In Oedipus the King, the major reversal occurs when the messenger comes to cheer Oedipus and free him from his alarms about his mother. But, by revealing who he is, he only confirms Oedipus's worst fears, thus creating the opposite effect from the one intended. Additionally, he argues that through recognition, the hero discovers some truth about his or her identity (as in Sophocles's Oedipus the King) or actions that accompany the reversal of the situation in the plot. In the example of Oedipus the King, Oedipus's realization that he is, in fact, his father's murderer and his mother's lover is an example of recognition. This recognition, combined with reversal, produces either pity or fear (or in some cases, both); and actions which produce these effects are those by which, by Aristotle's definition, tragedy represents. Recognition, then, if it is between persons, may be that only one person recognizes a truth concerning the hero's identity, or it may be necessary that the recognition is seen by all characters involved.
In his Poetics, Aristotle states that catharsis is an important aspect of tragic literature, which is somewhat related to pity and fear. While there are endless debates as concerning the actual interpretation of this term (for Aristotle does not define the term at all), the widely accepted meaning is that it is the purging or cleansing of pity and fear from the audience as it observes the action on the stage. In this way tragedy shields them from experiencing any harmful emotions, thus leaving them in a better state to understand the themes presented in such plays. Furthermore, Aristotle delves into pity and fear, two aspects of tragedy that are equally important for the effectiveness of tragedy. He believes, however, that these two aspects should be very carefully used; they should be due to plot, and not to mere spectacle (Aristotle 26). He believes that the story should be constructed so that the events are so terrifying that one needs not see the play to feel the anguish of the events (Aristotle 27).
In his book, "The Poetics," Aristotle expresses some of his thoughts about the merging of literature with tragedy. ... " Aristotle indicates that tragedy "shows" rather than "tells.... Aristotle was a great admirer of Sophocles' 'King Oedipus'. ... Aristotle defines plot as "the arrangement of the incidents." ... Aristotle uses the term hamartia to refer to this tragic flaw. ...
The immediate and pressing question, then, is whether Aristotle is right in applying his scientific method to poetry. ... Whether something is an epic poem, a comedy, or a tragedy depends on how it fits within these categories. ... Perhaps we would do better to understand Aristotle's distinction as being between fact and fiction. ... There are no beginnings or ends in real life, and the stuff in between is nowhere near as neatly organized as it is in tragedy. ... Tragedy draws patterns out of a meaningless swirl of experience. ...
What is a tragedy? According to Aristotle, there are eight rules that make up a tragedy. ... In both of these plays the chorus has the same three criteria meaning that they are part of the tragedy category defined by Aristotle. Another example from Aristotle's rules of tragedy is the tragic hero must go through a "discovery and reversal "stage throughout the play. ... One last rule taken from Aristotle is the tragedy puts the audience through catharsis, or spiritual cleansing. ...
He goes on to describe in detail his ideas about the elements of successful tragedy. Presentation is a main focus of tragedy. ... As Aristotle puts it, "tragedy as a whole must have six elements which make it what it is: they are plot-structure, character, style, thought, spectacle, and lyric poetry."" ... Aristotle goes on to judge many works of poets of his time by saying that the tragedies of the most recent poets are "lacking in characterization."" ... The characterizations play a vital role in the elements of a tragedy. ...
Aristotle differentiates by claiming that "Epic poetry agrees with Tragedy in so far as it is an imitation in verse of characters of a higher type. ... In his closing defense of poetry (Section Twenty-six), Aristotle considers which art is higher: Epic poetry or Tragedy. ... Aristotle's contemporaries believe tragic performances overshadow tragic content, and thus tragedy is unrefined. But Aristotle declares that tragedy is superior to epic poetry because it contains all epic elements along with visual elements, vividness in reading and representation, and a...
In "Aristotle's Poetics", the author, a Greek philosopher, gives his theory of what makes up a tragedy. ... Many people will say that The Bicycle Thief is a tragedy. Although the film is lacking some elements, it possesses many qualities Aristotle deems necessary for a successful tragedy. ... Aristotle stated "tragedy is a representation of an action that is heroic and complete" (Aristotle, 23). ... This fulfills the need of a tragedy being complete. ...
Her play "Blood Relations" sits on the edge of what Aristotle would call tragedy. Aristotle states that the form of tragedy is an "imitation of a noble and complete action, having the proper magnitude"(Aristotle 6). ... The definition of tragedy in an excerpt from Aristotle's "Poetics" is the re-creation, complete within itself, of an important moral action. The relevance of Aristotle's Poetics to Shakespeare's play Macbeth defines the making of a dramatic tragedy and presents the general principles of the construction of this genre. ... Plot, 'the soul of ...
Define the six parts of tragedy by Aristotle- Aristotle believed that were six parts of tragedy, plot, character, thought (theme), language, melody (music), and spectacle. ... Define tragedy- Tragedy can be defined a numerous amount of ways, for instance, if a person commits an unfortunate error like not paying attention while driving he or she can be caught in a tragic accident. Therefore I feel that tragedy is when a basically good person makes a fatal misjudgment that leads to there demise or death. Aristotle said that tragedy affects "the catharsis of these emotions." ...
His drama, Oedipus the King – also known as Oedipus Rex, fits all Aristotle's requirements for a classic tragedy. ... Aristotle believes Sophocles has written the perfect plot, and all other elements of his play fulfill the Greek philosopher's definition of a tragedy. ... In this quote, Aristotle suggests tragedy should raise pity and fear in the audience. ... Aristotle also mentions that a tragedy should possess magnitude. ... Aristotle's criteria for a perfect tragedy have not ended yet. ...
