“O God! It has all come true. Light, let this be the last time I see you.”

Oedipus Rexby Sophocles

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

•Tragedy: a literary genre of drama in which the character(s) suffer.

Why do we enjoy, in some sense, watching

tragedies – that is, watching people

suffer?

•Plato’s Challenge (The Republic):–Why are representations of people

suffering a “pleasurable experience”?

• Aristotle answered Plato’s challenge in his literary theory, Poetics

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

•Aristotle’s definition of tragedy: –A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an

action that is serious…a dramatic, not a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear…to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. (Poetics 1449b.24)

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

• “…the imitation of an action that is serious” = art involves imitation

•What does art imitate?

"not of persons, but of action and life, of happiness and misery"

(Poetics 1451b)

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

Aristotle’s 6 Rules of Tragedy: –Catharsis–Dramatic Unities–Hamartia–Hubris–Recognition–Reversal

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

CATHARSIS• Aristotle’s most influential point in his rules (yet,

ironically, his smallest – it only took up a few lines in his theory) was the idea of CATHARSIS.

• Catharsis: purging of the emotions “through pity and fear.”

• Tragedies gave the audience a feeling of catharsis – he believed this to be good for the human soul.

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

DRAMATIC UNITIES1. Time: over how much time does the

play take place? 2. Place: where the action of the play

takes place3. Action: usually focuses on one hero

and one plot

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

HAMARTIA• a “tragic flaw,” though many modernists

now refer to it as an “error” or “mistake”. Hamartia leads to a hero’s tragic downfall.

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

HUBRIS • exaggerated pride or self-confidence

(before the gods). Main reason for hubris: “As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is this: men think that by ill-treating others they make their own superiority greater.”

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

RECOGNITION (peripetia) • the hero realizes the catastrophe at hand

and it is at this point that his/her flaw must be recognized and accepted, along with his/her “death.”

REVERSAL (anagnorisis) • occurs when the opposite of what the

hero intends is what happens.

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

• Tragic Hero - character in the story that has a fatal flaw (hamartia).

Qualities of a Tragic Hero• A noble birth/special wisdom bestowed

upon them from birth• Hamartia• Recognition• Reversal

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy

• Six elements of a tragic drama: 1. Plot – goes hand in hand with Character; "In a

play, they do not act in order to portray the characters; they include the characters for the sake of the action" (Poetics 1450a.20).

2. Character – action must be consistent with character.

3. Diction – the style of language 4. Thought – indication through words (or other

means) of what characters are thinking 5. Spectacle – staging, lighting, sets, costumes 6. Melody – style of text/lyrics/music

Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy