Aristotle defines tragedy as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude. It uses language and spectacle to arouse emotions of pity and fear in order to bring about a catharsis or purification of such emotions. For Aristotle, the most important element of tragedy is the plot, which must be complex, have unity of action, and involve a reversal of fortune brought about by the protagonist's hamartia or tragic flaw. Tragedy also requires realistic yet noble characters, appropriate language, integrated music, and reasonably integrated spectacle, all in service of arousing the emotions of pity and fear.
1) Aristotle defines tragedy as the imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, which provokes emotions of pity and fear and accomplishes a catharsis or purification of such emotions.
2) Tragedy has six elements - plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. The most important is plot, which must be complex and have unity, a beginning, middle and end, and follow the law of probability or necessity.
3) Character is also important and should support the plot. The protagonist brings about their own downfall not through vice but through an error or frailty known as hamartia.
Major Themes and analysis of Aristotle Poeticssaba rai
Aristotle analyzed poetry and defined its key elements and functions. He argued that tragedy is the highest form of poetry. According to Aristotle, a good tragedy uses reversal and recognition to provoke catharsis, or purification, in the audience. It elicits feelings of pity and fear that result in a pleasurable release of emotions. Aristotle also emphasized the importance of plot and character development in tragedy, and defined its purpose as imitating life in a way that arouses catharsis.
This document outlines Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy from his work Poetics. It discusses the key elements of tragedy according to Aristotle, including plot, character, thought, diction, song/melody, and spectacle. It also differentiates between Greek/classical tragedies, which focused on the downfall of prominent heroes/figures, and modern domestic tragedies, which depict ordinary citizens. Students are then asked to consider whether a given text fits the mold of domestic versus conventional tragedy and to write a paragraph explaining their view.
This document summarizes Aristotle's definitions and analysis of tragedy and comedy from his work Poetics. According to Aristotle, tragedy depicts a serious action that elicits pity and fear and ends in suffering, while comedy depicts situations that reverse unexpectedly or that involve recognition and reward. Tragedy focuses more on plot over character. It leads to a catharsis or purification of emotions through the audience's contemplation of pity and fear portrayed in a work.
This presentation introduces students to the classical definition of tragedy. After the presentation--and after reading Macbeth--the students prepare a debate on whether Macbeth is really a tragedy by the classical definition.
Aristotle defines tragedy as the imitation of a serious action that arouses pity and fear and effects a catharsis of such emotions. He maintains that tragedy should be a complete and coherent whole with serious consequences represented through elevated characters. The language and dramatic presentation incorporate incidents that arouse pity and fear in order to accomplish the cathartic effect on audiences.
Tragic Plot-Its constituent parts, Importance of plot, Poet as a maker of plot not story, The construction of plot, the magnitude of plot, organic unity of plot, Fatal and fortunate plots, peripety and anagnorisis, complication and denouement, Freytag pyramid, Aristortle's concern, Dramatic unities
Elements of greek tragedy and the tragic herocafeharmon
Greek tragedy dealt with themes of love, loss, pride and the abuse of power. The protagonists typically commit a terrible crime without realizing their arrogance, and then as they realize their error, destruction ensues. Key playwrights included Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Satyr plays made light of tragedy's characters and were performed between tragic acts. The Greeks believed fate determined events and one should not act with excessive pride or hubris, as this could lead to downfall. Aristotle defined tragedy as evoking pity and fear through a noble protagonist's demise due to an error, bringing catharsis to audiences.
1) Aristotle defines tragedy as the imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, which provokes emotions of pity and fear and accomplishes a catharsis or purification of such emotions.
2) Tragedy has six elements - plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. The most important is plot, which must be complex and have unity, a beginning, middle and end, and follow the law of probability or necessity.
3) Character is also important and should support the plot. The protagonist brings about their own downfall not through vice but through an error or frailty known as hamartia.
Major Themes and analysis of Aristotle Poeticssaba rai
Aristotle analyzed poetry and defined its key elements and functions. He argued that tragedy is the highest form of poetry. According to Aristotle, a good tragedy uses reversal and recognition to provoke catharsis, or purification, in the audience. It elicits feelings of pity and fear that result in a pleasurable release of emotions. Aristotle also emphasized the importance of plot and character development in tragedy, and defined its purpose as imitating life in a way that arouses catharsis.
