Download Notes On Greek Tragedy Aristotle`s definition of tragedy from Poetics

Notes On Greek Tragedy
Aristotle’s definition of tragedy from Poetics:
Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain
magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds
being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through
pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions. – VI
Tragedy must be a unified story, about something important. Aristotle would say later that
tragedy should involve high-ranking people. He doesn't give any reason that makes sense.
Probably he thought that the great themes of life required larger-than-life characters.
Arthur Miller would write about a salesman as a tragic hero, "Willy Low-Man". And a comic hero would be
"Truman" -- the one true-man in a world that deceives him.
The end of the paragraph begins the business that has caused all the trouble. "Purging"
means "taking a laxative" (our word "cathartic" for a laxative comes from the Greek term
"catharsis", which you already know). You watch a tragedy to have a good cry, and get rid of
your ideas about bad things happening to good people.
Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality- namely,
Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Song. -- VI
Aristotle goes on to explain what these are.
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Plot: the story; the good ones focus on a single episode.
Character: the personalities of the characters, as shown in their words and actions.
(Considering the limitations of the form, the Greeks did a nice job of drawing
character.)
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Diction: the right choice of words. Aristotle points out how effective using just the
right word can be.
Thought: Arguments and exposition. Aristotle compares it to rhetoric.
Spectacle: as we'd say, "special effects". Not so much the poet's business as the
stage-specialist's.
Song: words joined to music.
*Ignores theme
Aristotle launches into a big discussion about "simple" vs. "complex" plots. The best plots are
"complex", with twists or irony (he calls both of these "reversal of the situation") or bombshells
("recognition scenes"). Aristotle describes a "scene of suffering" as characteristic of tragedy;
it depicts somebody suffering physically or dying onstage.
A perfect tragedy should, as we have seen, be arranged not on the simple but on the
complex plan. It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the
distinctive mark of tragic imitation. It follows plainly, in the first place, that the change of
fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity
to adversity: for this moves neither pity nor fear; it merely shocks us. Nor, again, that of
a bad man passing from adversity to prosperity: for nothing can be more alien to the spirit of
Tragedy; it possesses no single tragic quality; it neither satisfies the moral sense nor calls
forth pity or fear. Nor, again, should the downfall of the utter villain be exhibited. A plot of this
kind would, doubtless, satisfy the moral sense, but it would inspire neither pity nor fear; for
pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like
ourselves. Such an event, therefore, will be neither pitiful nor terrible. There remains, then,
the character between these two extremes- that of a man who is not eminently good and just,
yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or
frailty. He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous -- a personage like Oedipus,
Thyestes, or other illustrious men of such families. -- XIII