Aristotle’s Perfect Tragedy
Ars Poetica
or
The Poetics
Aristotle
Ancient Greek philosopher
who wrote about physics,
poetry, biology, zoology,
logic, rhetoric, politics,
ethics
 Student of Plato
 Teacher of Alexander the
Great
 One of the most influential
thinkers of all time

Why Do We Care?
The reason the we study Aristotle’s perfect
tragedy is because all literary tragedies
are compared to and talked about using
Aristotle’s ideas
 You will need to know this for any future
lit class in both high school and college
 So – Take Notes!

The Perfect Tragedy
According to Aristotle,
the best example of
the perfect tragedy
was Oedipus Rex.
 As we continue, think
of how Oedipus Rex
meets each of the
following
requirements.

The Three Unities

According to Aristotle the perfect tragedy
should hold to three unities:
 Time:
the action should take place in 24
hours – ideally it should all be congruous, but
24 hours is ok
 Place – one location – no set changes
 Action – just one plot – no sub plots

(the mysterious fourth – mood the entire play should be serious
– no comic relief)
The Tragic Hero





Five Parts
Must be a noble King or
Ruler (but the audience
should be able to identify
with the hero)
Must have a tragic flaw:
Hamartia
 Hubris: Pride
Downfall must be caused
by his own actions and
must be a result of his
tragic flaw
Must have recognition of
his own demise
He should die with honor
and courage
Oh, the Insanity!
If the tragedy is done
properly, the
audience should be
moved to a catharsis
 Catharsis: purging of
emotions, especially
pity and fear
 A catharsis should
lead to a
reinvigorated love of
life
