Assignment Of Criticism

Submitted to:

Ms. Yasmeen Khalida

Submitted by:

Fatima Noor

Roll no. 11

BS. English (5th semester)

Session 2013-2017

The Women University Multan

Definition of tragedy:

“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, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions”.

In this definition he outlines the major principles of tragedy. Oedipus Rex is Aristotle's ideal tragedy because it fulfills so many requirements for a successful tragedy.

o "Imitation” : Aristotle declares that the artist does not just copy the shifting appearances of the world, but rather imitates or represents Reality itself, and gives form and meaning to that Reality.

o "An action that is serious  ": serious in the sense that it best raises and purifies pity and fear; serious in a moral, psychological, and social sense.

o "Complete and of a certain magnitude": not just a series of episodes, but a whole with a beginning, middle, and an end. The idea of imitation is important here; the artist does not just slavishly copy everything related to an action, but selects only those aspects which give form to universal truths.

o "Language embellished with artistic ornaments ": language must be appropriate for each part of the play: choruses are in a different meter and rhythm and more melodious than spoken parts.

o “act not narration” tragedy (as opposed to epic) relies on an enactment not on "narrative"

o Catharsis: tragedy first raises the emotions of pity and fear, then purifies or purges them. The play arouses emotions of pity and fear in the spectator and then purifies them.

Every tragedy therefore must have six parts.

Parts of tragedy

There are six parts of tragedy which determines its quality.

1. Plot2. Characters3. Thought4. Diction5. Spectacle6. Melody

Aristotle was a great admirer of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, considering it the perfect tragedy. His analysis fits that play most perfectly. I therefore use this play to illustrate the following major parts of Aristotle's analysis of tragedy.

Plot:

Plot is the “first principle,” the most important feature of tragedy. Aristotle defines plot as

“the arrangement of the incidents”:

i.e., not the story itself but the way the incidents are presented to the audience, the structure of the play.

Plot of a play should have following characteristics:

1. The plot must be “a whole,” with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning, called by modern critics the incentive moment, must start the cause-and-effect chain but not be dependent on anything outside the compass of the play.

The middle, or climax, must be caused by earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it .

The end, or resolution, must be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other incidents outside the compass of the play;the end should therefore solve or resolve the problem created during the incentive moment.

2. The plot must be “complete,” having “unity of action.” By this Aristotle means that the plot must be structurally self-contained, with the incidents bound together by internal necessity, each action leading inevitably to the next with no outside intervention. According to Aristotle, the worst kinds of plots are “‘episodic,’ in which the episodes or acts succeed one another without probable or necessary sequence”; the poet cannot change the myths that are the basis of his plots, he “ought to show invention of his own and skillfully handle the traditional materials” to create unity of action in his plot.

3. The plot must be “of a certain magnitude,” both quantitatively (length, complexity) and qualitatively (“seriousness”)Aristotle argues that plots should not be too brief; the more incidents and themes that the playwright can bring together in an organic unity, the greater the artistic value and richness of the play.

4. The plot may be either simple or complex, although complex is better. Simple plots have only a “change of fortune” (catastrophe). Complex plots have both “reversal of intention” (peripeteia) and “recognition” (anagnorisis) connected with the catastrophe. Aristotle explains that a peripeteia occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce, while an anagnorisis “is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined for good or bad fortune.” He argues that the best plots combine these two as part of their cause-and-effect chain this in turns creates the catastrophe, leading to the final “scene of suffering”

Climax

Anagnorisis

Peripeteia (Herdsman and

Messengers arrives from Corinth: Messenger story)

Polybus not real father of Oedipus Catastrophe

Jocasta tells story of murder; Oedipus reporting of Jocasta’s

send a herdsman suicide & oedipus blinding

Oedipus and Creon quarrel

[Teiresias accuses Oedipus scene of suffering with Oedipus puts curses on murderer of Laius Oedipus and children

