What is "peripeteia"

also peripetia, 1590s, from Greek peripeteia "a turn right about; a sudden change" (of fortune, in a tragedy), from peri- "around" (see peri-) + stem of piptein "to fall" (see symptom).

n. 1 A sudden reversal of fortune as a plot point in Classical tragedy; hence, any sudden change in circumstances; a crisis. (from 16th c.) 2 (context psychoanalysis English) (rfdef: English). (from 1960s)

n. a sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances (especially in a literary work); "a peripeteia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling" [syn: peripetia, peripety]

Peripeteia is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point. The term is primarily used with reference to works of literature. The Anglicized form of peripeteia is peripety.