The document discusses Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy. It explains that according to Aristotle, the key elements of tragedy are the plot, characters, thought, diction, melody/song, spectacle, and ending. It then analyzes how Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart fits Aristotle's model of tragedy, finding that the novel adheres well to Aristotle's concepts of plot, characters, thought, and diction in particular.

1. ARISTOTELIAN TRAGEDY
D A V I D A L L E N , C H A N C E R A M S E Y, G A B E
DEVOE, AND ADAM WEBBER

2. ARISTOTLE
• To understand a man, you have to understand his
history.
• Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who was taught by the
great Plato and taught one of the more famous rulers of
all time, Alexander the Great.
• He is considered one of the greatest founders of
Western Philosophy.
• His reign of influence was very potent during his time
and expanded into the Renaissance when the humanists
looked back to medieval times.

3. PARTS OF ARISTOTELIAN TRAGEDY
• Plot
• Character
• Thought
• Diction
• Melody/Song
• Spectacle
• The Ending

4. PLOT
• Aristotle believed that the plot scheme that relates to the
reader the most is a cause and effect system.
• The protagonist‟s feelings and personality are not as
important as the way the writer relates the story to the
reader.
• It must have a beginning, middle, and end. Along with a
climax.
• “Sally falls off her bike and scrapes her knee” , is not a
good plot. A good plot is complex and „intertwining‟.
• The protagonist must have recognition of the
catastrophe, and usually there should be a reversal of
his/her intentions.

5. CHARACTERS
• The characters will, will fuel the plot, the characters make the
audience have fear and pity for the characters.
• Personal motivation.
• The protagonist must gain essential knowledge before the
end of the book, and must “self destruct in blindness.”
• Traits of the Characters:
1. They must show their feelings.
2. They must stay true to life.
3. Fit the story.
4. Stay true to themselves.

6. THOUGHT
• Aristotle spoke very little about what role thought played
in the equation to make a perfect tragedy, but what he
did say was that the tragedy must make a point, it must
prove something “to be or not to be.”

7. DICTION
• In a few of his works, Aristotle described his love for
diction and writing; in tragedies, Aristotle believes that
the diction must have lots of metaphors.

8. MELODY/SONG
• Melody is a KEY piece to the tragedy, melody should not
be a part of the plot, but be THE plot. What the chorus is
singing should represent the plot.

9. SPECTACLE
• For Aristotle spectacle wasn‟t important. It was not about
how fancy the set or characters, it was the inner
structure of the play. The part that should bring the
viewer/reader joy is the structure and plot, not the cool
tribal scenes when the construction team did a nice
job, it‟s what the protagonist said so beautifully in scene
three for instance.

10. THE ENDING
• Aristotle never defines what he believes should happen
at the end of a tragedy, rather he discusses what the
reader should feel after the tragedy. He goes on to say
that the reader should get joy from the story, because
he/she gets to ponder all aspects of the greatness of the
story, i.e. the pity and fear that are “purged.”

11. THINGS FALL APART
• Plot: Aristotle said that plot was the most important
characteristic of a tragedy, and in this case Things Fall
Apart fits like a glove. The plot is fueled by a cause and
effect system, there is a beginning, middle, and end. The
protagonist, Okonkowo, sees and understands the
catastrophe, the catastrophe that the tribe is being
misunderstood by the white men. This story‟s plot fits the
Aristotelian tragedy.

12. THINGS FALL APART
• Characters: In an Aristotelian Tragedy the protagonist is
very important, he/she must do four things.
• 1. Show his/her feelings: Okonkwo definitely fits this
aspect of the protagonist, he is not shy in telling his
tribesmen how he feels.
• 2. He/She must stay true to life: Okonkwo stays true to
his culture and fights for it until the very end.
• 3. Fit the Story: Not only does Okonkwo fit the story, he
sets up the story, in my opinion.
• 4. Stay true to himself/herself: Like in #2, Okonkwo
sticks to his guns throughout the entire story, he never
once loses sight of where he‟s from.

13. THINGS FALL APART
• Thought: The thought aspect of an Aristotelian Tragedy
is pretty simple; to be, or not to be. The story shows at
the end which side everyone falls on. Okonkwo sides on
the “not to be” side, he sticks true to the ancient culture
and refuses to side with the white men. However, most
of the tribe decides “to be” or to give in to the white
men‟s new culture.

14. THINGS FALL APART
• Diction: The diction in an Aristotelian Tragedy is
supposed to use lots of metaphors. Turns out in Things
Fall Apart Chinua Achebe writes in proverbs and short-
choppy sentences. It definitely qualifies in this section.

15. THINGS FALL APART
• Song/Melody: There is a few tribal songs here and
there, but overall there is no song or melody.

16. THINGS FALL APART
• Spectacle: I think the more you divulge into the history of
Nigerian independence and get to know more about their
culture, it‟s easier to see how wonderful of a job Achebe
did with the spectacle aspect of an Aristotelian Tragedy.
Achebe did a great job in bringing out the importance of
the way his diction represented the native tribes. The
spectacle aspect is more of a play or skit aspect of the
tragedy, but overall I feel that Achebe did a good job
here.

17. THINGS FALL APART
• My group has reached a decision; After looking over all
the different pieces to the Aristotle puzzle, we believe
that Achebe‟s work, is an Aristotelian Tragedy.