tragic fall
Hero's doomed plummet
A tragic fall is a dramatic reversal of fortune, especially the downfall of a hero through a fatal flaw or circumstance.
The term comes from classical drama, where protagonists fall from greatness to ruin: Macbeth's tragic fall began with ambition.
The phrase applies beyond theater to any precipitous decline from a high position: The CEO's tragic fall shocked Wall Street.
- IcarusMythical overreacher who fell
- HamletDanish prince's revenge tragedy
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
- hamartiaFatal error causing downfall
- fallen angelExpelled celestial rebel
King Lear · hubris · fatal flaw · self-destruction · downward spiral · Joan of Arc · overreacher · catharsis · Romeo and Juliet · self-awareness · free will · Julius Caesar · nemesis · human frailty · Napoleon Bonaparte · Prometheus · dramatic irony · undoing
tragic fallredemption arc
Narrative journey toward atonement
elevation · breakthrough · rags-to-riches · rise to power · ascension
tragic fallhappy ending
Story concludes well
fairy-tale ending · happily ever after · redemption · salvation · deliverance