II. Some key words:

 1.Tragic Flaw

       A 'tragic flaw', by definition, is a personality trait that leads to the downfall of the protagonist. It can also be a wrong action performed by the protagonist that results in his own ruin. It is the most important element in the tragedy and almost every hero/heroine of a Shakespearean tragedy possesses a tragic flaw. Examples of tragic flaw in Shakespearean tragedy are: Macbeth's obsession with power, Othello's jealousy and Hamlet's indecisiveness.

2. Tragic hero/heroine

  1) Noble man

     As the tragic hero/heroine is of high estate and is a public figure, his/her downfall produces a contrast which affects not only his/her personal life, but the fate and welfare of the entire nation or the empire. It reflects the powerlessness of human beings and the omnipotence of fate that a personal story of a peasant or a worker cannot produce. 

  2) Common man

3. Catharsis

       It is known as catharsis, where the audience feels sympathy for the character and empathize with his/her sufferings. If the play has the capacity to move the audience by its plot, people who are reading the play or watching it in the theater can identify with the characters and feel that they have similar experiences in their life.

4. Tragic Structure

      Exposition: the beginning of the play where the reader/audience gets to know the characters and their traits, the general setting of the story, the major conflict in the story and most importantly, the tragic flaw of the hero. 

    Rising Action: it develops through the second act and eventually reaches the crisis where the hero makes a decision that changes the course of the play, sealing his own fate.

    Falling Action: the opposite forces become active, plotting the removal of the tragic hero, and the tragic hero starts declining.

    Resolution: the opposite forces reach the full power and defeat the isolated tragic hero. This is the time when the hero recognizes his faults, yet, cannot do anything about it.

III. Development of tragedy

  1. Tragedy of destiny

      Sophocles' Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex and Oedipus Tyrannus)

  2. Tragedy of character

       Shakespere's Humlet

  3. Tragedy of circumstance

       Auther Miller's Death of a Salesman