65 Aristotle – On Tragedy . Let us now discuss Tragedy, resuming its formal definition, as resulting from what has been already said. Most of the Poetics is devoted to analysis of the scope and proper use of these elements, with illustrative examples selected from many tragic dramas, especially those of Sophocles, although Aeschylus, Euripides, and some playwrights whose works no longer survive are also cited. . The most beautiful colors, laid on confusedly, will not give as much pleasure as the chalk outline of a portrait. The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poetics, by Aristotle This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. The Greek word katharsis was usually used either by doctors to talk about purgation, the flushing of contaminants out of the system, or by priests to talk about religious purification. Since the aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of the central character, he must be a figure with whom the audience can identify and whose fate can trigger these emotions. As therefore, in the other imitative arts, the imitation is one when the object imitated is one, so the plot, being an imitation of an action, must imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed. Moreover, the plot requires a single central theme in which all the elements are logically related to demonstrate the change in the protagonist's fortunes, with emphasis on the dramatic causation and probability of the events. Plot, character, and speech are the most important principles of Aristotelian tragedy: the plot must be the story of a hero’s fall from fortune to misfortune, an Such an effect is best produced when the events come on us by surprise; and the effect is heightened when, at the same time, they follows as cause and effect. Il termine catarsi ricorre frequentemente in Aristotele, a partire dallo studio della tragedia per finire alle opere biologiche e nel dubbio scritto medico Problemi. Next, Song and Diction, for these are the media of imitation. His Poetics was written in the 4 th century BC, some time after 335 BC. These are "reversal" (peripeteia), where the opposite of what was planned or hoped for by the protagonist takes place, as when Oedipus' investigation of the murder of Laius leads to a catastrophic and unexpected conclusion; and "recognition" (anagnorisis), the point when the protagonist recognizes the truth of a situation, discovers another character's identity, or comes to a realization about himself. The particular is—for example—what Alcibiades did or suffered. 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. 2 likes. In addition, Aristotle's work had an overwhelming influence on the development of drama long after it was compiled. Like. But to produce this effect by the mere spectacle is a less artistic method, and dependent on extraneous aids. Selected Readings from Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan", 54. William James – On the Will to Believe, 22. LOGOS: Critical Thinking, Arguments, and Fallacies, 2. There is a type of manly valor; but valor in a woman, or unscrupulous cleverness is inappropriate. Still better, that it should be perpetrated in ignorance, and the discovery made afterwards. He says that poetic mimesis is imitation of things as they could be, not as they are — for example, of universals and ideals — thus poetry is a more philosophical and exalted medium than history, which merely records what has actually happened. For a thing whose presence or absence makes no visible difference, is not an organic part of the whole. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of the tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all. A beginning is that which does not itself follow anything by causal necessity, but after which something naturally is or comes to be. Again, without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be without character. In the Poetics, Aristotle's famous study of Greek dramatic art, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) So in the Iphigenia, the sister recognizes the brother just in time. The hero's error or frailty (harmartia) is often misleadingly explained as his "tragic flaw," in the sense of that personal quality which inevitably causes his downfall or subjects him to retribution. English. This sudden acquisition of knowledge or insight by the hero arouses the desired intense emotional reaction in the spectators, as when Oedipus finds out his true parentage and realizes what crimes he has been responsible for. But tragedians still keep to real names, the reason being that what is possible is credible: what has not happened we do not at once feel sure to be possible; but what has happened is manifestly possible: otherwise it would not have happened. Immanuel Kant – On the Aesthetic Taste. For infinitely various are the incidents in one man’s life which cannot be reduced to unity; and so, too, there are many actions of one man out of which we cannot make one action. Now any speech or action that manifests moral purpose of any kind will be expressive of character: the character will be good if the purpose is good. In short, Aristotle defines tragedy as imitation of a noble and complete action, representing pitiable and fearful incidents. A further proof is, that novices in the art attain to finish