...era and the theatres were always crowded during a play. Shakespeare wrote mainly tragedies by the end of the 16th century, including Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth. Aristotle's definition of a tragedy is that a tragedy is an imitation (mimesis) of an action that is morally admirable. Aristotle is a philosopher who wrote about poetry, poetry being epic, drama, and lyric for Aristotle, in his work “Poetics”. He said in his work that a tragedy should be composed by an introduction, a middle part and an ending. According to Aristotle the fable (mythos) is more important than the characters in the play. It is so because the purpose with the tragedy, according to Aristotle, is to make the audience feel pity (eleos) and fear (fobos) and as a result achieve an emotional cleansing(Catharsis). In order to bring those feelings to the audience the tragedy must be complex. The tragedy must involve a peripeteia, meaning that a great person experiences a turning point, a reversal of fortune. This turning point must be caused by a mistake, the tragic hero's mistake (hamartia). This reversal of fortune cannot be prevented but it is an unforeseen result of the mistake the tragic hero makes. The tragic hero must during the play achieve a revelation(anagnorisis) that means that the hero will go from not knowing to knowing, and that could be about anything. All these elements are what makes a tragedy a good tragedy according to Aristotle. In 1963 Gustav Freytag, a...
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...Plot is the basic principle of any tragedy, especially in Aristotle’s eyes. His definition of a plot is what creates the incidents, and marks the beginning, middle, and end. To create a great plot, it must be structurally defined and allow the tragic hero to change ignorance into knowledge. The comical hero, Dionysus, leaves the mortal world and ventures into Hades to find a playwright who will bring Athens back to its old glory days. He encounters many obstacles and monsters, and succeeds in making it to the heart of the underworld. He arrives just in time to judge the two poets Euripides and Aeschylus battle and fight to determine who is the dominant tragic poet. Dionysus reaches the climax by picking Aeschylus as the winner over Euripides, stating that, “It...
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...Aristotle took a teleological approach to nearly all his studies, as he thought that determining natural purposes was the path to the most fundamental principles governing the world. Thus, in biology, he sought to understand the purposes of various organs and characterized species in light of these purposes. Regarding ethics and politics, he tried to establish that man's purpose was to participate in the political community, since what separates him from the animals is reason and language (which allows man to debate). With this natural purpose established, he went on to argue that man is complete only as a member of a community and that the ultimate form of association was the city-state. Teleology also played a role in his famous theory of the Four Causes. He argued that natural science must not only take into account causes such as origin or form, but also the final aim. Thus health could be called one of the causes of exercise, even while the reverse was also true. For Aristotle, what is virtue and how do we acquire it? Virtue, for Aristotle, is the developed ability to recognize the right or good thing to do. In many situations, no rulebook can tell us exactly how to act. Thus a virtuous person must possess the appropriate disposition that can recognize–as if by instinct–the correct course of action. This skill is not, however, simply innate. Rather, we acquire virtue by the development of good habits, and in turn, habit is developed by the appropriate exercise of reason...
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...Benjamin Franklin once said. Reputation has a large impact on the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts in the play, The Crucible. John Proctor is most affected by the thought of maintaining an acceptable reputation for his name. Throughout The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor made many mistakes, one such as committing adultery, which made his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, lose his trust. Although he made mistakes, the town still saw John as a respectable man who cared immensely for his family. In the end, John did admit his sin of adultery and was hanged. Through “Aristotle’s Poetics” it is proved that John Proctor is the tragic hero of The Crucible because his true character comes out and he becomes a good man in the end by admitting to his wrong-doings, committing adultery, in order to save his reputation and family. John Proctor ruins his reputation within the change of fortune, or catastrophe, appeal of “Aristotle’s Poetics”. A change of fortune is explained as “occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce…”(McManus). John Proctor did not want his reputation ruined or his relationship with his wife ruined, however the complete opposite happened to him creating a major problem. The change of fortune is when John is finally forced to admit to the court about his sin (Miller 119). John Proctor commits adultery with Abigail and is compelled to admit this sin to his wife and to the town. John first admits to committing adultery to his...
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...developed a stimulating effect on English education around the globe. This has created a lasting effect on people and it’s uncommon to not have a familiarity with Greek tragedies. Most people do not take the time to think about the elements that make them tragedies or make the characters in them tragic heroes. In one of the “earliest surviving works of dramatic theory” of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, he laid out his rules for what is the foundation of a tragedy and a tragic hero. In the play by Sophocles, Oedipus stands out as a classic representation of what a tragedy hero is. Oedipus the book has key aspects that Aristotle said to make a tragedy and a tragic hero. One of the requirements for being a tragic hero according to Aristotle is "a [great] man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake." There must be some mistake made by the character flaw that causes the great man’s fortunes to turn for the worst. Aristotle felt that there were certain plot devices that needed to take place in order for it to qualify as a tragedy and for the character to really be a tragic hero. Without a tragic hero there cannot be a tragedy happening, plot is a very important point. The plot of a true tragedy should be complex and consist of reversal and recognition. Both of these plot elements are contained within the play Oedipus the King. The play starts out highlighting...
