Catharsis

 -The release or purging of emotions of fear and/or pity, brought on by art, usually tragedy. It is an act that brings spiritual renewal. **
 * Catharsis:  [ k //uh// - thahr -sis ] [|Pronunciation]

1. Romeo and Juliet: Left with the feeling after the unfortunate and fatal ending.
 * Examples:

- Chorus' prologue: "star-crossed" or destined to fail. - Readers endure emotional misfortune.

2. Antigone: As the messenger relates the story of the deaths of Antigone and Haemon to Eurydice.

- Provoke catharsis without directly exposing the audience to the violence of the events.

- "we saw her hanging by the neck, suspended by a noose of fine linen, and him lying beside her, his arms about her waist, bewailing the destruction of his nuptial bed departed below" (lines: 1221-1224).

- "doomed and furious with himself, just as he was, he stretched out and drove his sword half-way into his side. Still conscious, he enfolds the girl in his faint embrace" (lines: 1234-1237).

3. Macbeth: Audience feels throughout the play that Macbeth’s slaying of the innocent Duncan was unjustified.

- The audience has a need for closure and to purge all of these emotions about Macbeth. - Closure comes with Macbeth's death. **


 * Analysis:

Purpose: To engage the audience and have an emotional response brought out of them through tragedy. - Get the audience engaged mentally - Have the people relate what is happening in the play to their own lives. **