ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-NAV-G04-027 · ATLAS 259

Peripeteia

Peripeteia is a reversal that decisively changes the direction of a plot.

Part of the subject path Poetics, Narrative and Representation

Why is this entry in the Atlas?

E · Selected case R3 · Justified illustrative case

Peripeteia supplies a case of a reversal changing the direction of action beyond simple event succession. A surprising episode is insufficient without a structural turn in the plot.

Colours and admission grounds

The rectangular label identifies the entry function: F – linguistic figure or procedure; A – analytical concept; G – foundational concept; E – selected concrete case. The rounded badge indicates the admission ground: R1 – distinctive contribution; R2 – necessary foundation; R3 – justified illustrative case. This editorial rationale explains the current selection rather than claiming an undocumented original selection history.

Explanation

Peripeteia is a reversal that decisively changes the direction of a plot. In an Aristotelian account, its emergence from the action's own organisation matters, rather than its arrival as an unrelated accident. A recognition scene may cause or accompany such a reversal, but anagnorisis and peripeteia describe different things: one concerns recognition, the other a change in the course of action. Not every surprising disclosure produces a reversal. Analysis must establish which expectations and possibilities are actually overturned.

Movement of thought

1. Reconstruct the previous direction of action. 2. Identify a possible turning point. 3. Test its effects on goals and possibilities. 4. Examine its preparation within the plot. 5. Describe recognition and reversal separately.

Scientific use case

Drama analysis can compare preparation, consequences and connections with recognition scenes.

Example

A character presents a document intended to clear her name but thereby supplies the decisive evidence against herself. Her proposed rescue changes the situation into its opposite.

Counterexample

An unexpected change in weather is not such a dramatic reversal if it leaves the action unaffected.

Distinction

Distinguish peripeteia from surprise alone, any turning point and anagnorisis.

Effect on thought and perception

Peripeteia organises the moment when the course of action turns towards its opposite.

Resonance

The door promising rescue opens onto the other side.

Provenance

Parallel corpus 98f0950771ae4662f291d2f15f5c51b6797f3c20ba458a68615cdb177002ea18; case-bounded source review accepted; human specialist review not claimed.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Peripeteia“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G04-027. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G04-027

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G04-027

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