noun
- a sudden reversal of circumstances or turning point in a drama or narrative
Usage: literary
Examples
- The hero’s discovery of his true identity marked the peripety of the tragedy.
- Shakespeare’s plays often feature a dramatic peripety in the final act.
- The novel’s peripety occurs when the protagonist learns the truth about her past.
- Critics praised the unexpected peripety that transformed the story’s direction.
- The peripety in the third act completely changed the audience’s understanding of the plot.
- Ancient Greek tragedies typically included a peripety followed by recognition.