Oedipus Rex
by Sophocles
“O God! It has all come true. Light,
let this be the last time I see you.”
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
• Tragedy: a literary genre of drama
in which the character(s) suffer.
Why do we enjoy, in some sense, watching
tragedies – that is, watching people
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
• Plato’s Challenge (The Republic):
–Why are representations of people
suffering a “pleasurable
experience”?
• Aristotle answered Plato’s challenge
in his literary theory, Poetics
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
• Aristotle’s definition of tragedy:
– A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an
action that is serious…a dramatic, not a
narrative form; with incidents arousing pity
and fear…to accomplish its catharsis of
such emotions. (Poetics 1449b.24)
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
• “…the imitation of an action that is
serious” = art involves imitation
• What does art imitate?
"not of persons, but of action and
life, of happiness and misery"
(Poetics 1451b)
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
Aristotle’s 6 Rules of Tragedy:
–Catharsis
–Dramatic Unities
–Hamartia
–Hubris
–Recognition
–Reversal
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
CATHARSIS
• Aristotle’s most influential point in his rules (yet,
ironically, his smallest – it only took up a few
lines in his theory) was the idea of CATHARSIS.
• Catharsis: purging of the emotions “through pity
and fear.”
• Tragedies gave the audience a feeling of catharsis
– he believed this to be good for the human soul.
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
DRAMATIC UNITIES
1. Time: over how much time does the
play take place?
2. Place: where the action of the play
takes place
3. Action: usually focuses on one hero
and one plot
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
HAMARTIA
• a “tragic flaw,” though many modernists
now refer to it as an “error” or
“mistake”. Hamartia leads to a hero’s
tragic downfall.
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
HUBRIS
• exaggerated pride or self-confidence
(before the gods). Main reason for
hubris:
“As for the pleasure in hubris, its cause is
this: men think that by ill-treating others
they make their own superiority greater.”
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
RECOGNITION (peripetia)
• the hero realizes the catastrophe at hand
and it is at this point that his/her flaw
must be recognized and accepted, along
with his/her “death.”
REVERSAL (anagnorisis)
• occurs when the opposite of what the
hero intends is what happens.
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
• Tragic Hero - character in the story that
has a fatal flaw (hamartia).
Qualities of a Tragic Hero
• A noble birth/special wisdom bestowed
upon them from birth
• Hamartia
• Recognition
• Reversal
Aristotle’s Rules of Tragedy
•
Six elements of a tragic drama:
1. Plot – goes hand in hand with Character; "In a
play, they do not act in order to portray the
characters; they include the characters for the
sake of the action" (Poetics 1450a.20).
2. Character – action must be consistent with
character.
3. Diction – the style of language
4. Thought – indication through words (or other
means) of what characters are thinking
5. Spectacle – staging, lighting, sets, costumes
6. Melody – style of text/lyrics/music