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Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is defined by six major parts which consist of plot, character, imagery, diction, melody, and spectacle. All these traits come together to create a fiction which dramatizes the events that may happen in the near future in order to purge emotions from the audience. Aristotle uses Sophocles OEDIPUS REX as a form to describe what a tragedy should have to be considered a tragedy. Knowing that OEDIPUS REX is the embodiment of a tragedy in Aristotle’s view, To Build A Fire would not fall under Aristotle’s view of a tragedy, but of a modern tragedy. To Build A Fire is a modern tragedy because it focuses on a random person that’s fate is decided by nature.
The views of a tragedy have changed over the year and have adapted to better fit the modern world because instead of having Gods, heroes, destinies, and kings a modern tragedy replaces the Gods to be Nature, the hero is just any random person, but still has an outcome in an event in their life that can be foreshadowed. In To Build A Fire nature is the
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(Gods told him he would do all that and could not change his fate.)When I hear that, measuring where Corinth stands even there after by the star alone, where I might never think to see fulfilled. (29 OEDIPUS REX)
In the quote OEDIPUS chose to disregard the Gods and the prophecy, trying to escape their plan for him, but his fate was still set to make his journey the more difficult. Both OEDIPUS and the main character of To Build A Fire have their lives set or planed by a phenomenon wither it is the Gods or Nature. This proves that in To Build A Fire is not a tragedy in the form that Aristotle views a tragedy, but a modern tragedy that fits the world of today excluding the Gods and replacing them for natural cause or Cosmic
Aristotle states that "For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality. Now character determines men's qualities, but it is by their actions that they are happy or the reverse. Dramatic action, therefore, is not with a view to the representation of character: character comes in as subsidiary to the actions. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of a tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all.
The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle outlined the requirements for a good tragedy, and he based his ideals on the classic Greek play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles. As Aristotle stated, the perfect tragedy must be an imitation of one’s life, realistic and narrow in its aspects. Such is the case with the play Oedipus Rex, a Greek play revolving around the tragedies of the life of King Oedipus. Oedipus Rex, the protagonist of the first of the three Oedipus plays, has a life of luxury and promise. However, because of the life fate has dictated him and the obstacles he has faced, Oedipus has been proven to have three hamartias, or tragic flaws. His attributes of determination, impatience/disrespect, and hubris greatly contribute to his downfall.
Aristotle defines tragedy in his respected piece Poetics and many other forms of literature. Many tragic heroes such as Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet fit well into this mold of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. For example, they were flawed but well intentioned and their lives ended in a catastrophic death. Those plays, and many others in the genre, had all the elements of a tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. They were fantastic displays of misery that aroused pity and fear in the audience.
...ods come for the free drugs that he offers. Johnny is a man for whom we feel pride, shame and pity all at once but such a contradictory character would be unstable and unpredictable. Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics. These are that it is characterized by mimicry, it is serious, it expresses a full story of a relevant length, it contains rhythm and harmony, the rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, it is performed not narrated and that it provokes feelings of pity and fear then purges these feelings through catharsis the purging of the emotions and emotional tensions. The composition of a tragedy consists of six segments. In order of relevance, these are plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and performance. For a comedy the ending must be merry. Instead Jerusalem ends in death.
Aristotle believes that the most important part of the definition of tragedy is the plot or action,
Aristotle’s Poetics is a “reservoir of the themes and schemes deployed in ancient Greek tragedy and poetry” (Poetics iii). Written around 330 B.C., it was the first work of literature to make a distinction amongst the various literary genres and provide a proper analysis of them. In Poetics, Aristotle places a big emphasis on the genre of tragedy. When one hears of the word tragedy, one already assumes that something bad has occurred to an individual and an immediate emotion of sorrow occurs, but how does Aristotle see tragedy? Aristotle gives us his formal definition of tragedy on page 10: “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.” He goes on and explains all the components that make up tragedy. A tragedy must fall into two parts: complication and unraveling (also known as the denouement). Aristotle elaborates on that and speaks of four types of tragedy: “the Complex, depending entirely on Reversal of the Situation and Recognition; the Pathetic (where the motive is passion); the Ethical (where the motives are ethical). The fourth kind is the Simple.
A tragic story has its own occur of events. The main factors that always end a tragedy is through conspiracies, love, or hatred. In the story Antigone written by Sophocles, it demonstrates a tragedy filled with consequences to the characters. Antigone shows similarities to Aristotle’s paradigm because of the plot, characterization, and actions that were pursued throughout this story. In Aristotle’s Poetics, he puts his view of how a tragedy should be portrayed to make the concept of it more understandable towards the audience. Through the usages of Aristotle’s criteria it will help analyze topics that demonstrates the views of Aristotle.
