal of fortune.
• a tragic hero's fatal flaw.

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be a fundamentally good and decent human being--he or she must have some nobility (whether by birth or by character).

• True
• False

The five traits of a tragic hero do NOT include:

• decency/nobility
• hamartia (fatal flaw)
• anagnorisis (tragic insight)
• denoument (resolution

Catharsis is

• a purging of painful emotions.
• a purging of painful emotions, and one of the traits of a tragic hero -- his or her demise is cathartic for the audience.