Aristotelian Tragedy Essays

  • Hamlet As An Aristotelian Tragedy

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Aristotelian view of tragedy, a tragic hero must fall through his or her own error. This is typically called the "tragic flaw", and can be applied to any characteristic that causes the downfall the hero. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark can be seen as an Aristotelian tragedy and Hamlet as it's tragic hero. Hamlet's flaw, which in accordance with Aristotle's principles of tragedy causes his demise, is his inability to act. This defect of Hamlet's character is displayed throughout

  • Shakespeare's Macbeth - Aristotelian Tragedy

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    Macbeth: Aristotelian Tragedy The  definition of tragedy in an excerpt from Aristotle's "Poetics" is the re-creation, complete within itself, of an important moral action.  The relevance of Aristotle's Poetics to Shakespeare's play Macbeth defines the making of a dramatic tragedy and presents the general principles of the construction of this genre. Aristotle's attention throughout most of his Poetics is directed towards the requirements and expectations of the plot.  Plot, 'the soul

  • Aristotelian Tragedy

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotelian Tragedy One may argue that the Greek playwright, Sophocles modeled his play Oedipus Rex on Aristotle's definition and analysis of tragedy. Since according to Aristotle's definition, a tragedy is an imitation of action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not narrative with incidents that evokes pity and fear of a persons emotions. Also

  • Aristotelian Elements Of Tragedy In Seven Pounds

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    A tragedy is an event that can evoke pathos or even deliver justice. These rollercoaster emotions felt are predominantly the reason why people have decided to create their own tragedies. Many modern day filmmakers use the backbone of past tragedy stories as a muse to create their own versions and interpretations of a tragedy story. Gabriele Muccino is one of these film directors that incorporates ideas from the Aristotelian tragedy to create the film Seven Pounds. In the film Seven Pounds, the protagonist

  • The Perfect Aristotelian Tragedy: Oedipus the King

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Perfect Aristotelian Tragedy: Oedipus the King by Sophocles Works Cited Not Included Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion). Oedipus the King has

  • Romeo and Juliet: A True Aristotelian Tragedy

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    families. The classic is a true tragedy because of the way it is created. Romeo and Juliet is an Aristotelian tragedy because it clearly follows the model shown by Aristotle. All aspects of the plot and characters perfectly follow way Aristotle defined. The plot follows the events that need to occur and the main characters have a flaw. Pity and fear is felt for the characters throughout the play. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a true Aristotelian tragedy because of the characters, plot

  • Hamlet and Macbeth Compared as Aristotelian Tragedies

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    Aristotle’s Poetics is often considered the blueprint to a successful tragedy; his outline has been used for hundreds of years. Aristotle defines a tragedy as “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude… in the form of an action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions” (House 82). Aristotle believed that the most important part of a strong tragedy was the plot, and from that, the other elements such as character,

  • Othello: The Tragedy of an Aristotelian Tragic Hero

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare's play, “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a powerful example of a tragedy and it’s main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The play imitates life through basic human emotions such as jealousy and rage. In addition, Othello is far from being a perfect character - another quality that meets Aristotle's requirements. Othello also matches Aristotle's ideas of tragic hero because our Othello realizes the error of his ways, causing

  • Drowning in Lies: The Aristotelian Tragedy of Willy Loman

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aristotle made observations of classical tragedies. He described tragedy as “an imitation of an action of high importance, complete and of some amplitude; in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties; acted not narrated; by means of pity and fear effecting its purgation of these emotions.” Concerning the tragic hero, he must have a reversal of fortune, contain a fatal flaw, and be of a high estate. Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is an indisputably tragic story. Willy Loman, the

  • Robert Rossen’s 1961 Film, The Hustler: Can it be Viewed as an Aristotelian Tragedy?

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    aspire to be classified as a tragedy. But can the film be compared to something such as tragedy in the views of Aristotle? Does the film fit the requirements prerequisite of an Aristotelian Tragedy? Or are the comparisons the result of ignorant, unenlightened critics? Aristotle thought up a list of compulsory requirements for something to be called ‘tragedy’. He concluded “Tragedy affects through pity and fear the catharsis of such emotions.” meaning that during a tragedy, one should feel the emotions

  • Macbeth As An Aristotelian Tragedy

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    An Aristotelian tragedy is one in which the protagonist’s downfall is due to a fatal flaw. From the Greek perspective, this flaw usually involves ‘hubris,’ or the belief that the protagonist is fated to overcome everything and anything. Another plot development that is required is when something unexpected occurs and sends him or her on a totally different trajectory. When one of these becomes the reason for the character’s demise, the story fits the Aristotelian tragedy form. However, most usually

