[per-uh-pi-tahy-uh, -tee-uh] 
| a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, esp. in a literary work. |
| per·i·pe·te·ia also per·i·pe·ti·a (pěr'ə-pə-tē'ə, -tī'ə) n. A sudden change of events or reversal of circumstances, especially in a literary work. [Greek, from peripiptein, peripet-, to change suddenly : peri-, peri- + piptein, to fall; see pet- in Indo-European roots.] |
peripeteia
the turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its denouement. It is discussed by Aristotle in the Poetics as the shift of the tragic protagonist's fortune from good to bad, which is essential to the plot of a tragedy. It is often an ironic twist, as in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex when a messenger brings Oedipus news about his parents that he thinks will cheer him, but the news instead slowly brings about the awful recognition that leads to Oedipus's catastrophe
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