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Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy
3
"Katharsis"
Purging and cleansing of emotions of pity and fear to return to a state of balance
Song and Melody
The Chorus should be fully integrated into the play and choral odes should contribute to the play
Spectacle
Least connected to the Poet
"Art of the stage machinist"
Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy
Thought
Oedipus the King: The Perfect Tragedy?
Found "where something is proved to be, or not to be."
Speeches reveal character
Themes of the Play
“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; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody.”
-Aristotle's Poetics
Diction
Expression and meaning of words appropriate for the context
Use of Metaphor
Plot
Imitation of Action: Shows rather than tells in dramatic form.
Higher philosophically than History (What may happen; universal)
Plot Structure: Cause and Effect
Whole: Beginning, Middle (Climax), End (Denouement)
Complete: Self Contained rather than Episodic
Of a Certain Magnitude: Length and Universal Truths (Seriousness)
Plot may be simple or complex
Character
Support the cause and effect chain of actions that produce pity and fear in the audience.
Characters should:
1. Good or Fine (moral purpose)
2. Fitness of Character
3. True to Life (realistic)
4. Consistent (true to themselves)
5. Necessary or probable (characters logically constructed)
6. "True to life and yet more beautiful" (idealized, ennobled)