of diction and precision of portraiture before they can construct the plot. John Rawls and the “Veil of Ignorance”, 57. (Aristotele, Poetica, 1449b) Il pubblico vive in prima persona i conflitti alla base della tragedia, spesso attualizzati dall’autore. In a more sophisticated philosophical sense though, the hero's fate, despite its immediate cause in his finite act, comes about because of the nature of the cosmic moral order and the role played by chance or destiny in human affairs. According to him, tragedy developed from the heroic strain of poetry, which in its turn, developed from the hymns sung in praise of gods and great men. Aristotle goes on to discuss the structure of the ideal tragic plot and spends several chapters on its requirements. The true difference is that one relates what has happened, the other what may happen. Søren Kierkegaard – On Encountering Faith, 23. Hence a very small animal organism cannot be beautiful; for the view of it is confused, the object being seen in an almost imperceptible moment of time. It was not art, but happy chance, that led the poets in search of subjects to impress the tragic quality upon their plots. Of the poetry which imitates in hexameter verse, and of Comedy, we will speak hereafter. Scrive Aristotele nella "Poetica", che la tragedia nacque dall'improvvisazione, e precisamente "da coloro che intonano il ditirambo", un canto corale in onore di Dioniso e che rappresenta una vicenda, quasi sempre presa dalla mitologia, riguardante uno o più uomini o semidei. compares tragedy to such other metrical forms as comedy and epic. The fourth case] is when some one is about to do an irreparable deed through ignorance, and makes the discovery before it is done. “A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility. Aristotle's Poetics (Greek: Περὶ ποιητικῆς Peri poietikês; Latin: De Poetica; c. 335 BC ) is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory. The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy; Character holds the second place. Aristotle's definition of tragedy at the beginning of this chapter is supposed to summarize what he has already said, but it is the first mention of the katharsis. Thirdly, character must be true to life: for this is a distinct thing from goodness and propriety, as here described. His first Titanic-sized mistake was equating poetry to science. For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes Place. Such events seem not to be due to mere chance. catarsi, Aristotele, poetica, passioni, emozioni Sul significato del termine katharsis, così come sull’impiego che ne fa Aristotele nella celebre definizione formale di tragedia formulata nel sesto capitolo della Poetica (1449 b 24-28), si discute da secoli ed il ventaglio delle … He defines poetry as a 'medium of imitation' that seeks to represent or duplicate life through character, emotion, or action. The action may be done consciously and with knowledge of the persons, in the manner of the older poets. Reality and Time (from Bhagavad Gita), 17. The purpose of action in the tragedy, therefore, is not the representation of character: character comes in as contributing to the action. 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. It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation. Catharsis refers to the effect of the tragedy on the human heart. And since the pleasure which the poet should afford is that which comes from pity and fear through imitation, it is evident that this quality must be impressed upon the incidents. At first the poets recounted any legend that came in their way. In the case of oratory, this is the function of the political art and of the art of rhetoric: and so indeed the older poets make their characters speak the language of civic life; the poets of our time, the language of the rhetoricians. Aristotle defines poetry very broadly, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and even some kinds of music. Aristotle mentions two features of the plot, both of which are related to the concept of harmartia, as crucial components of any well-made tragedy. Removing #book# “For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality.”. Aristotle gives his views on tragedy, the plot, the characters and the content, and then it is compared to epic poetry. However, overemphasis on a search for the decisive flaw in the protagonist as the key factor for understanding the tragedy can lead to superficial or false interpretations. and any corresponding bookmarks? The Oedipus of Sophocles is an example. In esso troviamo elementi fondamentali per la comprensione del teatro tragico, in primis i concetti di mimesi (μίμησις, dal verbo μιμεῖσθαι, imitare) e di catarsi κάθαρσις, purificazione).Scrive nella Poetica: "La tragedia è dunque imitazione di una azione nobile e compiuta [...] la quale per mezzo della pietà e della paura finisce con l'effettuare la purifi… This, then, is why a few families only, as has been already observed, furnish the subjects of tragedy. Nel mondo greco, è la purificazione dell'anima dagli impulsi irrazionali e dalle passioni. Aristotle divides the art of poetry into verse drama (to include comedy, tragedy, and the satyr play), lyric poetry, and epic. There is then nothing to shock us, while the discovery produces a startling