explain aristotles thery of catharsisi

1. INTRODUCTION
Name : Gediya Disha Vijaybhai
Roll number:11
Department of English
Maharaja krishna kumar sinhji Bhavnagar University
Paper no:3
Subject: Explain Aristotle’s theory of Catharsis

2. ARISTOTLE
• Aristotle the great Greek philosopherand
scientist born in the city of Stagira. He born
384BC chalkidice on the northern periphery of
classical Greece. At seventeen or eighteen years
of age he joined Plato ‘s academy in Athens. The
heart of the intellectual world at the time .
Aristotle remained academy for twenty years
until Plato’sdeath In 347BC. He was Plato’s most
promising student as already been noted
Aristotle was mor concerned than Plato white
actual metrical world and did not believe tha t
only thing That mattered is the realm of ideas
and perfect form.

3. CATHARSIS
• First there has been age long controversy about Aristotle ‘s
meaning of Catharsis almost always been accepted the
whatever he meant was profoundly right. May for example
have translated catha as ,”purification”, correction or
refinement or the like . It has been suggested tha r our pity
and fear are purified in the theater by becoming disinterested.
There is strong evidence that Catharsis mean not purification
but purgation a medical metaphors.

4. ARISTOTLE’S VIEW ON CATHARSIS
• Catharsis in general the purification of the emotions of pity and fear as the spectacle
of an eminent character who through some tragic flaw of weakness meets with
disaster. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, Catharsis means purification.dincd the
time of Aristotle the term has been associate with the question of the effect of
tragedy on the spectator or on the actors. Catharsis effect the actors inthe tragedy
rather than the spectator or the readers. Tragedy through the pity and fear effects a
Catharsis of such emotions. To translate Catharsis as purgation today is misleading
owing to hte chance of meaning which the word undergo. The theory of humours is
outdated in the medical science. Purgation has assumed different meaning. It is no
longer what Aristotle has in mind.

5. CATHARSIS
• The term Catharsis only once
used by Aristotle in poetics in the
forth chapter. F.L.L.Lucas suggest
keeps the sense but loses the
metaphors. Anyway when it is
not possible to keep up both the
meaning metaphors it is better
to maintain meaning and
sacrifice the metaphors in
translating Catharsis tempering.

6. CATHARSIS
• The passion to be moderate are the pity and
fear. The pity and fear to be moderate are again
of specific kind . Ther can never be an excess in
the pity that results in to a useful action. But
there can be too much pity as an intense and
helpless feeling and there can be also too much
of self pity which is not a praise worthy virtue.
• The Catharsis or moderation of such pity ought
to be achieved in the theater or otherwise when
possible for such moderation keeps the mind in
a healthy state of balanced.

7. ARISTOTLE’S THEORY
• Who fi f the theory of Catharsis profoundly meaningful .. Critics do
no deny that tragedy ha sits chief end only tragic delight to serve .
But in the anatomy of that delight they found truth of psych as
elucidate br Aristotle in the theory of Catharsis . Aristotle that says
makes critically ware of complex psychological process that
contribute to the art experience of tragedy while enjoying this
experience we are not aware of these process .

8. CATHARSIS
• Catharsis established tragedy as a drama of balance . Sorrow alone would be ugly and repulsive. Beauty
pure would be imaginative and mystical. These together constitute what may be called tragic beauty. .
Pity alone would be sentimentality . Fear alone would makes us cowards. But pity and fear sympathy
and terror constitute the tragic feeling which is most delightful though it is tearfully delightful. Such
tragic beauty and tragic feeling which it evokes constitute the aesthetic of balance as propounded for
the first time by Aristotle in his theory of Catharsis . Therefore we fe relevance which Aristotle has
enjoyed through ages has not gone to him underserved. His insights has rightly earned it.

9. CATHARSIS
• In Catharsis means if a completely good man who has no defects suffer it
cannot make tragedy. The death of mahatma Gandhi or Jesus Christ, does not
make tragedy because these were person without any tragic flaw. In his
character. The roots of tragedy therefore must lie with in man ‘s character.
For example Hamlet has inherent indecisive in his character and thus became
tragic hero but these should be no moral ugliness in the hero.