Running Head: ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY
Elements of Tragedy
Samit Hassan
Lynn University
26/09/19
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Running Head: ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY
THESIS: Match Point uses Aristotle’s theories of tragedy by focusing on the hero’s life
which is dominated by the flaw of selfishness that later leads to his downfall.
I. Topic sentence: Aristotle’s theory is used in Match Point movie where Chris Wilton is
the hero of the story as seen through his success in personal associations, sport and
business career.
A. Main detail: The hero’s determination changes his personal life and sport
career.
i.
He succeeds in his attempt to go from poverty to fame
ii.
He also manages to become a tennis coach in London where he
meets Tom
B Main Detail: The hero also manages to establish his business career through his
connections.
i.
Chris paves through the business world and becomes an executive
in the Hewett’s company.
ii.
He manages to marry a wealthy and powerful woman who makes
his business associations even stronger.
II. Topic sentence: Aristotle’s theory of flaw is clearly portrayed in the movie Match
Point where Chris’ acts of selfishness.
A Main detail: Chris develops selfishness for wealth and that determines how he
treats others
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Running Head: ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY
i.
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He marries Chloe due to the business connections that her family
presents.
ii.
He also wants to keep the affair with Nola private so that it does not
affect his position at the company.
B Main detail: He is selfish with his love life by telling lies that would only benefit
him.
i.
He falls in love with another woman without minding the feelings
of Tom and Chloe
ii.
When everything unfolds, he kills Nola for trying to expose his
secrets as he cannot risk losing the trust of the Hewett family.
III. Topic sentence: Aristotle’s element of flaw is connected to the kind of downfall that
befalls the hero in the movie of Match Point.
A. The Main detail: Chris losses his loyalty and love he had at the beginning due to
selfishness.
i.
His romantic engagements with Nola make him betray the Hewett
family and he now feels guilty for working against their backs.
ii.
To avoid the consequences of his actions, Chris gets rid of a woman
he once loved all for the reason of maintaining his social class that
comes with Chloe and her family.
B. Main detail: Another aspect of downfall is Chris’ guilt and lack of peace.
Running Head: ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY
i.
The continuous cheating and distancing himself from Chloe brings suspicions,
and he does not receive the same love as he did at the beginning of the film.
Chloe and Tom can deny him the opportunities as they suspect his integrity.
ii.
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Chris cannot bear the pressure and ends up committing two murders that put
him on the wrong side of the law. He lives in constant fear that the case might
open again and link him to these murders in the event of new evidence.
Concluding Statement
Conclusion: Match Point addresses the elements displayed in the Aristotle concept of
tragic through the hero’s flaws and downfall, which is a more imitation of reality as the
audience relate more.
Running head: A REVIEW OF THE FILM MATCH POINT
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A Review of the Film Match Point
Samit Hassan
Lynn University
07/09/19
A REVIEW OF THE FILM MATCH POINT
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Questions on Hero:
In Match Point, the fact that Chris Wilton is in world-class tennis competing against the
best players in the world; this does not mean that he has become a sports hero. Instead, how he
plays the game and wins is what makes Chris a hero. Still, in the case of an athlete, he does not
become a hero if at all there are no altruistic acts of heroism that portray risk or sacrifice. Further,
as Chris enters the upper-class society, I think he tries to adapt to the status of Tom's wealthy
family despite being from a poor background. The element of poverty is evident in Chris’s
previous apartment, which looks old-fashioned; unlike the flashy house, he moves into with his
wife, Chloe. He even starts reading classic works for fun. So far, I believe that his values are
materialistic; hence, he is not sincere in his quest for pursuing Chloe. With the success of his
plans, Chris manages to get a high position in Chloe’s father’s business. However, I do not
believe that his achievements are a result of having excellent business skills. Instead, his success
is heroic as a result of knowing influential people who boost his growth.
Questions on the Flaw [Hamartia]:
Based on Chris’s personality, his flaws make him a tragic hero. For instance, I can say
that his love for Chloe is not genuine due to his greed and selfish personality. From the
beginning, I believe that the very moment he encountered his wealthy friend, Tom; he knew his
life would be transformed by engaging Chloe. This is evident when Chris says, “I think it is
important to be lucky in anything” (Aronson, Wiley, & Darwin, 2005). Therefore, his encounter
with Chloe is a game of trying his luck in getting wealthy. I would further say that Chris
selfishness makes him pursue Nola well knowing that this might jeopardize his marriage.
A REVIEW OF THE FILM MATCH POINT
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Questions on the hero’s downfall [Peripeteia]:
Further, when I reflect on the events that take place in Chris’s life, in truth, he has a
downfall because, in the beginning, he has a genuine and humble lifestyle. However, when he
gets involved with Chloe's family, events turn out tragic for him. Due to his flaws, this leads
Chris to lust for a woman, Nola, who he enjoys being intimate with. This can be justified when
Chris tells Nola, “Did anyone ever tell you, you have very sensual lips” (Aronson, Wiley, &
Darwin, 2005). His flaw further influences him to want his wife because of her wealth. His
actions tend to worsen the events in his life since, at some point; he even commits murder.