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...The question is in Angel Heart, is the elements that our tragic hero witnesses completely integrated to the gripping conclusion or is it more a series of episodes which do not connect; the former being tragedy, the latter being an epic. Aristotle tells that the six elements (plot, character, thought, diction, spectator, song) are required. The characters in a tragedy should be a good man who is consistent and not far away from the reality. In the case of Angel Heart, The viewers follow a virtuous character though the movie and identify their selves with him. In a tragic part of the movie, Harry Angel makes a terrible mistake, begins fall down and his credibility begins to change. Regarding Aristotle’s theory of tragic plot, some people think that unity of plot means that there should be a single hero. In reality, unity of plot should mean, "the plot must imitate one action and the structural union of the parts be such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed" (Aristotle 7). Parker channeled essential teachings from Aristotle in Angel Heart. Harry Angel is a private eye in Harlem. Harry Angel is a defenseless, yet practical, and also rough around the edges with a side of sleaze character. He receives a call out of the blue asking if he wanted to take on work to locate Johnny Favorite. Harry Angel enters a world that is known for its bizarre religious exercises. This is where he meets Louis Cyphre. Louis Cypher is...
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...In his famous "Poetics," the philosopher Aristotle laid the foundations for literary criticism of Greek tragedy. His famous connection between "pity and fear" and "catharsis" developed into one of Western philosophy's greatest questions: why is it that people are drawn to watching tragic heroes suffer horrible fates? Aristotle's ideas revolve around three crucial effects: First, the audience develops an emotional attachment to the tragic hero; second, the audience fears what may befall the hero; and finally (after misfortune strikes) the audience pities the suffering hero. Through these attachments the individual members of the audience go through a catharsis, a term which Aristotle borrowed from the medical writers of his day, which means a "refining" -- the viewer of a tragedy refines his or her sense of difficult ethical issues through a vicarious experious of such thorny problems. Clearly, for Aristotle's theory to work, the tragic hero must be a complex and well-constructed character, as in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As a tragic hero, Oedipus elicits the three needed responses from the audience far better than most; indeed, Aristotle and subsequent critics have labeled Oedipus the ideal tragic hero. A careful examination of Oedipus and how he meets and exceeds the parameters of the tragic hero reveals that he legitimately deserves this title. Oedipus' nobility and virtue provide his first key to success as a tragic hero. Following Aristotle, the audience must respect...
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...Aristotle view upon oil and coal restrictions The "tragedy of the commons” is a theory presented by Garrett Hardin in which an unattended or common limited resource is available to anybody who wants to use it. In his theory Garrett states that individuals, groups, or organizations can slowly deplete a common resource if no regulations are implemented. One example of our modern world “tragedy of commons” is the human dependency upon oil and coal which is a non-renewable energy source and if used without restriction may eventually become unavailable. For this reason, restrictions implemented by Washington legislators are beneficial to our sustainability. Aristotle would certainly agree with the implementation of regulations upon oil and coal since he believed in moral virtues. Aristotle would side with Washington legislators who implement restriction upon oil and coal use. Aristotle believed that the human goal is to sustain the planet and its limited resources in order to pass them onto the next generation. If people continue to abuse resources available to them without restriction, there will not be any resources left to sustain the future of humanity. In order for the planet to survive and continue to grow, sustainability is a necessary part of today's society. Aristotle would disagree with those who continuously fight against legislators and the oil and coal restrictions because he believed in the “golden mean” which implemented an idea that one should not have too much...
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... Pg. 3-4 3. Counter-Arguments Pg. 4-6 4. Conclusion Pg. 7 5.Citations. Pg. 8 Aristotle’s approach to philosophy is a little different from Plato’s. Aristotle was fascinated by the intellectual challenge of forming categories and breaking down forms of knowledge whether it were in writing or being performed in a play. Plato would elaborate on the central concern of love between men and gods, the proper kind of love that must be maintained to attempt to cure the kind of love that is dead (Plato pg. 880). With the knowledge gained from learning about Plato’s philosophy of love and Aristotle’s thirst to preach about how everything can be broken down into systems, I’m leaning toward Plato’s ways of thinking of human nature, and Love in a way but I want to say my heart is on Aristotle’s abstract systems yet direct dry ways. From poetics, Aristotle would speak of the constituent parts of tragedy (Aristotle pg....
