Answer to Question #302279 in English for Garg

Question

Write an essay on the art of Tragedy as elucidated by Aristotle.

Answer 1

The Nature of Tragedy: Aristotle, a philosopher who lived a century after Sophocles, studied tragedy. His definition is as follows: Tragedy is an imitation of a serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude action in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the various kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions

Six basic elements were identified by Aristotle:

(1) plot;

(2) character;

(3) diction (style, imagery, etc. );

(4) thought (the character's thoughts and the author's meaning);

(5) spectacle (all visual effects; Aristotle considered this to be the least important element);

(6) thought (the character's thoughts and the author's meaning);

(7) thought (the character's thoughts and the author's meaning);

(8) thought (the character's thoughts and the author's meaning

thought the character's thoughts and music.

According to Aristotle, the major character in a tragedy must not be so good that we are angered rather than pity or terror at his or her downfall. Also, the character cannot be so evil that we wish for his or her suffering for the sake of justice. Instead, the best is someone "who is neither exceptional in virtue and righteousness, nor does he fall into misfortune through his own badness or villainy, but rather via some imperfection [hamartia]." Like Oedipus or Medea, the character should be famous or affluent.

Tragedy as a Literary Genre: The term tragedy refers to a literary genre. It can refer to "any serious and dignified play that depicts a fight between the protagonist (protagonist) and a superior force (destiny, chance, society, god) and culminates in a mournful conclusion that elicits sympathy or terror from the spectator." The concept of tragedy is derived from this genre, and it is predicated on the possibility that a person may be destroyed precisely because they are seeking to be decent and are far better than other people, but not flawless. As a result, irony is crucial, and dramatic irony, which can so effectively stress irony, is common in tragedies.

A confrontation between human goodness and reality is implied in tragedy. Many scholars believe that there can be no tragedy if God rewards kindness on earth or in heaven. Tragic outcomes are inconceivable if everyone gets what they deserve in the end. Tragic fiction assumes that the universe is broken or crooked. Because Christians believe that God is benevolent and just, tragedy is logically unthinkable for certain intellectuals. Of course, a hypothetical twist on the sad premise would allow a character to have a flaw that results in far worse repercussions than he deserves. Tragic literature, on the other hand, is not meant to make people sad. It may elicit feelings of empathy and fear for the protagonist's plight, as well as for all humanity, particularly ourselves.

However, it is frequently intended to elicit admiration for the principal character, and by extension, for all of humanity. There is grandeur in the tragic hero's tragedy; there is joy that only virtue can provide in the tragic hero's fall. Floods, traffic accidents, and the deaths of children, while tragic in their own right, are never tragic in the dramatic sense because they do not occur as a result of a single man's greatness and morality. Make sure you know whether each book in the course portrays a tragic vision of life after you've finished reading it. Incidentally, while some of the plays we read are unquestionably sad in the eyes of all experts, many Greek tragedies, including Aristotles', are not tragic by anyone's definition.

Aristotle’s Poetics: Basic Concepts

You should be aware of the following concepts and opinions of Aristotle’s which have tremendously influenced drama in the Western World.

a. Tragedies should not be episodic. That is, the episodes in the plot must have a clearly probable or inevitable connection with each other. This connection is best when it is believable but unexpected.

b. Complex plots are better than simple plots. Complex plots have recognitions and reversals. A recognition is a change from ignorance to knowledge, especially when the new knowledge identifies some unknown relative or dear one whom the hero should cherish but was about to harm or has just harmed. ‘Recognition’ (anagnorisis) is now commonly applied to any self-knowledge the hero gains as well as to insight to the whole nature or condition of mankind, provided that that knowledge is associated, as Aristotle said it should be, with the hero’s ‘reversal of fortune’ (Greek: peripeteia). A reversal is a change of a situation to its opposite. Consider Oedipus at the beginning and end of Oedipus the King. Also consider in that play how a man comes to free Oedipus of his fear about his mother, but actually does the opposite. Recognitions are also supposed to be clearly connected with all the rest of the action of the plot.

c. Suffering (some fatal or painful action) is also to be included in a tragic plot which, preferably, should end unhappily.

d. The pity and fear which a tragedy evokes, should come from the events, the action, not from the mere sight of something on stage.

e. Catharsis (‘purification’ or ‘purgation’) of pity and fear was a part of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. The meaning of this phrase is extremely debatable. Among the many interpretations possible, consider how well the following apply to our plays:

1) Purification of the audience’s feelings of pity and fear so that in real life we understand better whether we should feel them.

2) Purgation of our pity and fear so that we can face life with less of these emotions or more control over them.

3) Purification of the events of the plot, so that the central character’s errors or transgressions become ‘cleansed’ by his or her recognitions and suffering.