Aristotle’s Concept of Tragedy:
Definition of Tragedy
According to The Poetics, tragedy is:
o “The imitation of an action, serious, complete, and of a certain
magnitude, in language embellished with each kind of artistic
ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play;
in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the
proper purgation of these emotions.”
Key aspects:
o Serious action (not trivial like comedy).
o Complete with beginning, middle, and end.
o Of great magnitude (universal human significance).
o Imitative, but through action and performance, not mere narration.
o Evokes pity and fear, leading to Catharsis (purification).
Six Constituent Elements of Tragedy
Aristotle lists six essential parts of a tragedy, in order of importance:
1. Plot (Mythos) – the arrangement of incidents.
2. Character (Ethos) – moral qualities revealed in action.
3. Thought (Dianoia) – intellectual element, themes, and reasoning.
4. Diction (Lexis) – expression through dialogue and language.
5. Song (Melos) – musical and choral elements.
6. Spectacle (Opsis) – visual elements of performance.
Importance of Plot:
“Plot is the soul of tragedy.”
Must be logically connected, like a living organism.
Episodic plots (incidents loosely strung together) are worst.
Best plots: show a basically good man, not perfect, who suffers due to
Hamartia (error of judgment).
Unity in Tragedy
Aristotle emphasizes the unities, though not equally:
1. Unity of Action
o Tragedy should have a single, unified action concerning one main
story.
o Digressions or subplots weaken the effect.
o Against plurality of action and tragi-comedy.
2. Unity of Time
o Should represent events within a single revolution of the sun (approx.
24 hours).
o Unlike epics, tragedy cannot span years.
3. Unity of Place
o Not explicitly mentioned by Aristotle.
o Renaissance critics wrongly attributed it to him.
o Their interpretation: no change of place in tragedy, or if change occurs,
it must not be too distant.
Character in Tragedy
Aristotle prescribes four essential qualities of character:
1. Goodness – Characters must be morally good, even if flawed.
2. Appropriateness – Must be suitable to age, profession, and status.
3. Likeness – Should reflect human qualities of joy, sorrow, love, hatred, etc.
4. Consistency – No sudden or illogical changes; actions must be probable and
true to character.
Tragic Hero
The tragic hero must:
1. Be of noble stature and greatness (socially and morally significant).
2. Possess nobility of character, but not perfection.
3. His downfall must arise from Hamartia (tragic flaw/error of judgment), not
from vice or depravity.
4. The downfall must be partly his own fault and the result of free choice.
5. The hero’s misfortune should not be wholly deserved – punishment should
exceed the crime.
6. Evoke pity (undeserved suffering) and fear (recognition of shared human
weakness).
Hamartia
Central concept in Aristotle’s theory of tragedy.
Usually translated as “tragic flaw,” but more accurately “error of judgment.”
Not deliberate evil, but ignorance, mistake, or frailty.
Commonly associated with hubris (pride/over-confidence).
Examples (A.C. Bradley’s analysis of Shakespearean tragedy):
o Hamlet – procrastination.
o Othello – jealousy.
o Antony – passion for Cleopatra.
Catharsis
Doctrine of Catharsis: tragedy arouses pity and fear, then purges these
emotions in a harmless, healthy way.
Art is not destructive but therapeutic, serving both the individual and society.
Catharsis can mean:
o Emotional purification.
o Intellectual clarification.
o Moral elevation.
Tragic Plot Types
1. Simple Plot – Without Peripety or Anagnorisis.
2. Complex Plot – Involves both:
o Peripety – reversal of fortune.
o Anagnorisis – recognition or discovery of truth.
Tragedy arises out of human error, with reversal and recognition as its
essential consequences.
Sources of Tragic Pleasure (Aristotle’s view)
1. Natural sense of harmony and rhythm.
2. Instinct of imitation.
3. Pleasure of the unfamiliar/new.
4. Catharsis (purification).
5. Involvement of the spectator.
6. Inner illumination.
7. Unity of plot, diction, spectacle, etc.
Comparison: Plato vs. Aristotle
Plato Aristotle
Social reformer, Idealist Scientist, Realist
Art for moral purpose Art for aesthetic purposes
Emphasis on Ultimate Reality Emphasis on Empirical Reality
Mimesis = Imitation Mimesis = Re-creation