effect. Plot, character, and speech are the most important principles of Aristotelian tragedy: the plot must be the story of a hero’s fall from fortune to misfortune, an Nor, again, can one of vast size be beautiful; for as the eye cannot take it all in at once, the unity and sense of the whole is lost for the spectator; as for instance if there were one a thousand miles long. Comedy, on the other hand, shows a 'lower type' of person, and reveals humans to be worse than they are in average. Such an event, therefore, will be neither pitiful nor terrible. Poetics. One instance, however, is in the Antigone, where Haemon threatens to kill Creon. Plato – On the Value of Art and Imitation, 68. Selected Readings from Aristotle's Categories, 12. Nella Poetica, Aristotele riprende le antiche teorie sulla tragedia focalizzando l'attenzione su due concetti: quello di mìmesis (imitazione) e di kàtharsis (purificazione). But when the tragic incident occurs between those who are near or dear to one another—if, for example, a brother kills, or intends to kill, a brother, a son his father, a mother her son, a son his mother, or any other deed of the kind is done—these are the situations to be looked for by the poet. It is therefore evident that the unraveling of the plot, no less than the complication, must arise out of the plot itself, it must not be brought about by the Deus ex Machina—as in the Medea, or in the return of the Greeks in the Iliad. He says that the plot must be a complete whole — with a definite beginning, middle, and end — and its length should be such that the spectators can comprehend without difficulty both its separate parts and its overall unity. These principles being established, let us now discuss the proper structure of the Plot, since this is the first and most important thing in Tragedy. Aristotle’s Rules for Tragedy from The Poetics . a man who is highly renowned and prosperous, but one who is not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune, however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgment or frailty; a personage like Oedipus. This is a short video on Aristotle's views on Poetry and Tragedy. 1. The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. His definition and theory of tragedy presents remarkable insight and comprehension. Now, according to our definition Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is complete, and whole, and of a certain magnitude; for there may be a whole that is wanting in magnitude. An Introduction to Western Ethical Thought: Aristotle, Kant, Utilitarianism, 41. 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. The ideas and principles of the Poetics are reflected in the drama of the Roman Empire and dominated the composition of tragedy in western Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. A well-constructed plot should, therefore, be single in its issue, rather than double as some maintain. By ‘language embellished,’ I mean language into which rhythm, ‘harmony’ and song enter. Poetics is the earliest known work of literary criticism. Greek Theory of Tragedy: Aristotle's Poetics The classic discussion of Greek tragedy is Aristotle' s Poetics. These then are rules the poet should observe. . Again, since Tragedy is an imitation of persons who are above the common level, the example of good portrait painters should be followed. Agamemnon: Second Stasimon (Lines 367-480), Agamemnon: Second Episode (Lines 481-685), Agamemnon: Third Stasimon (Lines 686-773), Agamemnon: Fourth Stasimon (Lines 966-1018), Agamemnon: Fourth Episode (Lines 1019-1410), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Prologue (Lines 1-21), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Parodos (Lines 22-82), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: First Episode (Lines 83-304), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: First Stasimon (Lines 305-476), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Second Episode (Lines 477-582), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Second Stasimon (Lines 583-648), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Third Episode (Lines 649-778), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Third Stasimon (Lines 779-836), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Fourth Episode (Lines 837-933), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Fourth Stasimon (Lines 934-970), The Choephori, or The Libation Bearers: Exodos (Lines 971-1074), The Eumenides: First Episode (Lines 64-142), The Eumenides: First Stasimon (Lines 143-178), The Eumenides: Second Episode (Lines 179-243), The Eumenides: Second Episode, Continued (Lines 276-306), The Eumenides: Second Stasimon (Lines 307-395), The Eumenides: Third Episode (Lines 396-489), The Eumenides: Third Stasimon (Lines 490-565), The Eumenides: Fourth Episode (Lines 566-776), The Eumenides: Fourth Stasimon (Lines 777-792), The Eumenides: Fifth Episode and Exodos (Lines 793-1047), Agamemnon, The Choephori, and The Eumenides. . His Poetics was written in the 4 th century BC, some time after 335 BC. Speeches, therefore, which do not make this manifest, or in which the speaker does not choose or avoid anything whatever, are not expressive of character. This passage reflects Aristotle’s argument that catharsis is a key element of tragedy, and that tragedy must elicit feelings of fear and pity specifically, as compared to any other emotion. Previous It is shocking without being tragic, for no disaster follows It is, therefore, never, or very rarely, found in poetry. It examines how the public, performed aspect of tragedy and witnessing tragedy as a political community are significant for the body politic. The next and better way is that the deed should be perpetrated. An Introduction to Marx's Philosophic and Economic Thought, 64. 