Definition Essay – Genre
"Genre," in the most generic definition, takes the meaning "kind; sort; style" (OED). Prior to the term's inception, the notion of genre in the study of media emerged in The Poetics, with Aristotle's discussion of the mode or manner of imitation in poetry. Of this Aristotle writes, "the medium being the same, and the objects [of imitation] the same, the poet may imitate by narration - in which case he can either take another personality as Homer does, or speak in his own person, unchanged - or he may present all his characters as living and moving before us" (Aristotle, 53). Here lies the distinction between epic, lyric, and drama, a distinction based solely in convention, the usage of the medium, independent of specific content (see also Narrative/Lyric/Drama). Yet Aristotle's genre binary of Tragedy and Comedy rests on some observation of the objects of imitation themselves: "Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy as better than in actual life" (Aristotle, 52). Later, in Section IV of The Poetics , Aristotle offers another method of generating this binary, based in historical observation (or some semblance of it). One final consideration, that of a work's purpose, arises in Aristotle's definition of Tragedy as "through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions," (Aristotle, 61). In this way The Poetics sketches out the basic framework of genre; yet this framework remains loose, since Aristotle establishes genre in terms of both convention and historical observation, and defines genre in terms of both convention and purpose.
In Anatomy of Criticism (1957) Northrop Frye wrote, "We discover that the critical theory of genre is stuck precisely where Aristotle left ...
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Aristotle was a phenomenal Greek philosopher. His words and thoughts inspired millions, and continue inspiring today. He taught lessons to those who would listen, he preached his scientific findings, but above all, Aristotle enjoyed the theatre. In fact, Aristotle had his own views about different genres. Today we will look at tragedy. In Aristotle’s mind, a tragedy was the process of imitating an action which had serious implications, was complete, and possessed magnitude. He even composed six elements that a tragedy must contain. Aristotle’s six elements of tragedy are a plot, characters, thought, verbal expression, song composition, and visual adornment. Each contributes to an aspect of a tragedy.
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which takes place in late 19th century Ireland, is a modernist Bildungsroman about Stephen Dedalus, a young man who, while facing the obstacles of his family, religion, and nation, tries to discover his life's purpose. Throughout the novel, Joyce takes the readers through Stephen's labyrinthine life, using techniques such as epiphanies, betrayals, and central images.
Tan, Amy. “Two Kinds.” Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama and The Essay.4th e. Ed. Frank Madden. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 253-261. Print.
Christina Rossetti born in London on December 5, 1830; Rossetti was homeschool by her mother Gabriele Rossetti; during her homeschooling she developed a great devout religious temperament as a young girl. Christina along with her mother and sister were all a member of the evangelical branch of the Church of England, Rossetti later on developed interest in the Tractarianism and became a Tractarian. A Tractarain was a follower(s), and supporters of the Oxford movement, Tractarianism was basically the religious opinions and principles held by the founders of the Oxford movement that was placed in series of ninety pamphlets titled Tracts for the Times, published in Oxford, England between 1833-1841.Rossetti bega...
The diversity among the U.S. population is very large and continue to grow, especially the Hispanic group. More so, health promotion can be defined or perceived in many ways depends on the minority group and their culture beliefs. As health care provider, recognizing and providing cultural competent is very important. In addition, assessing the health disparities among the minority group and teaching them how to promote good health will benefit along the way. Furthermore, health care providers have the role to promote good health but without proper education and acknowledge cultural awareness will be impossible to accomplish.
What is tragedy? While the literal definition may have changed over the centuries, one man believed he knew the true meaning of a tragic performance. Aristotle belonged to the culture that first invented tragic drama – the ancient Greeks. Through this, he gave himself credibility enough to illustrate the universally necessary elements of tragic drama. In The Poetics, Aristotle gives a clear definition of a tragedy, writing that it is “an imitation, through action rather than narration, of a serious, complete, and ample action, by means of language rendered pleasant at different places in the constituent parts by each of the aids [used to make language more delightful], in which imitation there is also effected through pity and fear its catharsis of these and similar emotions.” Basically, Aristotle thinks a tragedy should be witnessed rather than related, use poetic imagery instead of dry language, and have a logical flow with an inevitable conclusion at the end that evokes a heightened emotional response from the audience.
Neoclassical writers emphasized the importance of the Poetics of Aristotle, as well as the unities of place, time, and action that they extracted from his works. In Poetics, Aristotle laid out the six essential elements of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song (McManus). Each of these components held certain value to what Aristotle believed to be a successful play, however, plot and character held to be the most important.
While the genre of some works of literature can be debated, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare seems to fit into a perfect mold. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, combining seven elements that he believes make the genre of a work a tragedy, is that mold. Displaying all seven aspects, Macbeth fits the definition precisely.
There are many genres of literature. Because of the age of this genre, it stands to reason that many variations have occurred throughout the years to make it reflect that time period. The genre of tragedy tends to be considered great because it occurs during great periods of history, it is about great men, and it is written by great writers.> The evolution of tragedy and the characteristics of tragedy are exemplified in the comparison of Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Desire Under the Elms.
“A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory” argues that the application of film and literary genre theory do not fully translate when analyzing television, because of “the specific industry and audience practices unique to television, or for the mixture of fictional and nonfictional programming that constitutes the lineup on nearly every TV channel. 2” The goal of media genre studies, Mittell asserts, is to understand how media is arranged within the contexts of production and reception, and how media work to create our vision of the world.
In his Anatomy of Criticism, Northrop Frye offers a complex theory that aspires to describe a unifying system for literary criticism. It can be argued, however, that in attempting to delineate such an all-inclusive structure, Frye's system eliminates identity in literature. The present essay takes up this argument and offers examples of how identity is precluded by Frye's system as outlined in Anatomy of Criticism. Structure Vs. Identity
Christina Rossetti's poem, “In An Artist’s Studio”, explores how men foster a need for control by creating unrealistic expectations for women through their fantasies. Through the use of repetition, contrast of imagery, and symbolism, Rossetti guides us through the gallery inside of an artist’s mind, portraying the fantasies that give him a sense of control over the women he creates.
In Poetics, Aristotle defines plot as “the arrangement of the incidents” (Aristotle 12). He indicates that there are six elements in every tragic play, which are plot, character, thought, diction, melody and spectacle, among these plot is placed in the foremost positi...
When the study of literature is undertaken, critical acuity is vital. One has to be critically informed while dealing with literature as it involves many genres - drama, poetry, fiction. But in the recent times, we are witnessing a phenomenal growth in the understanding and analysis of studies that mingle varied disciplines. The importance of interlinking different disciplines together for purpose of better understanding is fast taking pace. This was not the trend some decades ago. Scholars, Mary Taylor Huber and Sherwyn p. Morreale have said that, “each disci¬pline has its own intellectual history, agreements, and disputes about subject matter and methods” and its own “community of scholars interested in teach¬ing and learning in that field.”