Anagnorisis
In tragedy, the moment of recognition or discovery in which the protagonist (and audience) understands crucial truths, often understanding how their hamartia has led to disaster. Anagnorisis is often paired with peripeteia, the reversal of fortune.
Real World
In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the moment Oedipus realises he has unknowingly killed his father and married his mother is the definitive anagnorisis — his pride and determination to uncover the truth become the very mechanism of his destruction.
Exam Focus
Link anagnorisis explicitly to hamartia and peripeteia to demonstrate understanding of tragic structure and earn AO1 marks.
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