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. So again with indifferent persons. Tragedy, indeed, is the major concern of the Poetics, as it has come down to us. An Introduction to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", 10. type" (Aristotle, Poetics, 19-20). St. Thomas Aquinas – On the Five Ways to Prove God’s Existence, 18. Part VI. A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, 56. ― Aristotle, Poetics. As in the structure of the plot, so too in the portraiture of character, the poet should always aim either at the necessary or the probable. Without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be one without character. It is thus too that Euripides makes Medea slay her children. Definition Tragedy = A drama in which the protagonist dies or is utterly defeated. type" (Aristotle, Poetics, 19-20). Third in order is Thought—that is, the faculty of saying what is possible and pertinent in given circumstances. Despite the broad diversity in our century of views about tragedy, most critics show remarkable agreement about one point: that ‘conflict’ is a central defining characteristic of the form. In composing the Odyssey he did not include all the adventures of Odysseus—such as his wound on Parnassus, or his feigned madness at the mustering of the host—incidents between which there was no necessary or probable connection: but he made the Odyssey, and likewise the Iliad, to center round an action that in our sense of the word is one. Particularly significant is his statement that the plot is the most important element of tragedy: Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery. In the second rank comes the kind of tragedy which some place first. William Paley – On The Teleological Argument, 19. The practice of the stage bears out our view. Character is that which reveals moral purpose, showing what kind of things a man chooses or avoids. A perfect tragedy should, as we have seen, be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plan. As an example of motiveless degradation of character, we have Menelaus in the Orestes; of character indecorous and inappropriate, the lament of Odysseus in the Scylla, and the speech of Melanippe; of inconsistency, the Iphigenia at Aulis—for Iphigenia the suppliant in no way resembles her later self. In the Poetics, Aristotle used the same analytical methods that he had successfully applied in studies of politics, ethics, and the natural sciences in order to determine tragedy's fundamental principles of composition and content. One political function of tragedy is to enable a community to become more responsive to the vulnerable in their own midst. It contains much valuable information about the origins, methods, and purposes of tragedy, and to a degree shows us how the Greeks themselves reacted to their theater. It is the same with almost all the early poets. The limit of length in relation to dramatic competition and sensuous presentment is no part of artistic theory. But Homer, as in all else he is of surpassing merit, here too—whether from art or natural genius—seems to have happily discerned the truth. For had it been the rule for a hundred tragedies to compete together, the performance would have been regulated by the water-clock—as indeed we are told was formerly done. Thought, on the other hand, is found where something is proved to be or not to be, or a general maxim is enunciated. It is worth noting that some scholars believe the "flaw" was intended by Aristotle as a necessary corollary of his requirement that the hero should not be a completely admirable man. The second thing to aim at is propriety. It is accounted the best because of the weakness of the spectators; for the poet is guided in what he writes by the wishes of his audience. By the universal I mean how a person of a certain type on occasion speak or act, according to the law of probability or necessity; and it is this universality at which poetry aims in the names she attaches to the personages. So too the poet, in representing men who are irascible or indolent, or have other defects of character, should preserve the type and yet ennoble it. Aristotle on Tragedy . The fourth point is consistency: for though the subject of the imitation, who suggested the type, be inconsistent, still he must be consistently inconsistent. Definition of Tragedy (From the Poetics of Aristotle [384-322 BC]) "Tragedy, then, is a process of imitating an action which has serious implications, is John Stuart Mill – On The Equality of Women, 58. This stress placed by the Greek tragedians on the development of plot and action at the expense of character, and their general lack of interest in exploring psychological motivation, is one of the major differences between ancient and modern drama.

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