This document outlines Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy from his work Poetics. It discusses the key elements of tragedy according to Aristotle, including plot, character, thought, diction, song/melody, and spectacle. It also differentiates between Greek/classical tragedies, which focused on the downfall of prominent heroes/figures, and modern domestic tragedies, which depict ordinary citizens. Students are then asked to consider whether a given text fits the mold of domestic versus conventional tragedy and to write a paragraph explaining their view.
This document summarizes Aristotle's definitions and analysis of tragedy and comedy from his work Poetics. According to Aristotle, tragedy depicts a serious action that elicits pity and fear and ends in suffering, while comedy depicts situations that reverse unexpectedly or that involve recognition and reward. Tragedy focuses more on plot over character. It leads to a catharsis or purification of emotions through the audience's contemplation of pity and fear portrayed in a work.
This presentation introduces students to the classical definition of tragedy. After the presentation--and after reading Macbeth--the students prepare a debate on whether Macbeth is really a tragedy by the classical definition.
Aristotle defines tragedy as the imitation of a serious action that arouses pity and fear and effects a catharsis of such emotions. He maintains that tragedy should be a complete and coherent whole with serious consequences represented through elevated characters. The language and dramatic presentation incorporate incidents that arouse pity and fear in order to accomplish the cathartic effect on audiences.
Tragic Plot-Its constituent parts, Importance of plot, Poet as a maker of plot not story, The construction of plot, the magnitude of plot, organic unity of plot, Fatal and fortunate plots, peripety and anagnorisis, complication and denouement, Freytag pyramid, Aristortle's concern, Dramatic unities
Elements of greek tragedy and the tragic herocafeharmon
Greek tragedy dealt with themes of love, loss, pride and the abuse of power. The protagonists typically commit a terrible crime without realizing their arrogance, and then as they realize their error, destruction ensues. Key playwrights included Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Satyr plays made light of tragedy's characters and were performed between tragic acts. The Greeks believed fate determined events and one should not act with excessive pride or hubris, as this could lead to downfall. Aristotle defined tragedy as evoking pity and fear through a noble protagonist's demise due to an error, bringing catharsis to audiences.
This document outlines the key elements of Greek tragedy according to Aristotle. It defines tragedy as the downfall of a basically good protagonist through some error or misjudgment. The three principles are that tragedy should evoke pity and fear in the audience, the tragic hero must be good, and the hero's demise comes from personal error. Other elements are plot, characters (the tragic hero), thought (theme), diction (literary devices), song (chorus), and spectacle (least important). The plot must have beginning, middle, end, and cause-effect chain leading to climax and resolution. The tragic hero's flaw and hubris often lead to nemesis or downfall.
According to Aristotle, there are two types of plots - simple and complex. A simple plot follows a straightforward narrative with a single conflict and clear cause-and-effect relationship between incidents. A complex plot incorporates reversal of situation and revelation of truth, with tragedy emerging organically from errors stemming from the plot structure. Aristotle preferred complex plots. He also described the three dramatic unities of time, place and action - that a play should take place in one location and over the span of one day, and events should be logically connected and revolve around a single theme. Unity of action was seen as most important.
Aristotle regarded tragedy as the highest form of literature. He defined tragedy as an imitation of action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, which provokes emotions of pity and fear and achieves a catharsis of such emotions. Aristotle identified six constituent parts of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. He emphasized the importance of maintaining unity of action, time, and place in tragedies. The tragic hero should be a person of high reputation who makes an error that leads to their downfall. Aristotle's observations on tragedy established foundational principles for dramatic criticism.
Aristotle Poetics concepts of Tragedy and PlotAleeenaFarooq
Aristotle analyzed Greek tragedies and developed a theory about the ideal form of tragedy. He believed tragedy should involve a serious action that evokes pity and fear in the audience. The main character, or tragic hero, should be generally good but make a significant error that leads to their downfall. This allows the audience to feel pity for the character. Well-written tragedies also have unity of plot, a reversal of fortune for the main character, and use language and drama to purge the emotions of pity and fear in the audience. Aristotle's analysis set standards for plot, character, and language that influenced playwrights for centuries.
