"Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; through arousal of pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions."
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, defines tragedy as a genre of drama that evokes fear and pity in the audience. In his work "Poetics," Aristotle outlines his views on the nature and purpose of tragedy.
According to Aristotle, a tragedy must have six elements to be considered a true tragedy: plot, character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle. Of these six elements, Aristotle considered plot to be the most important, as it is the backbone of the tragedy and holds all the other elements together. The plot should be a unified whole, with a beginning, middle, and end, and should be well-structured and believable.
Aristotle also believed that the characters in a tragedy should be complex and have multiple dimensions, rather than being one-dimensional stereotypes. The characters should be morally and psychologically consistent, and should exhibit both good and bad qualities. The audience should be able to relate to the characters, and feel fear and pity for them as they experience suffering and misfortune.
Language, thought, melody, and spectacle were also considered important elements of tragedy by Aristotle. The language should be clear, appropriate, and poetic, and should express the characters' emotions and motivations. The thought should be relevant and thought-provoking, and should bring out the moral and ethical implications of the tragedy. Melody and spectacle, including music, dance, and stage effects, were seen as essential to the overall experience of the tragedy, as they helped to heighten the emotions of the audience.
Aristotle believed that the purpose of tragedy was to evoke emotions in the audience, especially fear and pity. By experiencing these emotions, the audience was able to gain a better understanding of the human condition, and to gain insights into their own lives and the world around them. Tragedy was seen as a means of purging the soul and allowing the audience to cathartically experience and release strong emotions.
In conclusion, Aristotle's definition of tragedy as a genre of drama that evokes fear and pity in the audience, and which includes six essential elements of plot, character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle, continues to be a widely accepted definition of tragedy to this day. The purpose of tragedy, according to Aristotle, was to evoke emotions in the audience, and to provide a means for them to gain insights into the human condition and their own lives.
One of Aristotle's key contributions to the understanding of tragedy is his emphasis on the importance of plot. He believed that the plot of a tragedy should be well-structured, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and that it should be unified and believable. Aristotle argued that the plot should be the backbone of the tragedy, holding all the other elements together, and that it should be more important than the characters themselves.
Aristotle also believed that the characters in a tragedy should be complex and multi-dimensional. He argued that the audience should be able to relate to the characters, and that they should feel fear and pity for them as they experience suffering and misfortune. According to Aristotle, the characters should be morally and psychologically consistent, and they should exhibit both good and bad qualities. This complexity of character allows the audience to identify with the characters, and to experience the full range of emotions that the tragedy evokes.
Another important aspect of Aristotle's views on tragedy is the role of language. He believed that the language used in a tragedy should be clear, appropriate, and poetic, and that it should express the characters' emotions and motivations. Aristotle also believed that the language of a tragedy should be elevated, making it different from everyday speech, which would help to heighten the emotions of the audience.
Aristotle also believed that thought, melody, and spectacle were important elements of tragedy. The thought in a tragedy should be relevant and thought-provoking, bringing out the moral and ethical implications of the story. Melody and spectacle, including music, dance, and stage effects, were seen as essential to the overall experience of the tragedy, helping to heighten the emotions of the audience.
Finally, Aristotle believed that the purpose of tragedy was to evoke emotions in the audience, especially fear and pity. He argued that by experiencing these emotions, the audience was able to gain a better understanding of the human condition, and to gain insights into their own lives and the world around them. Tragedy was seen as a means of purging the soul and allowing the audience to cathartically experience and release strong emotions.
In addition to his views on the elements and purpose of tragedy, Aristotle also discussed the structure of a tragedy. He believed that a tragedy should be divided into two parts: the setup, or "prologue," and the main body of the tragedy, or "episodes." He argued that the prologue should introduce the characters and the situation, while the episodes should follow the events of the plot. Aristotle also believed that the climax of the tragedy should occur in the middle of the play, with the fall of the protagonist, and that the ending should show the resolution of the conflict and the aftermath of the events.
In conclusion, Aristotle's views on tragedy continue to be widely influential to this day. He emphasized the importance of plot, character, language, thought, melody, and spectacle, and he argued that the purpose of tragedy was to evoke fear and pity in the audience, allowing them to gain insights into the human condition and their own lives. His views on the structure of a tragedy, including the division into prologue and episodes and the importance of the climax and resolution, have also been widely adopted.