Aristotle’s Ideas About 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 we re based on this belief.
Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy.
“A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious an d also, a s 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.” 
1. “the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself;”This means that a good tragedy deals with one issue that is very “serious.” You can’t have a tragedy about something
trivial like breaking a fingernail. “Magnitude” here means great importance. The issue has to be serious and very,
very important. That’s why a lot of tragedies deal with someone’s death. “Complete in itself” means that the play
must stick to the one issue; otherwise, the audience will get lost in the plot.
2. “in appropriate and pleasurable language:” Ancient Greek tragedy had a chorus whose role was to comment on the action of the play. The chorus sometimes
sang their part. Aristotle said that the language should be easy to listen to. It should have rhythm and also good
harmony for the lines that were sung.
3. “in a dramatic rather than narrative form;”To narrate a story is simply to tell the story, like telling a friend what happened over the weekend. In a play, the storymust be dramatized or acted out.
4. “with incidents arousing pity and fear,” In a tragedy, the events or episodes in the play should lead the audience to feel very sorry for the main character--the
tragic hero. The audience should also feel afraid for the hero as he moves toward a destructive end. 
5. “wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.” As the play moves along, the events should build up the emotions of pity and fear. A catharsis is a purging, or
cleansing of the emotions--a release o f tension. In a tragedy, this is often a moment o f revelation when the tragic
hero “falls flat on his face,” and the audience can finally “explode.”