Aristotle & The Elements of Tragedy
Aristotle & the Elements of Tragedy
Key Terms:
- Anagnorisis: revelation or recognition in tragedy
- Antistrophe: second part of a choral ode
- Catharsis: emotional purification experienced by the audience
- Hamartia: tragic flaw leading to the hero's downfall
- Hubris: excessive pride
- Peripeteia: reversal of fortune
- Tragic Hero: a noble character who experiences a downfall
Definition of Tragedy:
- Depicts downfall of noble heroes through hubris, fate, and divine will.
- The hero's journey encounters limits due to flaws, societal constraints, fate, or natural laws.
- The hero experiences peripeteia and may achieve anagnorisis.
Key Definitions from Aristotle's "Poetics":
- Imitation (Mimesis): Art represents reality, not merely copies appearances.
- Serious Implications: Should evoke pity and fear for catharsis.
- Complete and Magnitude: A tragedy is a coherent narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.
- Diction: Language must be engaging, tailored to the play's parts.
- Enactment: Tragedy relies on performance, not just narrative.
- Purification (Catharsis): A tragedy arouses emotions then purges them, leading to emotional balance.
The Tragic Hero:
- Not completely virtuous or wicked; faces misfortune not from full badness but mistakes or flaws.
- Often from noble families, good in essence yet flawed.
Elements of Plot:
- Aristotle identifies six elements: plot, characters, verbal expression, thought, visual adornment, and song-composition, with plot being the most crucial.
- Complex vs. Simple Plots: Best plots are complex with reversals and recognitions.
- Peripeteia (Reversal): A significant change in fortune; e.g., Oedipus's revelation.
- Anagnorisis (Recognition): Transition from ignorance to knowledge of relationships; important for dramatic effect.
- Pathos (Suffering): Represents destructive events leading to empathy from the audience.