The aim of tragedy, Aristotle writes, is to bring about a "catharsis" of the spectators - to arouse in them sensations of pity and fear, and to purge them of these emotions so that they leave the theater feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men. He says that poetic mimesis is imitation of things as they could be, not as they are - for example, of universals and ideals - thus poetry is a more philosophical and exalted medium than history, which merely records what has actually happened. He determines that tragedy, like all poetry, is a kind of imitation ( mimesis), but adds that it has a serious purpose and uses direct action rather than narrative to achieve its ends. In the Poetics, Aristotle's famous study of Greek dramatic art, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) compares tragedy to such other metrical forms as comedy and epic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |