2. ARISTOTELIAN TRAGEDY: THE TRAGIC HERO
An Aristotelian tragedy has three basic elements:
1. A “tragic hero” that has a high role in society and embodies highly
desired characteristics (i.e. strength, leadership, handsomeness),
2. A series of events brought on by the misjudgment of the protagonist
that ultimately concludes in his “death” or fall from society,
3. And a feeling of pity and despair on behalf of the audience that
eventually gives way to catharsis.
In addition to these ideas, Aristotelian tragedies embody certain themes of
plot, thought, and spectacle.

3. PLOT
Aristotle believed that tragedies should have a certain plot to appeal to
audiences and reel them in to the overall theme of the work. Let’s start
at the beginning, with the beginning. Aristotle thought that the
beginning of the perfect tragedy should depict a chain of “cause-and-
effect” chains that ultimately lead us subtly towards the climax. The
middle, or climax, takes the strands from the beginning and weaves
them together as the reader approaches the end, or resolution. Plot,
according to Aristotle, should also be well sequenced, without the
adding of a deus ex machina, or some form of divine intervention.
Aristotle also believed that everything should happen for a reason, not
just randomly. Finally, Aristotle said that a plot should be of a certain
caliber or magnitude, chock full of both quantity in the form of length
and quality in the form of ideas.

4. THOUGHT IN ARISTOTELIAN TRAGEDY
While Mr. Aristotle never went in depth into ideas on thought, what he did
say as significant to the understanding of Aristotelian tragedies.
Aristotle believed that most dialogue should include hints at character.
This idea also states that the overall theme should be expressed
through dialogue.

5. SPECTACLE THROUGH DIFFERENT SPECTACLES.
Aristotle believed that spectacle was a waste of the tragic writers time.
While Aristotle thought that spectacle was useful for holding down the
audiences attention, he championed the idea that the overall story
would suffice for this purpose. This is directly contradicting of William
Shakespeare’s ideas about the subject, who thought that spectacle was
absolutely necessary for the work to appeal to the lower classes, while
still using the story to achieve approval from the higher-ups.

6. WHY THINGS FALL APART KINDA SUCKS (AS AN
ARISTOTELIAN TRAGEDY)
While ”Things Fall Apart” embodies the basic elements of sequence and
plot that make an Aristotelian Tragedy an Aristotelian Tragedy, it lacks
the “tragic hero” and other key points that Aristotle defines. While the
book follows the sequence outline that Aristotle championed through
insignificant details lead up to the climax and the feeling of catharsis for
the audience, Okonkwo is not in the least bit a likeable man who makes
bad choices, in fact, he’s an extremely unlikeable character. The
audience is supposed to feel sympathy and pity for the downfall of the
tragic hero, but instead, this audience couldn’t wait for dear old
Okonkwo to get what was coming to him. The climax is also supposed
to lead to catharsis for the reader, but “Things Fall Apart” is anti-
climactic, considering Okonkwo’s demise means nothing. For these
reasons, “Things Fall Apart” should not be classified as an Aristotelian
Tragedy.