Aristotle’s views and concept of tragedy
in ‘The Poetics’
A
philosopher, an educator, a literary critic and a scientist, Aristotle was
probably the most scholarly and influential of the classical and Greek
philosophers. In his writings Aristotle considered, summarized, criticized and
further developed all the rich intellectual traditions that he had inherited
from his teacher Plato. Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ has been the single most
influential work in in all literary criticism. In the ‘Poetics’ Aristotle uses
the same scientific analytical methods that he had he had successfully applied
to the study of politics, ethics and natural sciences in order to determine the
fundamental principles of the composition and content of tragedy.
Aristotle
begins by listing the different kinds of poetry and remarks that all kinds of poetry
are ‘mimetic’ or ‘imitative’. Both Aristotle and Plato saw in ‘mimesis’ the
representation of nature. Poetic ‘mimesis’ is imitation of things as they could
be, not as they are in the universal ideas. Thus poetry is much more
philosophical than history that merely records what actually happened.
Aristotle further insists that amongst poetry “tragedy’ is the most perfect
form of ‘mimesis’ because it has a serious purpose and uses direct action
rather than narrative.
The
Greeks believed that tragedy was the highest form of drama and Aristotle’s
ideas of tragedy were based on this belief. The ‘Poetics’examines the
nature of tragedy and takes as its prime example Sophocles’ tragedy ‘Oedipus
Rex’. Aristotle analyses the features and components of tragedy taking
illustrations primarily from Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. He defines
tragedy as “ …an imitation of an action that is serious and also,as having
magnitude, complete in itself, in appropriate and pleasurable language; …in a
dramatic rather than narrative form, with incidents arousing pity and fear,
wherewith to achieve a catharsis of these emotions.” The definition itself
points out the features of an ideal tragedy that are (a) A good tragedy deals
with one issue that is serious and of magnitude or having great importance and
it is complete in itself, (b) The language of chorus should be easy and sung
with rhythm and harmony, (c) Drama demands that the story need to be acted out,
(d) A good tragedy arouses the twin emotions of pity and fear for the emotional
built up and thereby preparing for (e) Catharsis, a purgation of the emotions. Catharsis
is a purging or cleansing of the emotions- a release of the tension so as to
achieve a neutral or stable emotional state. The catharsis is achieved when the
tragic protagonist falls a victim of his “hamartia’, a particular flaw in the
character or an error in judgement, bringing a disastrous change in the fortune
of the tragic protagonist.
Aristotle
next proceeds to analyse the six main elements or components of tragedy: (i) Plot,
(ii) Character, (iii) Thought, (iv) Diction, (v) Melody and (vi) Spectacles.
Thought denotes the intellectual qualities of the characters. Diction refers to
the composition and the language. If ‘thought’ deals with what is said, ‘diction’
deals with how it is said. ‘Melody and spectacles are the accessories to
pleasurably blend in the visual appearances and songs of the chorus
appropriately within the play. Aristotle considers ‘character’ to be the second
most important aspect of tragedy. The characters serve to advance the action of
the story. The moral purpose of the characters should be clear to the audience
and they must be believable personalities.
Aristotle
considers ‘plot’ or ‘mythos’ that is the sum total of all the actions in the
play, to be the most important of the six elements. The plot must be about “one
complete action” that is unity of the plot; all the events and actions must
direct towards one serious issue. Aristotle insists that a good plot is
accompanied by two qualities (i) ‘Peripety’ and (ii) ‘Anagnorisis. ‘Peripety’
is the change in the state of things or a reversal in the fortune of the tragic
protagonist. ‘Anagnorisis’ or discovery is the change from ignorance to
knowledge. This is achieved in ‘Oedipus Rex’ when King Oedipus
starts out “clueless” and slowly learns how he himself is responsible for all
the mess.
Change
by itself is not enough in order to achieve ‘catharsis’; the tragic protagonist
must have specific characteristics to arouse the tragic emotions of pity and
fear. Aristotle suggests that three kinds of plot should be avoided. Firstly, a
totally good man must not pass from happiness to misery for the audience won’t
pity him so much rather be angry for him. Secondly, a bad man must not pass
from misery to happiness, for it would not be appealing to see evil rewarded.
Thirdly, a bad man must not pass from happiness to misery for the audience
won’t pity him for he deserved it. Aristotle concludes that the best kind of
plot involves the misfortune of someone who is neither particularly good nor
bad and whose downfall is the result of an error in judgement or ‘hamartia’.
Although
Aristotle’s theories and his preoccupation with plot and character were grossly
violated as drama passed from Shakespeare to Beckett, the overwhelming
influence of Aristotle’s ideas and principles had a founding influence in the
composition of tragedy on playwrights of all times all over the world.
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