It’s usually the turning point in a story when the protagonist moves from ignorance to awareness, writes Roopa Banerjee

Anagnorisis is the moment in a literary work or film when the protagonist acknowledges another character’s true worth and/or truth about her own circumstance. It’s the turning point of a story when a character moves from ignorance to awareness. The etymology is from the Greek ana i.e, back, gnorizein, to make known or gain knowledge. Thus, anagnorisis in Greek means recognition.

This literary device is acknowledged by Aristotle in his treatise Poetics as essential to the plot of a tragedy. In this earliest surviving work of dramatic and literary theory, he explains why anagnorisis is a key component of classical Greek tragedy. According to him the moment of truth or revelation gives the protagonist a life-changing insight into his own character as well as the situation. This epiphany propels the story to its conclusion. He believed that anagnorisis in a tragedy made the tale superior and appealing to readers.

One of the early examples of anagnorisis is in Sophocles’ Greek drama Oedipus Rex when Oedipus realises the truth about his birth, and discovers that his wife Jocasta is his mother, the man he killed his father, and he the sinner who made Thebes miserable. This is followed by his descent into despair and misery.

Another example is from the ancient Greek epic poem Odyssey, written by Homer. The king of Phaeacia asks his singer to entertain a shipwrecked stranger with songs of the Trojan War, and the stranger begins to sob as he is reminded of all the pain and grief he suffered, and reveals himself as none other than Odysseus.

William Shakespeare has also used anagnorisis extensively in all his plays. In The Winter’s Tale, he uses it skilfully — when the shepherdess Perdita discovers she is the royal princess of Sicilia. This awareness completely transforms her life.

A recent example of anagnorisis in pop culture is in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker realises the true identity of Darth Vader. That proves to be the turning point of the narrative. Three prequels were written to detail the backstory of Darth Vader after the anagnorisis revelation.

The moment of anagnorisis in a plot not only enables the protagonist to understand his own reality, but also changes the flow of the narrative. It is a very valuable device for writers as it enables them to focus the attention of readers. Over time, anagnorisis has moved from tragedy to any plot that requires a revelation or twist.

Bollywood films of the 1970s with the classic lost and found plot used anagnorisis with great effect. In these movies, lost family members were united at the end, which gave a positive boost to the audience as they left the theatre with a feel-good glow. This resolution of lingering issues brings the story to a satisfactory conclusion and allows readers/ viewers to experience catharsis. Anagnorisis is usually used during the climax of a plot, allowing the writer to tie up all loose ends of a story.

Exercise
Name the writers of the following literary works/ films which have made exemplary use of anagnorisis:
1. Othello
2. The Sixth Sense
3. Great Expectations
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban