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(Greek: περιπέτεια) The sudden reversal of fortune that follows from the tragic action — typically from prosperity to ruin. Oedipus moves from king of Thebes, hunter of truth, to blind exile in a single scene. Macbeth falls from the iron throne he bled to claim into a siege where even his soldiers have deserted. Aristotle described peripeteia as the pivot of great tragedy.
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