1.12.2011

Discover Anagnorisis!

Okay, guys. Here's another post that begins here and continues over on Let the Words Flow. I hope you're not all getting sick of having to click over to the other blog. I promise to write some posts just for this blog very soon! In the meantime, please let me know in the comments if you feel a bit like I'm "dragging you around the web" to finish a post. :)

Anagnorisis (pronounced something like “and ignore all this,”) is a fancy word that refers to the moment in a novel or play when the hero makes a discovery and moves from ignorance to knowledge. If you’ve heard that classic line of dialogue, “Luke, I am your father,” then you have a clear example of a moment of anagnorisis for a character. Not only is the knowledge gained by an instance of anagnorisis often startling, it is generally game-changing. Once the character has this new piece of information, things usually can’t return to the way they were before.

The Greeks developed the use of anagnorisis through Aristotelian tragedy. In this context, anagnorisis went beyond the simple recognition of some previously unknown fact or circumstance; it generally involved the recognition of a previously hidden “truth.” The hero’s discovery went beyond the sudden awareness of another person, but included awareness of that person’s true nature.

In the Aristotelian tradition, the best tragedies involve a moment of anagnorisis when the hero discovers his or her own true identity or nature. Consider, for example, Oedipus, who kills his father and marries his mother without knowing what he is doing, but later, at the moment of anagnorisis, discovers the truth. Compare this to the tragedy of Medea, who kills her own children, but is aware that they are her children all along. Aristotle believed that the best tragic heroes were those who experienced a sudden understanding of themselves and their actions – an anagnorisis that came too late.

To read the rest of the post click here to go to Let the Words Flow.

6 comments:

  1. No, I don't mind following links to reach the rest. If I have time, I trot around, and if I don't (like today), I get the Reader's Digest version and move on. :) Interesting thoughts! It actually applies to my WIP...

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  2. @Carol Glad you don't mind! I'm convinced that anagnorisis belongs in my current WIP, too, though I'm still trying to work the details through in my mind... Thanks for commenting!

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  3. Hey...I wander from blog to blog on my own so certainly don't mind going back and forth. Looking forward to learning from you!

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  4. @Deb - Thanks! I noticed that I had forced readers to click over to LTFW to finish my last several posts, and I got a bit concerned that some might find it annoying. :\ Thanks for commenting!

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  5. Julie! I have another blog award for you :)

    http://brookenomicon.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-award-and-linkage.html

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  6. @Brooke - Thanks so much! Can't wait to share it!!!

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