This document summarizes Aristotle's concept of tragedy based on his definition and analysis of its key elements. The most important elements are plot, character, and hamartia (tragic flaw). A good plot involves a change in fortune from happiness to misery for a protagonist who is neither perfectly good nor bad. It also includes a peripety (reversal) or discovery. The plot aims to arouse emotions of pity and fear in the audience through the hero's downfall, culminating in a catharsis or release of these emotions. Character and hamartia relate to creating a believable yet imperfect hero. Other elements like language, spectacle, and thought/diction are less crucial but should still be done well.
An Aristotelian tragedy has three key elements: a tragic hero of high status whose flaws lead to downfall, a series of events caused by the hero's misjudgments culminating in death or exile, and an audience feeling of pity and catharsis. Aristotle also believed the plot should follow a cause-and-effect chain leading subtly to climax without deus ex machina interventions. Dialogue should reveal character and theme. While spectacle engages audiences, the story alone should suffice. "Things Fall Apart" lacks a truly heroic protagonist and its climax lacks catharsis, so it fails as an Aristotelian tragedy despite following Aristotle's plot structure.
An Aristotelian tragedy has three key elements: a tragic hero of high status whose flaws lead to downfall, a series of events caused by the hero's misjudgments culminating in death or exile, and an audience feeling of pity and catharsis. Aristotle also believed the plot should follow a cause-and-effect chain leading subtly to climax without deus ex machina interventions. Dialogue should reveal character and theme. While spectacle engages audiences, the story alone should suffice. "Things Fall Apart" lacks a truly heroic protagonist and its climax lacks catharsis, so it fails as an Aristotelian tragedy despite following Aristotle's plot structure.
This document summarizes Aristotle's work "The Poetics" and its key ideas. It begins by providing background on the author and work. The main points then compare Aristotle and Plato's differing views on poetry and imitation. Key definitions from Aristotle are outlined, such as his definition of tragedy. Other major concepts from "The Poetics" are briefly explained, like catharsis, types of plots, characteristics, and the dramatic unities of time and place. The document concludes by acknowledging room for improvement in the summary but hopes it provided a high-level overview of Aristotle's influential work.
This document summarizes Aristotle's work "The Poetics" and its key ideas. It discusses how Aristotle's views on poetry and tragedy differed from his teacher Plato's, defining tragedy as "an imitation of an action, serious, complete and of a certain magnitude." It examines Aristotle's analysis of the six elements of tragedy - plot, character, thought, diction, song and spectacle. It also describes Aristotle's concepts of the ideal tragic hero and the dramatic unities of time, place and action. The document was prepared by Ashish Trivedi for a class at Bhavnagar University.
According to Aristotle, tragedy has six key elements: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. Plot is the most important element, involving a change of fortune or reversal of intention and recognition. Character comes secondary to plot and the hero is most important. Thought involves proving or disproving points. Diction is the language and expression of characters' thoughts and feelings. Song refers to lyrical elements like choruses that distinguish tragedy from epics. Spectacle involves scenic effects but should not be the focus. Catharsis remains ambiguous but seems to mean purification or clarification of emotions like pity and fear.
Drama originated in ancient Greece, where formal competitions between playwrights began around 530 BC. Greek plays were performed outdoors for audiences of up to 15,000 people. They featured a chorus that sang and danced, and actors who wore masks and performed on an elevated stage. While plots have evolved over time, Aristotle defined drama's core elements like protagonists, antagonists, and a dramatic structure involving exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. Tragedies traditionally featured a flawed heroic protagonist destroyed by their own character flaws, though modern plays have explored more ordinary protagonists facing social and environmental conflicts.
Faustus encounters a problem when signing his contract with the devil in blood - his blood congeals and he can write no more. Mephostophilis fetches him a chafer of fire to loosen the blood so Faustus can continue and finish the contract.
Aristotle analyzed tragedy in his work "Poetics". He defined tragedy as an imitation of events that are serious, complete with magnitude, and use embellished language to elicit pity and fear, resulting in catharsis. The key elements of tragedy include plot, character, thought, spectacle, melody, and language. A good plot should have magnitude, unity, and a beginning, middle and end. It involves reversal and recognition, and the hero should fall due to a hamartia, or tragic flaw. Tragedy should represent terrible yet piteous events and have a realistic ending without deus ex machina. The chorus should be part of the whole work.
