a royal, rich or righteous individual, who otherwise happens to be a lot like us,

一個貴族、有錢人或有正義感的人，恰巧就像我們一樣，

makes a mistake that sends his life, and the lives of those around him,

因為一個錯誤，導致他連同周遭親友的生活

spiraling into ruin.

陷入無底深淵。

Sound familiar?

感覺熟悉？

This is the classic story pattern for Greek tragedy.

這是古希臘悲劇的經典故事橋段。

For thousands of years,

經過好幾千年，

we've spun spellbinding tales that fit this pattern,

我們套用這個模式，編造出許多引人入勝的故事，

and modern storytellers around the world continue to do so.

現在全世界的說書人依然如此運作著。

Three critical story components influenced by Aristotle's "Poetics"

受到亞里斯多德"詩學"所影響的三大故事組成關鍵，

help us understand the allure.

幫助我們了解這魅力。

First, the tragic hero should be elevated in rank and ability,

第一個，悲劇下的英雄擁有崇高的地位和強大的能力，

but also relatable.

但也讓人容易產生共鳴。

Perhaps he is a king, or extraordinary in some other way.

也許他是一名國王，或者在某部分很傑出，

But because you and I are neither unusually good

但因為你我之間不會只有好的事情發生，

nor unusually bad,

也是有壞事出現，

neither is the hero.

英雄亦是如此。

And he has one particular tragic flaw, or hamartia,

他有一個特定不幸的缺點，或者是悲劇性的弱點，

something like ambition, tyranny, stubbornness, or excess pride

例如野心、暴政、固執、或者過度高傲，

that causes him to make a critical mistake.

以至於讓他犯下致命性的錯誤，

And from that mistake comes disaster and downfall.

如此的過失帶來災難和沒落。

As an example of these elements in action,

讓我們以實際的例子來看這些要素，

let's look to Sophocles's "Oedipus Rex,"

就拿古希臘悲劇作家-索福克勒斯的作品"伊底帕斯王"來說，

about a man who doesn't know he was adopted,

一個男人不知道自己是被收養的，

and is warned by an oracle that he's destined to murder his father

他被神諭警告自己未來的命運將會發生殺父

and marry his mother.

並娶自己母親的事情。

In trying to escape this fate,

在他為了逃離命運的掌控時，

he kills a man who won't get out of his way at a crossroad.

他殺了在交叉路口上擋他去路的人。

He then cleverly answers the riddle of the monstrous Sphynx,

之後更聰明的解開人面獅身獸斯芬克斯的謎語，

freeing the Kingdom of Thebes from a plague.

為自己的國家底斯比城免於災難。

He marries the widowed queen and becomes king.

他娶了前任國王的遺孀，成為新任國王。

But after he finds out that the murdered man was his father,

但之後他發現，當初他所殺的人其實是他的父親，

and the queen he married is his mother,

而他所娶的皇后是他媽媽，

Oedipus gouges out his eyes and retreats into the wilderness.

伊底帕斯便挖出他的雙眼，躲進荒野中。

At the beginning of his story,

在故事的一開始，

Oedipus is elevated in ability, and he's elevated in rank.

伊底帕斯提升了自己的能力以及地位，

He's neither unusually evil nor saintly.

他既不邪惡也不神聖，

He's relatable.

反而跟我們相同。

Notice the height of the fall.

注意這落差，

Once a king, but now homeless and blind.

曾經是國王，但之後卻無家可歸且失去眼睛。

It's more tragic, after all, if a king falls from a tall throne

畢竟，比起小丑從凳子上摔下來，

than if a jester falls off his step stool.

一位崇高的國王跌落寶座的事情更加悲劇。

Oedipus's tragic flaw is hubris, or excessive pride,

伊底帕斯引起悲劇的缺失是傲慢自大，或過度高傲，

and it causes him to attempt to avoid the fate prophesied for him,

導致他試著避免被預言的命運，

which is exactly what makes it happen.

也是讓這一切發生的原因。

He's a particularly unlucky soul

他是一位特別不幸的人，

because his mistake of killing his father and marrying his mother

因為他的無知，讓他犯下錯誤，殺了父親

is done in complete ignorance.

並娶了自己的母親。

Of course, these narrative principles transcend classic Greek tragedy.

當然，這些敘述原則超越經典的古希臘悲劇。

In Shakespeare's canon,

在莎士比亞的精選中，

we see Hamlet's indecisiveness lead to a series of bad decisions,

我們看到哈姆雷特的優柔寡斷導致一連串不好的決策，

or perhaps non-decisions,

或大概沒有決定任何事，

that culminate in the death of almost every character in the play,

故事的最高潮在於所有劇中的人物都死亡，

and Macbeth's ambition catapults him to the top

在馬可貝踏入墳墓之前，

before sending him careening to his grave.

他的野心將他的聲勢帶到最高點。

Even modern pop culture staples like "Game of Thrones" and "The Dark Knight"

即便現在主要的流行文化，例如"權力遊戲"和"黑暗騎士"，

resonate with the tropes Aristotle identified over 2000 years ago.

透過亞里斯多德定義來延伸共鳴的比喻已超過2000年。

So what's the point of all of this suffering?

這些苦難的重點是什麼？

According to Aristotle, and many scholars since,

根據亞里斯多德，以及許多的學者，

a good tragedy can evoke fear and pity in the audience:

一個好的悲劇可以喚起觀眾的恐懼和同情：

Fear of falling victim to the same or similar catastrophe,

害怕落得跟受害者一樣或相似的災難，

and pity for the height of the hero's downfall.

同情英雄的天差地別的殞落。

Ideally, after watching these tragic events unfold,

理想上，在看完這些悲劇事件的展開，

we experience catharsis,

我們經歷了淨化洗滌，

a feeling of relief and emotional purification.

感受得以慰藉及情緒上的淨化。

Not everyone agrees why this happens.

不是每個人都認同這事情發生，

It may be that empathizing with the hero

可能強調英雄的存在，

allows us to experience and release strong emotions that we keep bottled up,

讓我們可以經歷和釋放那些我們持續奮鬥的強烈情緒，

or maybe it just lets us forget about our own problems for a little while.

或者可以讓我們暫時忘卻生活上發生的難題。

But regardless of how you feel when you watch poor Oedipus,

但不管在你看到可憐的伊底帕斯之後感受如何，

never has there been a more salient reminder

不要忽略最重要的提示，

that no matter how bad things get,

不管事情有多麼糟糕，

at least you didn't kill your father and marry your mother.

至少你不會殺了父親還娶了自己的母親。