Anagnorisis
Anagnorisis (
Tragedy
In his Poetics, as part of his discussion of peripeteia, Aristotle defined anagnorisis as "a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune" (1452a). It is often discussed along with Aristotle's concept of catharsis.
In the
Aristotle was the first writer to discuss the uses of anagnorisis, with peripeteia caused by it. He considered it the mark of a superior tragedy, as when
Another prominent example of anagnorisis in tragedy is in
Comedy
The section of Aristotle's Poetics dealing with comedy did not survive, but many critics also discuss recognition in comedies. A standard plot of the
Literature and modern usage
Mystery
The earliest use of anagnorisis in a
Modern usage
Anagnorisis, however, is not limited to classical or Elizabethan sources. Author and lecturer Ivan Pintor Iranzo points out that contemporary auteur M. Night Shyamalan uses similar revelations in The Sixth Sense, in which child psychologist Malcolm Crowe successfully treats a child who is having visions of dead people, only to realize at the close of the film that Crowe himself is dead, as well as in Unbreakable, in which the character of David realizes that he survived a train crash that killed the other passengers, due to a supernatural power.[6] Another well known example of anagnorisis from popular culture is the revelation that Darth Vader is the father of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. An extensive account of the history and application of anagnorisis is provided by Terence Cave in his book Recognitions.[7]
A humorous definition is included in 'The Banner: mock-heroic verse epic, Part 1: Sid' by Robin Gordon:
In any moment of such crisis / one thinks, of course, of those devices / which Aristotle said were needed / in any poem. We have heeded / Aristotle, and our plot, / (beginning, middle, end), has got / complications too, and error / fit to rouse cathartic terror, / protagonists, antagonists, / peripiteia, turns and twists. / The poet's comments form the choruses, / but now it's time for anagnorisis. / When Oedipus sees the bird he's bedded / is his own father's lawful wedded / wife, in fact she is his mother, / or Iphigenia finds her brother, / Discovery or Recognition / brings the plot to its fruition.[citation needed]
See also
- Aristotle – Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath (384–322 BC)
- Backstory – Events preceding a plot in a story
- Denouement– Structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film
- Epiphany – Sudden understanding of something's essence
- Peripeteia – Reversal of circumstances, turning point
- Tragedy – Genre of drama based on human suffering
References
- ISBN 0-15-629730-2
- ^ Aeschylus, and Robert Lowell. The Oresteia of Aeschylus. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1978.
- ISBN 0-15-629730-2
- ISBN 90-04-09530-6
- ISBN 0-8143-3259-5
- ^ Ivan Pintor Iranzo. The naked and the dead. The Representation of the dead and the construction of the other in contemporary cinema: The case of M. Night Shyamalan Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, No. 4, 2005
- ^ Recognitions: A Study in Poetics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.