Module 4: Section 4
Elements of Greek Drama, Continued: Defining "Tragedy"
In addition to plot, Aristotle also laid out the most important elements of character:
- Protagonists should be good and true to life. Protagonists should not be too good but should have a character flaw which causes an error in judgment.
- Noble heroes, or heroes that come from the upper or ruling class, better excite fear and pity. Aristotle postulated that the audience is more likely to hold this type of character in high regard and feel more strongly for the catastrophe which befalls them. The character might show hubris, the great pride often found in great men.
The tragic elements that happen to the protagonist should lead the audience to catharsis, or a “cleansing” of our emotions. As you watch the events of the play unfold, you share the suffering (pathos) of the protagonist and feel relief afterward.
Drawing from Aristotle’s own writing, we can define tragedy as the fall of a noble hero because of an error in judgment caused by a flaw in his character. A “tragic flaw” is a bad quality in an otherwise good person which leads to catastrophe.
In staging a play, Aristotle believed that the audience should feel as if it were watching an actual event. There should be a single setting and no drastic jumps in time: the play should unfold as it would in real life. The unity of character, setting, and plot have been referred to as Aristotle's three unities: time, place, and action (plot).
These guidelines can help us understand the construction and intent behind these ancient plays. However, the strict following of these rules meant that writers were afraid to deviate from them! Even centuries later, Shakespeare and his contemporaries were criticized for changing scenes and allowing months to pass between scenes in their tragedies.
This section draws from the following source: Aristotle. "Poetics." Philosophies of Art and Beauty: Selected Readings in Aesthetics from Plato to Heidegger. ed. Albert Hofstadter and Richard Kuhns. New York: Modern Library, 1964.
