4/18/13

Tragedy

     Aristotle believes that tragedy is an action that is serious, complete, and has magnitude. Tragedy to Aristotle is not a narrative which some may view it as now days. Aristotle believes a tragedy must have six parts to make it a tragedy. These parts are plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. Aristotle believed that tragedy is more philosophical than history. History only relates what happened. Tragedy shows what may happen. Tragedy is universal and causes a cause and effect chain that shows what could happen.

Greek Theater

     According to Aristotle, hamartia does not mean a tragic flaw. It means more of a tragic mistake or situation rather than flaw. This is like Orestes, he doesn't have a flaw, but he is in a tragic situation. Almost all protagonists in a tragedy go through hamartia. They are not flawed, but just put in bad situations or make mistakes.
    According to Aristotle, katharsis means purging. He uses it more as a medical metaphor. It has emotions raise of pity and fear to purge the excess of those emotions. He also talks about how people can get pleasure  from a tragedy. The pleasure is gained by the people responding to their fear and pity.

Greek Theater

    Deus ex machina was used as a plot device for most tragedies in those days. It was an "episodic" plot in which the plot was in the form of episodes that came right after the other without a necessary sequence. Aristotle believed this was the worst type of plot for tragedies. He didn't like it at all.