Poetics

Essay | Aristotle

Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy

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Write and explain Aristotle s definition of tragedy Aristotle - BCE was a great Greek thinker and writer In his book Poetics BCE he gave a clear and famous definition of tragedy According to him tragedy is a serious and complete story It is acted out on stage not just told like a story It uses beautiful language and songs The aim of tragedy is to make people feel pity and fear These strong feelings help to clean or purify the emotions This emotional cleaning is called catharsis Below we break down his definition into simple points Serious and Complete Action Tragedy imitates important real-life actions These actions are serious complete and meaningful For example Oedipus Rex shows a king s downfall due to fate and mistakes Unlike history which tells facts tragedy shows what could happen It teaches moral lessons through imitation The famous definition of tragedy is Tragedy

then is an imitation of an action that is serious complete and of a certain magnitude through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions Complete and Well-Structured Plot Plot is the soul of tragedy It must have a clear beginning middle and end Events should connect logically not randomly A good plot follows cause and effect For example Oedipus s curiosity leads him to discover his tragic fate Aristotle prefers complex plots with twists peripeteia and discoveries anagnorisis Simple plots lack surprises and are less powerful A strong plot makes tragedy impactful About Plot Aristotle says Now a whole is that which has a beginning a middle and an end Mimesis Imitation Tragedy is an imitation of real-life actions It shows human life and problems through a serious story It is not just told like a story but acted out on stage This imitation helps people to understand real emotions duties and decisions in life Imitation must be an action as described here The objects the imitator represents are actions with agents who are necessarily either good men or bad Language and Music Aristotle says tragedy uses special language This includes rhythm music and songs Different parts of the play may use different styles Some parts are spoken in verse Some are sung by the chorus These artistic elements make the play more beautiful and emotional The music and rhythm help the audience feel the mood of the story But even without music or stage effects a strong story can still touch the heart So language and music add beauty but the story is still most important The Six Parts Aristotle also says that tragedy has six parts plot character thought diction song and spectacle Aristotle ranks tragedy s six parts by importance Among these plot is the most important It is the story and the way the events are arranged A good plot makes the tragedy strong Characters are also important but the story comes first Thought means the ideas in the play Diction is the style of speaking Song adds music and emotion Spectacle means what we see on stage But plot is the soul of tragedy A great tragedy like Macbeth balances all parts but prioritizes plot To sum up Aristotle gave a deep and clear idea about tragedy He said that tragedy is a serious and complete action It is shown on stage with beautiful language and music Its main aim is to create pity and fear in the audience and to cleanse their emotions He also explained the six parts of tragedy This definition helps us understand how tragedy works and why it is so powerful in drama and literature

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