literary study - the humanistic study of literature

arts, humanistic discipline, humanities, liberal arts - studies intended to provide general
knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills); "the college
of arts and sciences"
lit, literature - the humanistic study of a body of literature; "he took a course in Russian lit"
comparative literature - study of literary works from different cultures (often in translation)
lit crit, literary criticism - the informed analysis and evaluation of literature
poetics - study of poetic works
classics - study of the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome
rhetoric - study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public
speaking)

Peripeteia, ( Greek: reversal) the turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily
to its denouement. It is discussed by Aristotle in the Poetics as the shift of the tragic protagonists
fortune from good to bad, which is essential to the plot of a tragedy. It is often an ironic twist, as
in Sophocles Oedipus Rex when a messenger brings Oedipus news about his parents that he
thinks will cheer him, but the news instead slowly brings about the awful recognition that leads
to Oedipuss catastrophe.