Oracle find murderer of Laius

Incentive moment Resolution (plague and promise of Oedipus) (Departure of Oedipus

ends plague)

Character:

Character has the second place in importance. In a perfect tragedy, character will support plot. The protagonist should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of fortune can be from good to bad. This change “should come about as the result, not of vice, but of some great error or frailty in a character.” Such a plot is most likely to generate pity and fear in the audience, In the ideal tragedy, claims Aristotle, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall—not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough. As we know Oedipus directly causes his own downfall not because he is evil but because he does not know who he is and the steps he takes for good reasons led to his misfortune.

Characters in tragedy should have the following qualities.

1. “good or fine.” (morally)2. “fitness of character” (true to type); e.g woman should be shy but not a warrior.3. “true to life” (realistic)4. “consistency” (true to themselves). Once a character's personality and motivations are

established, these should continue throughout the play.5. “necessary or probable.” Characters must be logically constructed according to “the law

of probability or necessity” that governs the actions of the play.6. “true to life and yet more beautiful” (idealized, ennobled).

Thought:

Thought is third in importance, and is found “where something is proved to be or not to be, or a general maxim is enunciated.” Aristotle says little about thought. We may assume that this category would also include what we call the themes of a play, as speeches are the thoughts of characters.

Diction:

Diction is fourth, and is “the expression of the meaning in words” which is proper and appropriate to the plot, characters, and end of the tragedy. In this category, Aristotle discusses the stylistic elements of tragedy; he is particularly interested in metaphors: “But the greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor; . . . it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances” in Oedipus Rex the best example of diction is when Oedipus refuses to believe Teiresias, he said, “have you eyes and do not see your own damnation? Eyes, and cannot see what company you keep? Those now clear-seeing eyes shall then be darkened”. The irony is that Oedipus is blessed with the gift of perception; he was the only man who could see the answer to the sphinx’s riddle yet he cannot see what is right before his eyes. He is blind to the truth. Oedipus mocks Teiresias blindness, and become more ironic to the audience. In Oedipus rex the metaphoric patterns of the play and use of dramatic irony support the plot. As many characters again and again use the word eye as metaphor and sometimes as dramatic irony ; reveals the action, themes, and characters of the play.

Melody:

Song, or melody, is fifth, and is the musical element of the chorus. Aristotle argues that the Chorus should be fully integrated into the play like an actor; choral odes should not be “mere interludes,” but should contribute to the unity of the plot. As in Oedipus Rex the chorus represents the voice of the average citizens and contributes insight that cannot be communicated by the other characters in the play. The chorus moves along the story by announcing the arrival of characters and answering questions that help the plot progress and it helps the audience to see the story from one more angle, providing a fuller picture of situation.

Spectacle:

Spectacle is last, it is main difference between a epic and tragedy as it is not as lengthy as epic so people can see it on stage. it is least connected with literature; “the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet.” Although Aristotle recognizes the emotional attraction of spectacle, he argues that superior poets rely on the inner structure of the play rather than spectacle to arouse pity and fear; those who rely heavily on spectacle “creates a sense, not of the terrible, but only of the monstrous” in Oedipus rex dramatic irony is used to involve the audience, the characters come alive in all their flawed glory. The play achieves the catharsis of which Aristotle speaks by showing the audience a man who is a good father, husband and son and yet who unwillingly destroys his parents wife and children.

Conclusion:

We can say that in an ideal tragedy characters should unify the plot with their thoughts, diction and chorus to arise the result of tragedy which is pity and fear in spectacle.

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Works cited

“Aristotle’s theory of poetry and the fine arts” Trans. S.H. Butcher, 20th April 2015

Barbara McManus “Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the POETICS”

The College of New Rochelle, November, 1999,CLS 267 Topics Page Sophocles’” Oedipus Rex” trans by “ Ian Johnston of Vancouver Island

University,” published by richer resources publications.