Here is a 4 sentence analysis applying Aristotle's theory of tragedy to the film Dumbo:
Dumbo's initial isolation and mockery exemplify Aristotle's view that tragedy shows "persons worse than ourselves." However, Dumbo's talking animals refute Aristotle who said tragedy's "characters must be consistent."
This document summarizes Aristotle's six elements of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. It explains that plot is the most important element and soul of tragedy, involving events arranged in a complex manner. It describes Aristotle's views on each element and how they contribute to an effective tragedy, such as realistic characters and appropriate language. The document concludes that Aristotle's theory provides a framework for analyzing fine art.
Aristotle's Poetics provides the first systematic analysis of drama and poetry. In it, Aristotle defines tragedy, explores its effects, and analyzes its key elements like plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. He compares tragedy to epic poetry, addresses their differences, and argues that tragedy is a superior form. The Poetics outlines Aristotle's view of mimesis in art and establishes foundational concepts for literary criticism.
1. Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in Stagira, Macedonia in 384 BC who studied under Plato and established his own school called the Lyceum.
2. Aristotle defines poetry as a form of art that seeks to imitate or represent life through character, emotion, action, or objects using rhythm, language, and harmony. The main types of poetry he identifies are epic, tragedy, comedy, and music.
3. In his analysis of tragedy, Aristotle identifies the six main elements as plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle, with plot being the most important element. He also discusses the dramatic unities of action, time, and place that were influential in
This document discusses Aristotle's six parts of tragedy according to his work Poetics. The six parts are plot, character, thought, diction, song or melody, and spectacles. Plot is considered the most important part as it is the soul of tragedy and refers to the harmonious arrangement of all incidents. Character focuses on the hero in tragedies. Thought proves particular points and teaches truth. Diction is the expression of meaning in words. Song or melody refers to the role of the chorus. Spectacles involve stage performance but should not create a sense of the monstrous.
This document outlines the key elements of Greek tragedy according to Aristotle. It defines tragedy as the downfall of a basically good protagonist through some error or misjudgment. The three principles are that tragedy should evoke pity and fear in the audience, the tragic hero must be good, and the hero's demise comes from personal error. Other elements are plot, characters (the tragic hero), thought (theme), diction (literary devices), song (chorus), and spectacle (least important). The plot must have beginning, middle, end, and cause-effect chain leading to climax and resolution. The tragic hero's flaw and hubris often lead to nemesis or downfall.
According to Aristotle, there are two types of plots - simple and complex. A simple plot follows a straightforward narrative with a single conflict and clear cause-and-effect relationship between incidents. A complex plot incorporates reversal of situation and revelation of truth, with tragedy emerging organically from errors stemming from the plot structure. Aristotle preferred complex plots. He also described the three dramatic unities of time, place and action - that a play should take place in one location and over the span of one day, and events should be logically connected and revolve around a single theme. Unity of action was seen as most important.
Aristotle regarded tragedy as the highest form of literature. He defined tragedy as an imitation of action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, which provokes emotions of pity and fear and achieves a catharsis of such emotions. Aristotle identified six constituent parts of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. He emphasized the importance of maintaining unity of action, time, and place in tragedies. The tragic hero should be a person of high reputation who makes an error that leads to their downfall. Aristotle's observations on tragedy established foundational principles for dramatic criticism.
Aristotle Poetics concepts of Tragedy and PlotAleeenaFarooq
Aristotle analyzed Greek tragedies and developed a theory about the ideal form of tragedy. He believed tragedy should involve a serious action that evokes pity and fear in the audience. The main character, or tragic hero, should be generally good but make a significant error that leads to their downfall. This allows the audience to feel pity for the character. Well-written tragedies also have unity of plot, a reversal of fortune for the main character, and use language and drama to purge the emotions of pity and fear in the audience. Aristotle's analysis set standards for plot, character, and language that influenced playwrights for centuries.