Questions on the Recognition [Anagnorisis]:
Considering that the tragic events tend to worsen in the film, Chris does not confess to
the police or his wife about the murder he commits. Instead, he recognizes his flaws by admitting
to ghostly figures that approach him in his sleep. Still, there is recognition in Chris's face when
he realizes that Nola is pregnant, and he has no idea of how to handle the situation. Chris seems
frustrated where he ends up shouting to Nola, saying, Nola! Calm down! Calm the fuck down”
after arguing with Nola that she should terminate the pregnancy (Aronson, Wiley, & Darwin,
2005). Further, towards the end of the film, when Chris later meets Nola’s baby, he realizes that
this would have adverse consequences on his marriage.
Questions on Catharsis:
Finally, as a viewer, the tragic events that Chris goes through make me pity him because
his actions make him blow away all the good things he had in life. Although all through the
A REVIEW OF THE FILM MATCH POINT
tragic events Chris manages to suppress his feelings of guilt, this instead intensifies my pity on
him because he failed to recognize that his actions would lead to his downfall.
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A REVIEW OF THE FILM MATCH POINT
Reference
Aronson, L., & Wiley, G., & Darwin, L., (2005). Match Point. [Film]. British Broadcasting
Corporation Films. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wISRAOb6xm0
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Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedy
Who was Aristotle?
Born: c. 384 BCE in Stagira, Macedonia. Died: c. 322 BCE He was an ancient Greek
philosopher whose work has been extremely important to the development of both western
philosophy and western theology [belief and reason]. Very little of what we have appears to
have been published by Aristotle himself. Instead, we have notes from his school much of
which were created by his students during the time Aristotle taught. Aristotle himself wrote a
few works intended for publication, but we only have fragments of these. His work that we will
study is his Poetics, in which Aristotle explains the structure and feeling of tragedy.
Aristotle’s ideas on tragedy: The Poetics 335 BC
While it is believed that Aristotle's Poetics comprised two books – one on comedy
and one on tragedy – only the portion that focuses on tragedy has survived.
The characters in a tragedy are merely a means of driving the story; the plot, not
the characters, is the chief focus of tragedy. In a sense Aristotle was not into
psychology. What you did made you who you are.
Comedy, for Aristotle, is a dramatic imitation of men worse than average; whereas
tragedy imitates men slightly better than average.
The Ancient Greek View of the Universe
Tom Driver
“The achievement of the Greek thinkers was that they discovered new ways to see the
constants that lie within life’s apparently random change. What is given immediately to our
experience is variety and mutation, and this produces unbearable anxiety unless some
pattern of consistency can be found within it.
“The peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, who cradled our civilization, sought to
transcend the flux through the elaboration of various myths and rituals. ” The Greeks did
also, and it became their privilege eventually to transmute the myths and rituals into
philosophy and literature of such universal appeal that time has not rendered them obsolete.
“The Greeks fought against time and won. They did it, strangely, by shutting out the future.
The future is the enemy of timelessness, as the past, which is fixed, and the present, which
is ineffable, is not.”
Driver, Tom. (1990).
Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy from the Poetics
[two translations]
“A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action [a drama, play or film] that is serious
[no comedy] and also, as having magnitude [universal], complete in itself; in language
with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work;
in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear [in the
audience], wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.”
“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some
amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated;
by means of pity and fear effectuating its purgation of these emotions.”
Source: (Paredes, 2014, page 24)
Breaking Down Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy
Source of quotes: Tragedy: The Basics. (2004)
Tragedy is a serious action [drama, no comedy]; it must be an"imitation" of
real life: mimesis. Why? Because if it is an imitation of real life, the audience
will connect to the drama. They will be able to relate their own lives to the lives of the fictional
characters. This will
“Aristotle asserts that the artist does not just copy the shifting appearances of the world,
but rather imitates or represents Reality itself, and gives form and meaning to that
Reality.” (As cited in Tragedy: The Basics, 2004).
The drama must reveal universal themes of ontological importance [the nature of
being, of being alive and existence]. This is why the Greek tragedies are still done
today. We still can relate to the issues in tragedy 2,000 years after Aristotle
In so doing, the artist gives shape to the universal, not the accidental. Poetry,
Aristotle says, is "a more philosophical and serious business than history; for poetry
speaks more of universals, history of particulars.
[As cited in Tragedy: The Basics. 2004)
Aristotle said that tragedy should focus on the life of one person: the hero
Aristotle contests that the tragic hero has to be a man "who is eminently good and just,
whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. He
is not making the hero entirely good in which he can do no wrong but misfortune.”
Note the hero is not too good or too evil. Why? If too evil, the audience will reject the hero
as simply a villain. If the hero is too perfect, the sadness the audience will feel for the hero
at the end of the tragedy could be almost unbearable.
The Hero cont.
Aristotle suggests that a hero of a tragedy must evoke in the audience a sense of pity or
fear, saying, “the change of fortune presented must be the spectacle of a virtuous man
brought from prosperity to adversity."
