“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
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