This document summarizes Aristotle's concept of tragedy based on his definition and analysis of its key elements. The most important elements are plot, character, and hamartia (tragic flaw). A good plot involves a change in fortune from happiness to misery for a protagonist who is neither perfectly good nor bad. It also includes a peripety (reversal) or discovery. The plot aims to arouse emotions of pity and fear in the audience through the hero's downfall, culminating in a catharsis or release of these emotions. Character and hamartia relate to creating a believable yet imperfect hero. Other elements like language, spectacle, and thought/diction are less crucial but should still be done well.
An Aristotelian tragedy has three key elements: a tragic hero of high status whose flaws lead to downfall, a series of events caused by the hero's misjudgments culminating in death or exile, and an audience feeling of pity and catharsis. Aristotle also believed the plot should follow a cause-and-effect chain leading subtly to climax without deus ex machina interventions. Dialogue should reveal character and theme. While spectacle engages audiences, the story alone should suffice. "Things Fall Apart" lacks a truly heroic protagonist and its climax lacks catharsis, so it fails as an Aristotelian tragedy despite following Aristotle's plot structure.
An Aristotelian tragedy has three key elements: a tragic hero of high status whose flaws lead to downfall, a series of events caused by the hero's misjudgments culminating in death or exile, and an audience feeling of pity and catharsis. Aristotle also believed the plot should follow a cause-and-effect chain leading subtly to climax without deus ex machina interventions. Dialogue should reveal character and theme. While spectacle engages audiences, the story alone should suffice. "Things Fall Apart" lacks a truly heroic protagonist and its climax lacks catharsis, so it fails as an Aristotelian tragedy despite following Aristotle's plot structure.
This document summarizes Aristotle's work "The Poetics" and its key ideas. It begins by providing background on the author and work. The main points then compare Aristotle and Plato's differing views on poetry and imitation. Key definitions from Aristotle are outlined, such as his definition of tragedy. Other major concepts from "The Poetics" are briefly explained, like catharsis, types of plots, characteristics, and the dramatic unities of time and place. The document concludes by acknowledging room for improvement in the summary but hopes it provided a high-level overview of Aristotle's influential work.
This document summarizes Aristotle's work "The Poetics" and its key ideas. It discusses how Aristotle's views on poetry and tragedy differed from his teacher Plato's, defining tragedy as "an imitation of an action, serious, complete and of a certain magnitude." It examines Aristotle's analysis of the six elements of tragedy - plot, character, thought, diction, song and spectacle. It also describes Aristotle's concepts of the ideal tragic hero and the dramatic unities of time, place and action. The document was prepared by Ashish Trivedi for a class at Bhavnagar University.
According to Aristotle, tragedy has six key elements: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. Plot is the most important element, involving a change of fortune or reversal of intention and recognition. Character comes secondary to plot and the hero is most important. Thought involves proving or disproving points. Diction is the language and expression of characters' thoughts and feelings. Song refers to lyrical elements like choruses that distinguish tragedy from epics. Spectacle involves scenic effects but should not be the focus. Catharsis remains ambiguous but seems to mean purification or clarification of emotions like pity and fear.
Drama originated in ancient Greece, where formal competitions between playwrights began around 530 BC. Greek plays were performed outdoors for audiences of up to 15,000 people. They featured a chorus that sang and danced, and actors who wore masks and performed on an elevated stage. While plots have evolved over time, Aristotle defined drama's core elements like protagonists, antagonists, and a dramatic structure involving exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution. Tragedies traditionally featured a flawed heroic protagonist destroyed by their own character flaws, though modern plays have explored more ordinary protagonists facing social and environmental conflicts.
Faustus encounters a problem when signing his contract with the devil in blood - his blood congeals and he can write no more. Mephostophilis fetches him a chafer of fire to loosen the blood so Faustus can continue and finish the contract.
Aristotle analyzed tragedy in his work "Poetics". He defined tragedy as an imitation of events that are serious, complete with magnitude, and use embellished language to elicit pity and fear, resulting in catharsis. The key elements of tragedy include plot, character, thought, spectacle, melody, and language. A good plot should have magnitude, unity, and a beginning, middle and end. It involves reversal and recognition, and the hero should fall due to a hamartia, or tragic flaw. Tragedy should represent terrible yet piteous events and have a realistic ending without deus ex machina. The chorus should be part of the whole work.
