Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. The moment in the plot of a drama in which the hero makes a discovery that explains previously unexplained events or situations.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. The unfolding or dénouement.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Recognition.
- n. The unraveling of a plot in dramatic action; dénouement; clearing up.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Examples
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Because the upside of being a tragic protagonist is that every such protagonist experiences anagnorisis, meaning “recognition.”
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Like you might read a Greek play and initially identify the basic agon and the key moment of anagnorisis, you might read an SF short story and initially identify the most obvious alethic quirks.
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His anagnorisis -- when the protagonist realizes the true identities of those surrounding him along with his own -- took place in the solitary cell of Evin prison where he spent twenty days.
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The author thus depicted suffered an attack of anagnorisis at least twice while reading it.
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If I recall correctly, anagnorisis was in Aristotle's Poetics the "recognition" of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall, the classic example being Oedipus's recognition that he married his mother.
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His anagnorisis--when the protagonist realizes the true identities of those surrounding him along with his own--took place in the solitary cell of Evin prison where he spent twenty days.
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Structurally, TWBB is the first half of a Greek tragedy, perhaps, although the anagnorisis and catastrophe and what a catastrophe both storm in by the last twenty minutes.
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And this metaphor in my head -- I got anagnorisis and peripetia on my chin.
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They're two sides of the same coin, just like innovation and imitation, like risk and responsibility, like peripetia and anagnorisis, like that poor little lamb, who I hope isn't quivering anymore, and like my time that's gone.
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Literally, the transition from ignorance to knowledge is anagnorisis, what our network does, it's what Dirty Jobs is.
ruzuzu commented on the word anagnorisis
See comments on eudaimonia.
October 6, 2011
knitandpurl commented on the word anagnorisis
"He realizes everything at once like the climax of a bad Hindi musical. And then, with a certain horrid glee, he gets to the fundamental truth of it, the anagnorisis: This incident alone will keep us two old boys going for the next forty years. It is the story to end all stories. It is the gift that keeps on giving."
White Teeth by Zadie Smith, p 441 of the Vintage International paperback
February 1, 2011
skotte commented on the word anagnorisis
Refers to an unveiling of truths. Great word. I always picture Poirot pacing around the drawing room with a crimson carpet, velvety curtains drawn, as nervous enemies sit on edge.
October 20, 2009
logophile commented on the word anagnorisis
What a wonderful word. Taught to me by my Shakespeare professor.
October 1, 2008