Aristotles Theory of Tragedy Aristotles Ideas About Tragedy

Aristotle’s Theory of ‘Tragedy’

Aristotle’s Ideas About Tragedy • Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of Ancient Greece. A philosopher looks for ideal forms, and tries to explain the nature of reality. The search for ideal forms led Aristotle to explore many subjects. • His analysis of the ideal form of tragic plays became a guideline for later playwrights in Western civilization. For centuries, European playwrights like William Shakespeare tried to write plays that would match the ideals of Aristotle’s model. • Drama was not invented by Aristotle. In fact, he used examples from the works of famous Greek playwrights such as Sophocles to illustrate his main ideas. The Greeks believed that tragedy was the highest form of drama, and Aristotle’s ideas about tragedy were based on this belief.

Aristotle’s Definition of a Tragedy • “A tragedy is the 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 accomplish a catharsis of these emotions. ”

WHAT? ! • There is a very serious issue in these plays. This issue alone is the focus of the play. • Language has rhyme, rhythm • Dramatized, or acted out • We feel sorry for main character, or tragic hero, and we feel afraid for him as he moves towards a destructive end. • catharsis is a purging, or cleansing of the emotions --a release o f tension. In a tragedy, this is often a moment of revelation w hen the tragic hero “falls flat on his face, ” and the audience can finally “explode. ”

Tragic Hero • Football fans, MSU head coach Mark D’Antonio called former OSU coach “a tragic hero”. People jumped all over him, saying he was disloyal, and not a real Spartan. Was he right? • Consider… • The tragic hero is a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle.

more “Tragic Hero” • Common characteristics of a tragic hero • According to Aristotle: • Usually of noble birth • Hamartia - a. k. a. the tragic flaw that eventually leads to his downfall. • Peripeteia - a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero's tragic flaw • His actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge • The audience must feel pity and fear for this character.

Tragic Hero cont… • Aristotle: "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. " • It should be noted that the hero's downfall is his own fault as a result of his own free choice, but his misfortune is not wholly deserved. Usually his death is seen as a waste of human potential. His death usually is not a pure loss, because it results in greater knowledge and awareness.

Homework: • Consider the definition of a tragic hero, and find a modern day example. Be prepared to defend your choice using Aristotle’s definition.