Here is a 4 sentence analysis applying Aristotle's theory of tragedy to the film Dumbo:
Dumbo's initial isolation and mockery exemplify Aristotle's view that tragedy shows "persons worse than ourselves." However, Dumbo's talking animals refute Aristotle who said tragedy's "characters must be consistent."
This document summarizes Aristotle's six elements of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. It explains that plot is the most important element and soul of tragedy, involving events arranged in a complex manner. It describes Aristotle's views on each element and how they contribute to an effective tragedy, such as realistic characters and appropriate language. The document concludes that Aristotle's theory provides a framework for analyzing fine art.
Aristotle's Poetics provides the first systematic analysis of drama and poetry. In it, Aristotle defines tragedy, explores its effects, and analyzes its key elements like plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle. He compares tragedy to epic poetry, addresses their differences, and argues that tragedy is a superior form. The Poetics outlines Aristotle's view of mimesis in art and establishes foundational concepts for literary criticism.
1. Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in Stagira, Macedonia in 384 BC who studied under Plato and established his own school called the Lyceum.
2. Aristotle defines poetry as a form of art that seeks to imitate or represent life through character, emotion, action, or objects using rhythm, language, and harmony. The main types of poetry he identifies are epic, tragedy, comedy, and music.
3. In his analysis of tragedy, Aristotle identifies the six main elements as plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle, with plot being the most important element. He also discusses the dramatic unities of action, time, and place that were influential in
This document discusses Aristotle's six parts of tragedy according to his work Poetics. The six parts are plot, character, thought, diction, song or melody, and spectacles. Plot is considered the most important part as it is the soul of tragedy and refers to the harmonious arrangement of all incidents. Character focuses on the hero in tragedies. Thought proves particular points and teaches truth. Diction is the expression of meaning in words. Song or melody refers to the role of the chorus. Spectacles involve stage performance but should not create a sense of the monstrous.
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2. Definition of Tragedy
“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious,
complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished
with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in
separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative;
with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its
katharsis of such emotions
Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts
determine its quality Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought,
Spectacle and Melody
3.
4. Plot
57 PLOT. Plot is the “first principle,” the most important
feature of tragedy. Aristotle defines plot as “the
arrangement of the incidents”: i.e., not the story itself
but the way the incidents are presented to the
audience, the structure of the play. According to
Aristotle, tragedies where the outcome depends on a
tightly constructed cause-and-effect chain of actions are
superior to those that depend primarily on the character
and personality of the protagonist.
5. The plot must be “a whole,” with a beginning, middle, and
end.
The beginning (incentive moment), must start the cause-and-
effect chain but not be dependent on anything outside the
compass of the play (i.e., its causes are downplayed but its
effects are stressed).The middle (climax) must be caused by
earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it (i.e.,
its causes and effects are stressed).The end (resolution) must
be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other
incidents outside the compass of the play (i.e., its causes are
stressed but its effects downplayed); the end should therefore
solve or resolve the problem created during the incentive
moment
6. The plot must be “complete,” having “unity of action
The plot must be “complete,” having “unity of action.” By
this Aristotle means that the plot must be structurally self-
contained, with the incidents bound together by internal
necessity, each action leading inevitably to the next with no
outside intervention. According to Aristotle, the worst kinds
of plots are “‘episodic,’ in which the episodes or acts
succeed one another without probable or necessary
sequence”; the only thing that ties together the events in
such a plot is the fact that they happen to the same person.
Playwrights should exclude coincidences from their plots;
7. The plot must be “of a certain magnitude,” both
quantitatively (length, complexity) and qualitatively
(“seriousness” and universal significance).Aristotle
argues that plots should not be too brief; the more
incidents and themes that the playwright can bring
together in an organic unity, the greater the artistic
value and richness of the play. Also, the more
universal and significant the meaning of the play,
the more the playwright can catch and hold the
emotions of the audience, the better the play will
be
8. The plot may be either simple or complex, although complex
is better
The plot may be either simple or complex, although complex is
better. Simple plots have only a “change of fortune”
(catastrophe). Complex plots have both “reversal of intention”
(peripeteia) and “recognition” (anagnorisis) connected with the
catastrophe. Both peripeteia and anagnorisis turn upon surprise.
