Aristotle Tragedy

WELCOME

Name:- Sanjaykumar N Jogadiya

Subject:- Paper -3: literary criticism

Topic:- TRAGEDY AS A TYPE OF DRAMA

Part:- M.A. Sem-1

RollNo.34,                                         EnrollmentNo.2069108420200017

Email Id: snjogadiya@amail.com

Submitted: Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English MKB                        University. 

TRAGEDY AS A TYPE OF DRAMA

“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude…through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation of these emotions.”

Deals as a Type of Drama:

Its conception and scope we have already noticed that there are different types of drama and between them, there is better luck than the dramatic forms of the world. Is believed. A tragic play in both theory and practice has held high positions in Aristotle and beyond Aeschylus. So what's the tragedy? Question ford To answer this question, Companion of the Theatre describes the tragedy in the following words, "Tragedy, a term applied to plays performed in an elevated, poetic style. As a play, its aspects are a matter of man's fame and tragedy." The word is of Greek origin and sets on a Greek tragedy, such as Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. A standard that can never be surpassed. “Further, it is recorded as follows: "The Greek tragedy was written in several meter verses; the cast generally did not consist of three or four actors and chorus; and the three unities of time, place, and action were not so strictly imagined. As an example of the unity of time, in the poems, Aristotle specifically says, "The sun is a mystery." Tragedy attempts to keep it as far away as possible in the kit, or something like that. "And in fact, the locales of different scenes, including many Greek tragedies, have changed as needed." In Greek tragedy, the chorus usually sings verses and sometimes even directly in dialogues. And it is symbolic. The audience itself, through the anticipation of the mood or the events on stage, enters the audience with fear, appreciation, and sadness. f Crystallizes ideas of emotion or emotion and thus helps to understand and communicate the play. Be prepared to intensify and enhance audience response.

Representation: 'Representation' means 'mimesis' in Greek. This means 'imitation', 'expression' or 'entertainment'. According to Lucas, 'mimesis' means 'artificial reproduction of things, in real life - recreation through re-creation'.

Action: 'An action that is serious' means 'that matters', 'that is worth troubling about'. Action in tragedy should be nobly serious. Perhaps what is expected by 'serious' is that the tragic representation ought to be serious in motive and in nature, in its ethical implication and consequence. Action in a tragedy must be 'complete in itself. Aristotle wanted the action to have a beginning, a middle and an end with a causal sequence. The action represented must have a fullness, whether it is a single incident or a chain of events.

Certain length’ means- stage performance lasting for two or three hours; the tragic form must be sufficient to reveal fully the beauty and significance of the plot; the elements of the plot and its total form ought to be complementary to each other.

'Expressed in a speech made beautiful' Lucas holds this too is changed today, when our playwrights wrestle above the grave of verse drama with the question whether even the prose of their predecessors is not too stylized and beautiful to represent a world where people speak

Without any style at all.

'Acted, not narrated' - This phrase is not clear in the definition because even in Greek dramas chorus was a narration. It used to connect various incidents and comment upon certain matters. It is not possible to act everything on the stage. G.K.Bhat writes as: "Let not Media slay her sons before the audience"; things like this were conveyed by the messengers, otherwise it would be horrible to show on the stage. Regarding Sanskrit dramas, Bhargava enumerates several 'avoidable' in Natyasatra various incidents and comment upon certain matters. It is not possible to act everything on the stage. G.K.Bhat writes as: "Let not Media slay her sons before the audience"; things like this were conveyed by the messengers, otherwise it would be horrible to show on the stage. Regarding Sanskrit dramas, Bhargava enumerates several 'avoidable' in Natyasatra the end of tragedy is the Purgation of 'Catharsis' of the emotions Aristotle says that tragedy excites pity and fear in order that 'by pity and fear we may affect the catharsis of such emotions. This catharsis, Aristotle regarded as the function of tragedy.18 one of the meanings given to the word 'catharsis' is 'sublimation'. Catharsis also means 'purgation'

By providing an outlet for partial removal of excess emotions. Lucas holds "Tragedy, then, is a representation of human unhappiness which pleases us notwithstanding, by the truth with which it is seen and the skill with which it is communicated."19 Some scholars have defined Tragedy in

Different ways. D.D.Raphael has thrown some light on this point "Tragedy always presents a conflict. This proposition needs no defines. It is familiar enough. But a conflict between what? 1 suggests

that it is a conflict between inevitable power, which we may call necessity and the reaction to the necessity of self-conscious effort. Tragic conflict differs from the conflicts presented by other forms of drama in that the victory always goes to necessity. The hero is crushed."

Technical Terms of Greek Tragedy

Hamartia (from Greek hamartin, "to err"), also called Tragic flaw, inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other respects a superior being favored by fortune. In Greek tragedies, a tragic hero is a man of noble rank and nature His misfortune is brought about by some 'error of judgment'. This is called as 'hamartia'. The tragic deeds are committed unknowingly, for example, Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his own mother another element of Greek tragedies is 'hubris which means pride' or overweening self-confidence, which leads a man to disregard a divine warning or to violate moral law. He acts against the will of God. Agamemnon walking on the red carpet or inviting Cassandra to his bed. ‘Nemesis' is another term that we come across in Greek dramas Nemesis means 'a blind necessity' or fate? Peripatetic' means 'reversal of fortune'. This is more common in the complex-fatal plot. Identity of Oedipus. Anagnorisis - means 'recognition'. During the course of action, sometimes in the middle, the hero understands his error, but it is too late to prevent the disaster

Types of Tragedy

According to Aristotle, there are four types of Tragedy. They are:

(i)The complex tragedy which entirely depends on periphery and anagnorisis. This type of tragedy depends on the reversal of fate and recognition. For example, Oedipus, the King.

(ii) Pathetic tragedy or tragedy of suffering. Here much importance is given to incidents like death, physical agony, wounds, etc. For example, Sophocles’ play Ajax.

(iii) Ethical tragedy or the tragedy of character. In this type, the emphasis is given to character and not to the plot. Hence Aristotle considers this type of tragedy as inferior. According to Aristotle, a tragedy is possible without a character but not without a plot.

(iv) Simple tragedy or the tragedy of spectacle. The spectacle is a formal part of tragedy and can produce a tragic effect. It depends on the scenes for its effectiveness on the stage. Spectacle is the manner of imitation.

The purgation theory and the purification theory of catharsis have obvious limitations. The main drawback of these theories is that these are concerned with the effect of tragedy on the audience i.e. with the psychology of the audience. But in all Aristotle is a great critic and what he said centuries ago will continue to influence thinking as it has done all this time. It is unfortunate that he has not explained some of the terms which seem very significant. The term „catharsis‟ is interpreted so variously, that it is difficult to come to an agreement as to what really meant. Catharsis is the part of complex plot not of simple plot and it comes from „missing the mark.‟

https://sites.google.com

http://anubooks.com(Dr. Suman* Assistant Professor Department of English Govt. College, Chhachharauli)

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in