  • Romeo and Juliet" A True Aristotelian Tragedy

    2226 Words  | 5 Pages

    true Aristotelian tragedy is considered to contain characters with one single flaw. Characters such as these display actions that wholly influence the outcome of the tragedy. William Shakespeare does just that in the writing of Romeo and Juliet. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet shall be considered an Aristotelian Tragedy as opposed to a tragic poem. This is true because every aspect of this poem adheres to the definition of Aristotelian. This poem should be considered an Aristotelian Tragedy because

  • Macbeth as the Aristotelian Tragic Hero

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth as the Aristotelian Tragic Hero The first criterion that a tragic hero must comply to is that they must be above average.  They must be Khrestos.  Macbeth is khrestos.  He is described as "valour's minion" 1-2 19.  Valour's minion means bravery's favourite.  Also he is spoken of as "brave" and "Bellona's bridegroom".  Bellona was the goddess of war.  Duncan, the king, describes Macbeth as "noble".  And also uses a familiar term for Macbeth, as if he is in the kings family.  "o' valiant

  • Oedipus the King: Does Oedipus Satisfy the Definition of a Good Man?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    inadvertently fulfills the prophecy. Unknowingly, Oedipus kills his father and enters the bed of his mother.  Was Oedipus was a good man who happened to suffer an unfortunate fate, or was he a truly bad person, whose fate was only just?  If we accept the Aristotelian views of good and bad, as expressed in The Good, Oedipus was indeed a good man by saving the city, ruling justly and searching for the truth although his anger could be seen as a flaw. In his first dealings with the city of Thebes, Oedipus

  • Aristotle's Perspective of Friendship in Homer's Iliad

    2390 Words  | 5 Pages

    An Aristotelian Examination of Friendship in Homer's Iliad It is strange to label any friendship a success or a failure; it is stranger still to call the friendship between Achilleus and Patroklos a failure, especially when it has long been celebrated as one of the greatest friendships in antiquity. After all, friendship is called a success when friends remain just that, and a failure when they part ways with diffidence. How else could we possibly judge friendship? I suggest, however, that the

  • Elements of Aristotelian Tragedy Depicted in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1671 Words  | 4 Pages

    An Aristotelian tragedy includes many different characteristics. It is a cause-and-effect chain and it contains the elements of catharsis, which is pity and fear, and hamartia, which is the tragic flaw embedded in the main characters. The famous play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is about two lovers of two different families who hate each other and the misdemeanors they have to surpass. Many debate on whether it is an Aristotelian tragedy or simply tragic. Shakespeare’s Romeo

  • The Metaphor of Light

    4284 Words  | 9 Pages

    that may be found in it, and (3) analyse the concept of entelecheia as the process by which the active intellect actualizes intelligibles in the sense of the final cause. One of the classic problems, and one of the most difficult to solve in Aristotelian philosophy, is that there is no text in which Aristotle explicitly states how the intellect manages to make 'intelligibles in actuality', that is, ideas. What he says in the fifth chapter of the third book of De Anima, instead of clarifying how

  • Art and Republicanism

    3136 Words  | 7 Pages

    Republicanism ABSTRACT: Republicanism is contrasted with liberalism with special reference to the notions of presence, absence and representation. The contrast is more conspicuous in the Platonic tradition of republicanism than it is in the Aristotelian tradition, the former being more likely to degenerate into some form of totalitarianism. Examples thereof are given in accordance with the distinction between a strong and a soft iconoclasm, as it is found both in Antiquity and in Eastern and Western

  • Ethics and Community in Aristotle

    5410 Words  | 11 Pages

    into being and values, we are not free to reject them, nor can we have any discourse or claim to reality or good. I show how permutating the combination of these topics allows for subsequent ‘sub-communities’ which are common to some. I offer an Aristotelian explanation for the origin of these topics and conclude that ethics is determined by communities, which in turn are determined by education. Aristotle's ethics is determined by his notion of communities which are determined by hundreds of topics

  • Ptolemaic Theory vs Copernican Theory

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    to when he wrote his letter to Foscarini in 1615 was due to the inability of anyone to prove the superiority of either the Copernican or Ptolemaic/Aristotelian theory to the other. Both theories of the universe, although “saving the appearances” made by astronomers over the years, offered a different explanation of celestial mechanics. The Aristotelian theory held that the earth is motionless at the center of the universe, and that the sun, planets, and stars revolve daily around it. It was the most