Aristotle explains that a peripeteia occurs when a character
produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to
produce, while an anagnorisis “is a change from ignorance to
knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons
destined for good or bad fortune.”
9. He argues that the best plots combine these two
as part of their cause-and-effect chain (i.e., the
peripeteia leads directly to the anagnorisis); this in
turns creates the catastrophe, leading to the final
“scene of suffering”
10. Peripeteia… is a reversal of circumstances, or
turning point. Peripety is a sudden reversal
dependent on intellect and logic. Peripeteia
includes: changes of character, but also more
external changes. A character who becomes rich
and famous from poverty and obscurity has
undergone peripeteia, even if his character
remains the same.
11. Anagnorisis is the "moment of recognition" of a
previously unsuspected truth. It is considered an
essential part of the plot of tragedy, in which the
protagonist's recognition of his tragic flaw occurs at
the climax and leads to his downfall. Othello realizes
he has wrongly killed his beloved Desdemona The
management of a good plot concerns the relationship
between peripetia (a special turn in the action what
we might term today the climax) and anagnorisis (the
recognition of what brings about the peripetia). These
two aspects of plot should be close together
12. Character
CHARACTER: In a perfect tragedy, character will support
plot, i.e., personal motivations will be intricately
connected parts of the cause-and-effect chain of actions
producing pity and fear in the audience. The protagonist
should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of
fortune can be from good to bad. This change “should
come about as the result, not of vice, but of some great
error or frailty in a character.” Such a plot is most likely to
generate pity and fear in the audience, for “pity is
aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune
of a man like ourselves.”
13. The term Aristotle uses, hamartia,is often translated
into “tragic flaw”. In the ideal tragedy, the protagonist
will mistakenly bring about his own downfall—not
because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he
does not know enough. The role of the hamartia in
tragedy comes not from its moral status but from the
inevitability of its consequences. Hence the peripeteia
is really one or more self-destructive actions taken in
blindness, leading to results diametrically opposed to
those that were intended (often termed tragic irony),
and the anagnorisis is the gaining of the essential
knowledge that was previously lacking
14. Characters in tragedy should have the following qualities …
2 “good or fine.”Aristotle relates this quality to moral purpose and says it is
relative to class:“Even a woman may be good, and also a slave, though the
woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless.”
23“fitness of character” (true to type);
e.g. valor is appropriate for a warrior but not for a woman
24 “true to life” (realistic)
25 “consistency” (true to themselves)
Once a character's personality and motivations are established, these should
continue throughout the play.
26 “necessary or probable.”
Characters must be logically constructed according to “the law of probability or
necessity” that governs the actions of the play.“true to life and yet more beautiful”
15. Thought & Diction
THOUGHT: Aristotle says little about thought, and most of what
he has to say is associated with how speeches should reveal
character
3 DICTIOND: Diction is “the expression of the meaning in
words” which are proper and appropriate to the plot, characters,
and end of the tragedy. In this category, Aristotle discusses the
stylistic elements of tragedy; he is particularly interested in
metaphors: “But the greatest thing by far is to have a command of
metaphor; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors
implies an eye for resemblances”
16. Song & Spectacle
SONG: Song, or melody is the musical element of the chorus.
Aristotle argues that the Chorus should be fully integrated into the
play like an actor; choral odes should not be “mere interludes,” but
should contribute to the unity of the plot.
SPECTACLE: Spectacle is “the production of spectacular
effects which depends more on the art of the stage machinist
than on that of the poet.” Although Aristotle recognizes the
emotional attraction of spectacle, he argues that superior poets
rely on the inner structure of the play rather than spectacle to
arouse pity and fear; those who rely heavily on spectacle
“create a sense, not of the terrible, but only of the monstrous
17. The end of the tragedy is a Catharsis (purgation,
cleansing) of the tragic emotions of pity and fear. Catharsis
is another Aristotelian term that has generated considerable
debate. The word means “purging,” and Aristotle seems to
be employing a medical metaphor—tragedy arouses the
emotions of pity and fear in order to purge away their
excess, to reduce these passions to a healthy, balanced
proportion.).
3Aristotle also talks of the “pleasure” that is proper to
tragedy, apparently meaning the aesthetic pleasure one gets
from contemplating the pity and fear that are aroused
through an intricately constructed work of art