Aristotle In his Poetics Aristotle argues that correct

Aristotle • In his Poetics, Aristotle argues that correct imitation is a source of pleasure. • He begins to lay out certain theories as to what makes a good tragedy: it must focus on a certain type of hero who must follow a certain trajectory within a plot that is tightly unified.

• Aristotle sees that epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry , and music are alike in that they all imitate. They differ in the medium, objects, and manner of imitation. • Aristotle believes that the poets imitate men, men who are in action, and who are better or worse than we are.

• According to Aristotle, tragedy came from the efforts of poets to present men as 'nobler, ' or 'better' than they are in real life. Comedy, on the other hand, shows a 'lower type' of person, and reveals humans to be worse than they are in average.

• Aristotle's major interest is in tragedy, which he defines as "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 [catharsis] of these emotions. "

• By ‘language embellished, ’ Aristotle means language into which rhythm, ‘harmony, ’ and song enter. • "Magnitude" refers not to the greatness of the subject matter, as some have suggested, but to the appropriate length of a production.

• A good tragedy must be a beautiful instance of mimesis, that it must give pleasure to its audience, that it must present actions which arouse pity and fear, and that it must satisfy his definition of tragedy. Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, and Melody. ”

• Diction and Melody are the style of the text or lyrics, and the music to which some of them are set. • "Spectacle" refers to staging, lighting, sets, costumes, and the like. • Thought refers to the indications, given primarily through words but also through other means, of what the characters are thinking.

• Plot is 'the soul' of tragedy, because action is paramount to the significance of a drama, and all other elements are subsidiary. • A plot must have a beginning, middle, and end; it must also be universal in significance, have a determinate structure, and maintain a unity of theme and purpose. • The most important feature of the plot is unity.

• This unity is not based on character: simply dealing with a single hero does not achieve such unity. • The most famous of the Aristotelian rules were those relating to the so-called unities of time, place, and action. The unity of time limits the supposed action to the duration, roughly, of a single day; unity of place limits it to one general locality; and the unity of action limits it to a single set of incidents which are related as cause and effect, "having a beginning, a middle, and an end. "

• Plot also must contain elements of astonishment, reversal, recognition, and suffering. • Aristotle adds: "Plots are either Simple or Complex, for the actions in real life, of which the plots are an imitation, obviously show a similar distinction.

• Aristotle also discusses another major feature of a good tragedy: the tragic hero. He implies that when creating a tragic hero, he or she should always be, in some ways, larger than life, a decisive person whose decisions determine the fate of others. However, one can see by reading his Poetics that Aristotle does not necessarily mean the character has to be a prince, king, or someone in that type of position or social class.

• In fact, he believes that nobility is based on character; one who chooses to act nobly is a noble character—despite his or her social status. However, it must be noted that the tragic hero cannot be perfect. • For Aristotle, tragic hero must be good and true to life. • The tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly evil but a combination of both.

• Hamartia means that the hero must have a "tragic flaw, " a moral weakness in character which inevitably leads to disaster. • What Aristotle means by hamartia might better be translated as "tragic error". Caught in a crisis situation, the protagonist makes an error in judgment or action, "missing the mark, " and disaster results. Aristotle himself distinguishes hamartia from moral failing.

Questions • A good tragedy must be beautiful instance of mimesis. Discuss Aristotle’s definition of tragedy and the six elements of good tragedy • For Aristotle, Plot and characters are the most important elements in good tragedy. Explain