“Tragedy,” says Aristotle, “is an imitation [ mimēsis] of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude...through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation [catharsis] of these emotions.” Ambiguous means may be employed, Aristotle maintains in contrast to Plato, to a virtuous and purifying end.
What according to Aristotle are the main characteristics of tragedy?
Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics: (1) it is mimetic , (2) it is serious, (3) it tells a full story of an appropriate length, (4) it contains rhythm and harmony, (5) rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, (6) it is performed rather than narrated, ...
What are Aristotle’s 6 elements of tragedy?
Aristotle was born in 384 BC, but his thoughts on drama have been at the heart of writing curricula pretty much since that time. In Poetics, he wrote that drama (specifically tragedy) has to include 6 elements: plot, character, thought, diction, music, and spectacle.
What is tragedy explain?
tragedy, branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual . By extension the term may be applied to other literary works, such as the novel.
How does Aristotle define tragedy and comedy?
Aristotle, in his Poetics, states that comedy originated in phallic songs and that, like tragedy, it began in improvisation. The distinction is basic to the Aristotelian differentiation between tragedy and comedy: tragedy imitates men who are better than the average and comedy men who are worse.
What is the most important element of tragedy according to Aristotle?
According to Aristotle, the most important element of tragedy is plot, or the form of action . This is because the purpose of life is a certain kind of activity, and drama must depict certain kinds of activity from which we can learn.
What does Aristotle mean by pleasure proper to tragedy?
By “pleasure proper to tragedy,” Aristotle means the moral emotions that it elicits . Tragedy, he writes in his Poetics, should excite in audiences the emotions of “pity and fear.”
What is the unique function of tragedy according to Aristotle?
According to Aristotle, the function of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear in the audience so that we may be purged, or cleansed, of these unsettling emotions . Aristotle’s term for this emotional purging is the Greek word catharsis.
What according to Aristotle are the three major components of tragedy?
Aristotle defined three key elements which make a tragedy: harmartia, anagnorisis, and peripeteia . Hamartia is a hero’s tragic flaw; the aspect of the character which ultimately leads to their downfall.
What are the four types of tragedy?
(5) There are four distinct kinds of tragedy, and the poet should aim at bringing out all the important parts of the kind he chooses. First, there is the complex tragedy, made up of peripeteia and anagnorisis; second, the tragedy of suffering; third, the tragedy of character; and fourth, the tragedy of spectacle .
Why do we need tragedy?
According to Aristotle, when the dramatic performance reaches its resolution, the audience experiences a therapeutic release of these feelings of pity and fear. ... Tragic drama provided the audience with an opportunity to reflect on its own social, political, and religious values .
Who is the father of tragedy?
According to the philosopher Flavius Philostratus, Aeschylus was known as the “Father of Tragedy.” Aeschylus’ two sons also achieved prominence as tragedians. One of them, Euphorion, won first prize in his own right in 431 bc over Sophocles and Euripides.
Is death a tragedy?
A death may be viewed as a tragedy when it is premature in nature . An elderly person dying of old age is an expectation, but the death of a child or of a young, healthy adult that is not expected by others can be viewed as tragedy.
Why does Sidney condemn modern tragedy?
2. Sidney’s Views on Tragedy: (a) Tragedy, according to Sidney, is an imitation of a noble action which demonstrates the uncertainty of this world and teaches virtue in a delightful manner. (b) Sidney condemns the attempt of the English dramatists of his age to mingle tragedy and comedy .
Which is the only unity that Aristotle insists upon?
The only unity he insists upon, as we shall see, is the unity of action . His reference here to the unity of time seems to be a general guideline and not one that must be followed strictly, and there is even less evidence to suggest that Aristotle demanded unity of place.
What is the least important element in tragedy?
Aristotle divides tragedy into six different parts, ranking them in order from most important to least important as follows: (1) mythos , or plot, (2) character, (3) thought, (4) diction, (5) melody, and (6) spectacle.