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...University. 23 February 2012 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/servlet/LitCrit/vic_liberty/FJ1585650004> Gale Document Number: FJ1585650004 Goldhill, Simon. "The audience of Athenian tragedy." The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy. Ed. P. E. Easterling. Cambridge University Press, 1997. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL0521412455.003 Hall, Edith. "The sociology of Athenian tragedy." The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy. Ed. P. E. Easterling. Cambridge University Press, 1997. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL0521412455.005 Alexander, Nigel. "Critical Disagreement about Oedipus and Hamlet." Shakespeare Survey Volume 20: Shakespearean and Other Tragedy. Ed. Kenneth Muir. Cambridge University Press, 1967. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL0521069009.004 Buxton, Richard. "Tragedy and Greek Myth." The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology. Ed. Roger D. Woodard. Cambridge University Press, 2008. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL9780521845205.005 Wiles, David. "Aristotle’s Poetics and ancient dramatic theory." The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre. Eds. Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 23 February 2012...
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...Oedipus the King written by Philosopher Sophocles was regarded as an excellent play by Aristotle, so much he used it to illustrate the many principles of tragedy. Through Sophocles play, we can see the definition of the tragic hero which according to Aristotle tragedy arouses pity and fear from the audience towards the character. The plot and Oedipus character development along the play, causes readers to pity the King as a tragic hero. Sophocles skills have Oedipus recognizing his guilt and at the same time the shocking reversal of destiny. The king is not aware that he killed his father and wedded his mother. He is the reason for the plague that Thebes is going thru according to the gods. Thebes have been stroke by the plague and upon...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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...The Tragedy of Hamlet A tragedy can be defined as a literary work in which the main character or characters suffer extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavourable circumstances. William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a well known play that falls under the genre of a tragedy because it’s very dramatic, contains numerous murders and has an overall suspenseful atmosphere throughout the play. Hamlet follows the elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy such as the tragic hero, a tragic flaw, and a tragic story. Hamlet is the quintessential tragic hero, he begins with good intentions but by the end he does not survive to see the full outcome of his actions. Hamlet possesses positive traits and demonstrates those traits throughout the play but Hamlet was incapable of defeating his own greatest flaw, his inability to take action which led to the demise of not only himself, but many around him. The third element is the tragic story, which leads up to and results in the death of the hero, the suffering that usually befalls the hero is unusual and disastrous. Hamlet follows all elements of a classic Shakespearean tragedy with Hamlet as the tragic hero, his tragic flaw, and the tragic story that results in death. Tragic heroes often begin at a high position of nobility, as Hamlet is the prince of Denmark; he has a lofty position to fall from. When he is first introduced in Act 1 Scene 2, He is a young prince who...
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...named Desire” have tragic elements to them. Yet many critics say that both plays deviate too far from Aristotle’s foundations of what a tragedy should be. For example neither character is in an “elevated position”, which Aristotle says is vital for a tragic hero as it gives the character a “height” to fall from. Willy and Blanche aren’t royal or particularly high class, although Blanche believes herself to be a Southern Belle and portrays that image publically there is evidence that she isn’t a Southern Belle, Willy is a working class salesman who would be consider a “common man”. Both characters are relativity common people, however in Miller’s “Tragedy and a Common man” he says that he believes “a common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were.” Miller goes on to say that the “tragic feeling is evoke in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down their life… to secure… their sense of personal dignity”. For Willy this is to be known as a salesman, He bases his goals for the American Dream, which is flawed as it forever leaves him wanting more as a person. He bases his end goal on Dave Singleman who has people from all America come to his funeral; Willy believes that he is the embodiment of the American dream. Aristotle says in his Poetics, that tragedy represents men as better than they are. The purpose of tragedy was to create pity and fear in the audience. This was achieved by showing the audience that we feared...
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...I. THE THEORY OF THE IDEAS AND PLATO’S ONTOLOGY I. 1. The ontological dualism The theory of the Ideas is the base of Plato’s philosophy: the Ideas are not only the real objects ontologically speaking, but they are the authentically objects of knowledge epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato’s dualism and they even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the world of individual realities, and so is multiple and constantly changing, is the world of generation and destruction; is the realm of the sensible, material, temporal and space things. On the contrary, the Intelligible World is the world of the universal, eternal and invisible realities called Ideas (or "Forms"), which are immutable and do not change because they are not material, temporal or space. Ideas can be understood and known; they are the authentic reality. The Ideas or Forms are not just concepts or psychic events of our minds; they do exist as objective and independent beings out of our consciences. They are also the origin of sensible things, but although they are the authentic beings, Plato, unlike Parmenides of Elea, do not completely...
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