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Aristotle's Tragedy Analysis

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WHAT IS THE VALUE OF CLASSICAL TRAGEDY AS DEFINED BY ARISTOTLE?

TRAGEDY AND ITS INTELLECTUAL VALUE

Aristotle, in his Poetics, provides a series of characteristics which would attempt to define a tragedy. Alongside those characteristics brought forward, we see examples of good tragedies and bad tragedies according to Aristotle. For instance, a tragedy will have to consist of the imitation of an action. However, a good tragedy would rely on the realistic nature of the action, as well as the emotions which are procured to the audience, and in the lights of Aristotle’s argument, those emotions would be predominantly those of pity and fear. This feeling of pity and fear is meant to stimulate a sense of katharsis, in other words, purgatory or purification …show more content…

If we try to understand the context in which the philosopher is writing his analysis of tragedies, we understand the idea that for instance, as he mentions that violent scenes bring about feelings which are crucial in the making of a good tragedy. Yet, as Rorty brings to light, the way a plot is narrated would differ according to its genre in order to fulfill its function. For example, a tragedy is indeed a depiction of historical events. Yet, the contrast between a historical narration and a tragedy is the way it is narrated and portrayed. The feelings of pity and fear as brought forward by the Aristotle would also depends according to the audience, since feelings are subjective. Time and culture also play a major role in the ways in which a play will be perceived. A playwright should consider the audience’s reaction and state of mind while at work with the play. However, Aristotle, in his argument, does not give much importance to the subjectivity of the audience. Yet, the characteristics of a good tragedy would remain the same across time and culture. Using Aristotle’s framework, it is the job of the playwright to figure out what would instill those specific feelings in the audience and what would make up a heroic and virtuous character in the time he finds himself

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Proctor is an exemplar of Aristotle's first characteristic of a tragic

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They are as a rule unexpected and are a strong contrast to previous happiness or glory. The suffering or calamity extend far and beyond the protagonist so as to make the whole scene one of woe. The scene becomes the chief source of the tragic emotions, especially pity”(Goodman, Barbara. Tragedy. Clayton State, Clayton.

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He says, of himself, “I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 1166). John Proctor is an excellent example of these three ideas regarding the tragic hero. He fits the other three points as well, but the points stated above are the most prominent. Aristotle’s ideas on tragedy have allowed readers to analyze stories differently. The ideas give way to a different way of thinking of characters in stories.

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Tragedy has been a part of drama since the time of the ancient greeks, an example of such a tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Since then tragedy has been adapted to adhere to different societal views and conventions, such that of the american theatre. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, is an example of that. Both plays fall into the category of tragedy, but exemplify it through different aspects in their respective heroes. The roles of Oedipus and Willy Loman as tragic heroes convey the meanings of the works as wholes through the use of the literary devices dramatic irony and imagery.

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According to Aristotle the characteristics of a tragic hero are to provoke sad emotions, such as pity or fear, from the audience. When these sad emotions are provoked from the audience, it is hoped that after seeing the tragic hero leading themselves to downfall or death it will transform the audience into good human beings. The characteristics of a tragic hero are shown through Blanche in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, showing tragic flaws. Hamartia is when a tragic flaw causes downfall for a hero.

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A tragic hero is somebody that makes a design or has a flaw in how they act that will lead to their destruction. The play Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest known plays know in the history of playwriting like many of Shakespeare 's plays this one is a tragedy. With all tragedies, there is a tragic hero, in this story this person is Romeo. In this play Romeo is the tragic hero because he fits all of the criteria of a tragic, hero, his flaws lead to his destruction some of those being emotionally driven, he is impulsive and immature. The first reason why Romeo is a tragic hero is that he is emotionally driven.

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He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through an error of judgment.” Notice that Aristotle uses the words he, man, and him and not she, woman, or her. This hints that the tragic hero must be a man, not a woman. A tragic hero must also have certain characteristics such as hubris, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, nemesis, and catharsis. These all mean that the character’s tragic downfall must have a beginning, middle, and end and emanate a feeling of pity and fear in the audience.

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In his work, The Poetics Aristotle reflects on the role of pity and fear in tragedy, stating, “Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and of life; of happiness and misery. Add human happiness or misery takes the form of action… Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions that we are happy or the reverse… The tragic pleasure is that of pity and fear” (Aristotle, The Poetics). Aristotle is probing one to conclude that tragedy is characterized by the pity and fear one evokes when individuals go against their presumed character and commit detrimental acts. Throughout his play Macbeth, Shakespeare, reminisces on the actions that gravitate an audience to render both fear and pity, which characterize a tragedy.

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Proving a Tragic Hero A character who makes a judgement or error that inevitably leads to his or her own destruction, defines a tragic hero, according to Aristotle. In William Shakespeare’s writings, one character generally identifies as a tragic hero. Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, comes from the true events that took place in Rome during the time that Caesar rose and gained power as dictator. After Pompey’s death in Egypt; caused by each of their power-hungry desires, Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome.

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As a result, the experience of Shakespeare’s plays in the theater took a populist turn” (Octane 1). This shows that Shakespeare brought many new elements to playwriting, which seemingly improved plays because “Audience members engaged with the events taking place on stage, becoming vocal and often raucous” (Octane 1). This suggests that the new elements in Shakespeare’s writing sparked emotion in audience members as if the events were real. If an author can spark emotion in so many audience members, it shows that their writing style is extremely effective. Additionally, “Shakespeare is also credited as having invented genres that mixed both tragedy and comedy.

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Parallels between Aristotle’s Poetics and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Aristotle wrote Poetics in 335BC and in that discourse he defined the elements of a tragedy and compared it to other plays like an Epic. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which was written over two thousand years after Aristotle’s Poetics, can easily be considered a modern Aristotelian tragedy. Thereby, a study of Death of a Salesman can help us to understand Aristotle’s Poetics. First off, Aristotle defines a tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;… in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a

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A tragedy is a dramatic work in which the principle character engages in a significant struggle ending in ruin and destruction. In creating his tragedy, Sophocles uses many techniques to create the feelings of fear and pity in his readers. This in turn creates an excellent tragedy. In Antigone, Sophocles does a great job at bringing out

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The conventions of tragedy and comedy, such as the tragedy in Oedipus Rex and the comedy in The Taming of the Shrew, can shape the way the play is developed. Thorough analysis can reveal these dramas to be discussions of human experience. As Laurence Olivier once said: “The office of drama is to exercise, possibly exhaust, human emotions. The purpose of comedy is to tickle those emotions into an expression of light relief; of tragedy, to wound them and bring relief of tears. Disgust and terror are the other points of the compass.”

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