The external conflict of man against nature and the internal conflict of man against himself play a huge role in the whole story, leading to the fateful outcome of the man. The man fell victim to the struggles the conflicts presented, majorly impacting the story. "To Build a Fire" encompasses the idea of man becoming his own enemy and people remaining insignificant to forces of natures. The conflicts presented in the story embody the aspect of nature as an unstoppable, unpredictable, and powerful force that easily overtakes man. That thought shows how one man has little effect on nature, and in the end, does the most harm by subjecting oneself to nature's fury. The story, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London truly shows how weak an unprepared person compares to the unruly forces of nature.
Aristotle sees tragedy of being made of pity and fear. When tragedies occur in people’s lives it appears fear and pity is always an accompanying trait. Aristotle finds these two emotions to be staples in creating the perfect tragedy play. A tragic hero is the direct spawn of creating a tragic play.
Aristotle's definition of tragedy outlines a very detailed testimony of the perfect tragedy. One which in my opinion fits Oedipus perfectly. Oedipus the King fits Aristotle's definition of a tragedy because every dimension of the characters fit the outline of Aristotle's poetics.
Aristotle’s concept of a tragedy consists of plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. First, the plot for the tragedy must have a start, middle and finish that are “united” so the story may flow. Next, the characters in an ideal tragedy must have a moral purpose that contains some realism. Last, to have spectacle, the tragedy must arouse emotion to the audience. There are more descriptions to what a true tragedy is; however Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, best fit these three descriptors. Thus, Chronicle of a Death Foretold could be considered as a tragedy. If the novella fits some specifications for a novella yet does not function as a Greek tragedy, perhaps it is something else. Therefore, Chronicle of a Death Foretold could be classified as a “modern tragedy” as it fits the literary styles of Greek tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, yet drifts away into the realm of more modern writing.
According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in itself among many other things. Oedipus is often portrayed as the perfect example of what a tragedy should be in terms of Aristotle’s Poetics. Reason being that Oedipus seems to include correctly all of the concepts that Aristotle describes as inherent to dramatic tragedy. These elements include: the importance of plot, reversal and recognition, unity of time, the cathartic purging and evocation of pity and fear, the presence of a fatal flaw in the “hero”, and the use of law of probability.
In Aristotle’s book, Poetics, he defines tragedy as, “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in the different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear” (Aristotle 1149). Tragedy creates a cause and effect chain of actions that clearly gives the audience ideas of possible events. The six parts to Aristotle’s elements of tragedy are: Plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody. According to Aristotle, the most important element is the plot. Aristotle writes in Poetics that, “It is not for the purpose of presenting their characters that the agents engage in action, but rather it is for the sake of their actions that they take on the characters they have” (Aristotle 1150). Plots should have a beginning, middle, and end that have a unity of actions throughout the play making it complete. In addition, the plot should be complex making it an effective tragedy. The second most important element is character. Characters...
According to Aristotle, the importance of tragedy as a genre is to represent action. Thus unity of action purportedly has the strongest implications for the effectiveness of the work itself. Aristotle posits “a story, since it is the representation of action, should concern an action that is single and entire, with its several incidents so structured that the displacement or removal of any one of them would disturb and dislocate the whole.” (Aristotle 27) and deems this claim imperative. A good plot, and thereby an effective tragedy, does not include events, which are not connected to each other or specifically the main plot. In theory, these unconnected events are distracting from the main action and dissipate the tragic effect. With Aristotle’s definition, no sub-plot should exist in tragedy. For all events to be “necessary or [have] probable connection with each other.” (Aristotle 27) none should exist not directly related to the main action. Again, unity allows for the tragic effect to be concentrated, intending to allow for increased feelings of pity and
I agree with Karen Rhodes observation that to build afirecan be interpreted as the story of a man in the journey of human existence. However, I think her view of to build a fire as an American experience comes from the fact that she is an American. I agree with her theory that the Man's death in the end was due to the nature of the man and his environment. The protagonist in to build a fire did nor have any grasp of the danger he was in. he tried to reason himself through it all. He thought, " Maybe, if he ran on, his feet will thaw out; and anyway if he ran far enough, he would reach camp and the boys. (Jack London, 157).