the literary term catharsis

Prepared By: Munjpara Maitri Rajendrabhai

Roll No.: 22Enrolment no.: PG13101023Semester: 1Year: 2013-14Submitted To,

Smt. S.B. GardiDepartment of EnglishMaharaja

KrishnakumarsinhjiBhavnagar UniversityBhavnagarGujarat-India

What is Catharsis?

General meaning of Catharsis

Emotional

release

To make clean

To Purify

Basic information about word Catharsis:

Catharsis is taken from the Greek verb Kathoros.

It is translated as “To Purify” or “To clean” or “To get Emotional Release”.

The term can applied in many different situation.

Now a days the term used in medicine.

Catharsis in literature Catharsis, a term in dramatic art

describes the effect of tragedy on the audience.

There have been, for political or aesthetic reasons, deliberate attempts made to subvert the effect of catharsis in theatre.

Three main aspects of catharsis: “purification, purgation, and

intellectual clarification.”

Views of Aristotle In literature, Catharsis takes on a

slightly different meaning. Aristotle has first used in his work

“The Poetics”. He used it to discuss how drama can

effect individual to the viewer. A good drama can raise the strong

emotions. Viewer can leave theatre with

refreshed and purified in emotional experience.

Examples of Catharsis: Bertolt Brecht viewed catharsis as

a pap (pablum) for the bourgeois theatre audience, and designed dramas which left significant emotions unresolved, intending to force social action upon the audience.

Brecht reasoned that the absence of a cathartic resolution would require the audience to take political action in the real world, in order to fill the emotional gap they had experienced vicariously.

Debate by Aristotle and Plato on Catharsis

Aristotle: After

expressing their emotions, audience can feel relief.

Drama leads to the sensible mind.

Plato: Drama and

poetry could make negative effect on viewers mind.

Lead them to act very aggressively.

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