Tragedy

Operatic & metrical tragoidos means "goat-song"; the nature of tragedy is political, and they usually address politics directly. General characteristics of the tragedy include:

Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant, Antigone au chevet de Polynice

Mimetic Perspective — the sudden and catastrophic fall of a great person from fortune to misfortune.
Affective (audience response) Perspective — arouses a catharsis of pity and terror.
Causal relationship between character and fate — character contributes to destiny.
Character not eminently good or noble, a mean between goodness and depravity. Possesses a hamartia, tragic flaw or simply a mistake in judgement.
Universe is not perfectly ordered; achieves balance between order absurdity. Great people seem to die while the mediocrity rule.
Tragic protagonist dies bravely.
Tragic protagonist achieves a degree of anagnorisis or a moment of enlightenment; also an acceptance of his/her flaw. Aristotle defines anagnorisis as “a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune.”
Tragic protagonist makes important choices. Her/his choices matter because they effect more than just the tragic protagonist. Aristotle defines peripeteia as "a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune".

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