Aristotle stresses that the emotion of pity stems NOT from a person becoming better but
when a person receives undeserved misfortune. We as the audience feel sorry or pity for the
hero. Fear is felt because when the misfortune befalls a man or a woman like us, it means
that it could happen to us, too. This is why Aristotle points out the simple fact that the
change of fortune should be not from bad to good, but, reversely, from good to bad.”
Reeves, Charles, 1952. Pg. 172-188.
The Hero’s Flaw
Aristotle also establishes that the hero has to be “virtuous” that is to say he has to be "a morally blameless
man. The Hero’s flaw is what will bring him not success, but death by the end of the work.” Butcher, S.H.
(2008). pp. 45-47.
The hero’s flaw- in Greek…hamartia [ha-mar-tee-a]. In Greek tragedy, what leads to the hero’s downfall and
tragedy is an aspect of his or her own personality that causes the hero to suffer. In that sense the hero creates
his or her downfall rather than being the victim of something terrible. The hero might attempt to achieve a
certain goal, but by making an error in judgment the hero instead achieves the opposite result with disastrous
consequences. Aristotle would say that these self-destructive actions reveal the hero’s flaw – what went
wrong in his or her own thinking or psychology.
In Aristotle’s world the lives of people fit into the order of the universe that was governed by the gods and
fate. Fate determined our paths through life; sometimes fate is good, but sometimes not. How we deal with
fate in the Greek view is what determines our lives. Fate is not kind to the hero; but what causes his suffering
is how he or she deals with her fate. Accept it, or fight it!
The Downfall of the Hero - Tragedy
As a result of his or her flaw, the tragic hero undergoes terrible circumstances during the course of
the drama. Once great and noble and happy and loved, the hero experiences a decline or reversal of
fortune in life. Things go badly. We would say the hero’s life has gone downhill. Aristotle called
this “peripeteia” [pe-ree-pe-tay-a].
In ancient Greek tragedy, somehow the tragic hero has violated the order of things or the way the
world should be. In the case of the classic Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, the hero, learns that
through a twist of fate, he wound up murdering his father and marrying his mother. This is the
hero’s downfall, the reversal of the good fortune of his or
her life. His flaw is excessive pride, or hubris, as Aristotle called it. Oedipus cannot accept his fate.
As a result the once great and wise king becomes paranoid and accuses everyone of treachery by
trying to steal his kingdom. This begins his downfall, which only becomes worse and eventually he
blinds himself out of guilt.
The final element of tragedy according Aristotle is called “anagnorisis” [anna-nor-ee-sis].
Anagnorisis is a moment in a play or other work when the tragic hero makes a critical
discovery. The realization is that the tragic hero is responsible for his or own downfall.
Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context. It was the hero's sudden
awareness of a real situation, the tragedy that he or she has caused.” To make things even
worse for the tragic hero this moment of critical discovery often happens in public and
results in a confession.
Catharsis: a word used now on modern psychotherapy has to do with the audience and not
the characters in the tragedy! This word originates from the Greek katharsis meaning
"purification" or “cleansing", and it refers to the purification and purging of emotions,
especially pity and fear, that the audience feels at the end of the drama. We all know this
feeling. At the end of a sad, tragic movie, we are sometimes left in tears. After the movie is
over, we feel relief. After all it is only a movie - a made up story. It is why we enjoy sad
movies or plays. We purge the emotions, digest them and then go on to our normal lives
having learned from and enjoyed the experience of tragedy. [Remember catharsis is felt by
the audience, not the hero]
Summary of Aristotle’s theory of tragedy
Tragedy is an imitation of real life with universal meaning to all and involves a hero who has a flaw that leads
to his or her downfall that ends in the hero’s recognition. The result of witnessing the tragedy is catharsis, a
release of pity and fear for the hero by the audience.
Why Tragedy
What is tragic? What is a tragedy? Do
we all experience tragedy?
• Tragic? We use the word tragic in many
different ways. Are these tragic?
• And old person dies in Boca?
• An infant dies in Boca?
• I get hit by a bus crossing the street?
• A massive hurricane kills thousands?
• Tragedy is an art form to communicate the
suffering and sadness of experiences in life. These
films you may know. They are tragedies.
• Titanic
• Marley and Me
• Moonlight
• La La Land
• Me Before You
• The Edge of Seventeen
• Manchester By the Sea
Why Tragedy
• We study tragedy as an art form in this course.
Throughout history dramatic tragedy has
served two purposes:
• 1. To teach what is like to experience the
worst things of life
• 2. To delight - to move the audience
emotionally
• 3. Consider Titanic – teach and delight?
• How do you create a tragic play or fil: tragedy
takes about two hours to tell story
• An earthquake….how do you tell the story...you
need to focus on the lives of one or two
individuals to show the effects of tragedy overall.
• Tragedy is a form to express human suffering
caused by humans.
In our course, we study the classic theories of
tragedy and how these theories of tragedy apply
to...
• Classical Greek tragedies
• Readings from ancient times to modern
• Figures from modern popular culture
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