pharmakos

This term came up during Little's lecture on Macbeth. The “pharmakos” is also known as the “scapegoat.” This character typically stands as the figure who takes on the pollution of the state. When the character is killed off later in the story or play, the whole pollution of the state disappears. The “pharmakos” essentially takes on all of the anxiety of the play, so that upon his (or her) death the play can revert back to normalcy and allow the other characters of the play to resume their lives as usual. In essence, the death of the "pharmakos" rights all wrongs. An example of a "pharmakos" is Macbeth himself. He embodies all of the anxiety and condemnable character of the play by way of his hubris (tragic flaw), which Professor Little argues is his obsession with authoritarianism. When Macbeth dies at the end of the play, the state is able to rid itself of the gripping rule and oppression of authoritarianism and make way for a more even rule by the rightful king Malcolm.

Roberta Wolfson
Section 1B
4-4:50 Ian Hoch