Aristotle's Poetics

Yuyen ChangFall 2003 at Chang Gung UniversityA Lecture Given in Freshman English Courses

Your opinionsYour opinions

What are the features of a good tragedy?What are the features of a good comedy?

What kinds of effects do the tragic works (movies, plays, or stories) aim to achieve?

                                            

      

The Temple of Apolloat Delphi

1. 1. IntroductionIntroduction2. Poetry as a species of imitation2. Poetry as a species of imitation3. The anthropology and history of 3. The anthropology and history of poetrypoetry4. Tragedy: definition and analysis4. Tragedy: definition and analysis5. Plot: basic concepts5. Plot: basic concepts6. Plot: species and components6. Plot: species and components7. The best kinds of tragic plot7. The best kinds of tragic plot8. Other aspects of tragedy8. Other aspects of tragedy9. Diction9. Diction10. Epic10. Epic11. Problems and solutions11. Problems and solutions12. Comparative evaluation of epic 12. Comparative evaluation of epic and tragedyand tragedy

Outline of PoeticsPoetics

(Greek) Tragedy= Goat song

The word tragedy literally means "goat song," probably referring to the practice of giving a goat as a sacrifice or a prize at the religious festivals in honor of the god Dionysos.

Tragedy came to signify a dramatic presentation of high seriousness and noble character which examines the major questions of human existence:why are we here? how can we know the will of the gods? what meaning does life have in the face of death?

In tragedy people are tested by great suffering and must face decisions of ultimate consequence. Some meet the challenge with deeds of despicable cruelty, while others demonstrate their ability to confront and surpass adversity, winning our admiration and proving the greatness of human potential.

Aristotle: five marks of tragedy

Imitates an actionArouses pity and fearDisplays the human image as

suchEnds in wonderIs inherently beautiful

Six elements

Spectacular presentmentSpectacular presentment

Lyrical songLyrical song

DictionDiction

Plot or representation of the Plot or representation of the actionaction

CharacterCharacter

ThoughtThought

Tragic Catharsis Catharsis is not a technical reference to purgation or purification, but a beautiful metaphor for the peculiar tragic pleasure, the feeling of being washed or cleansed.“I will show you fear in a handful of dust. –T. S. Eliot WastelandAlfred HitchcockHorrible things and painful feelings

Reversal

Reversal is a change by which the action veers round its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity.

Recognition (anagnorisis)

A change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune.

Kinds of recognitionBy signsBy letters [word or verbal inventions]By awakening a feelingBy process of reasoningA composite kind of recognition involving false inference on the part of one of the characterBy startling discovery [via incidents]

Wonder

pity and fear of all where wonder does

Wonder is the aim of the poetic art itself

A tragedy ends in wonder.

Altar with Scene from a Greek Tragedy (about 400-350 BC)

Oedipus Tyrannusby SOPHOCLES

ThebesThebes

Oedipus rules over Thebes, a city whose mythological background is important to understanding the play. Oedipus even begins the play by calling its residents the "new blood of ancient Cadmus" (not "ancient Thebes", as Fagles' liberally translates the Gre ek).

hubrisa tragic flawOverbearing pride Presumption, arrogance.insolence, referred to the

emotions in Greek tragic heroes that led them ignore warnings from the gods and thus invite catastrophe.

A Tragic HeroPity and fear/ pathosNoble (or aristocratic)Inevitability   the ability to achieve greatness (but who through a weakness, or tragic flaw in his character, falls into the depths of misery and often to his death)

The sphinx in Archaic Greek Art

SphinxBut the seer and I,We are mortal, and blind.Who is right? Who can judge?We are mortal, our wisdom assigned in

degrees. Does the seer know? Do I?No, I will not believe in the prophet’s chargeTill the charge has been proved to my mind.For I saw how the king In the test with the SphinxProved his wisdom and worthWhen he saved this city from doom.

Oedipus and SphinxThere goes Oedipus—He was the man who was ableTo answer the riddle proposed by the

SphinxMighty Oedipus—He was an object of envyTo all for his fortune and gameThere goes Oedipus—Now he is drowning in waves of dread

and despair.

Dramatic ironyDramatic irony plays an important part in Oedipus the King. Its story revolves around two different attempts to change the course of fate: Jocasta and Laius's killing of Oedipus at birth and Oedipus's flight from Corinth later on. In both cases, an oracle's prophecy comes true regardless of the characters' actions.

The End

Look at Oedipus—Proof that none of us mortalsCan truly be thought of as happyUntil he is granted deliverance from

life,Until he is deadAnd must suffer no more.

Reflections:Do you agree with the following

statements?Poetry is a more philosophical and a higher thing than history; for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular.

V X

V XThe horror movie is a kind of medicine that does its work and leaves the soul healthier; however, it can also be a potentially addictive drug.

Tragic pleasure?!

A paradoxIn a tragedy, a happy ending does not make us happy.How and why do we enjoy a tragedy?

The Weakness of a Great Hero?

Character is destiny. (Heraclitus)A hero is not a perfect person. Why can the audience be deeply moved by an imperfect hero?