Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy and literature

Aristotle (384-322 BC) outlined his thoughts on tragedy in his work “Poetics.” He regarded tragedy as a art form evoking pity and fear, leading the audience to gain emotional resilience and wisdom.

The process of gaining resilience and wisdom from tragedy watched on stage is called “catharsis.” The key plot element in a tragedy is that the hero (who is essentially virtuous) ends up destroying his life due to a judgement error.

Aristotle considered the plot structure crucial for delivering the desired aesthetic effect on stage. In Ancient Athens, theatre was the primary means of literary expression. “Poetics” gives advice on how to maximize the literary effect and catharsis.

According to Aristotle, a playwright can raise the aesthetic effect of his works if he commits to unity of action, unity of time, and unity of place. Triple unity makes theatre plays easy to grasp for the audience.

Unity of action, time and place in Aristotle’s thoughts on literature

“Unity of action” means that a play should have a cohesive, single plot. Aristotle was against sub-plots because they create confusion in the audience. Unless sub-plots are strictly needed to explain the main action, Aristotle asked to remove them.

“Unity of time” means that the events in the play should all take place in a short period. Preferably, all events should take place in no longer than twenty-four hours. If you compress the actions on stage, the story becomes easier to understand for the audience.

“Unity of place” means that the actions on stage should take place in a single location or in locations that are closely linked. Ancient Greek stages did not allow for change of settings, and this explains Aristotle’s preference for strict unity of place.

In modern theatre, where it is technically possible to change settings quickly, and in novels and movies, there is no need to stick to Aristotle’s requirements. Unity of action, unity of time, and unity of place play a minor role in modern literature.

Catharsis is no longer the main purpose of literary works. If authors choose to stick to the Aristotelian framework, their plot will revolve around the hero’s moral choices and his struggle to achieve his goals.

First-class literature remains loyal to Aristotelian paradigms but prefers to have its heroes win. Readers, television-watchers and movie-goers definitely prefer to see the hero triumph over adversity and attain happiness. The hero’s journey is a proven pattern in many Hollywood’s successful movies.

Shakespeare and Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy and literature

Aristotle’s theory of tragedy influenced the plays of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), in particular “Hamlet,” “Othello,” and “Macbeth.”

To a large extent, Shakespeare adopted Aristotle’s model for tragic heroes. Despite having some positive qualities, Hamlet and Macbeth make fatal mistakes that lead to their downfall. In Hamlet’s case, the problem was indecisiveness. For Macbeth, the problem was excessive ambition. For Othello, the problem was jealousy.

Shakespeare crafted complex plots, but the events respected the Aristotelian unity of action. He used sub-plots (such as the manipulation of Iago in “Othello”) primarily to keep the action moving and provide a logical ending.

“Hamlet,” “Othello,” and “Macbeth” also comply with the Aristotelian preferences for noble characters facing a difficult decision, and using poetic language to heighten the emotional intensity.

Lope de Vega and Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy and literature

The Spanish playwright Lope de Vega (1562-1635) wrote a large number of works employing the Aristotelian model. The typical play by Lope features a protagonist of noble stature that make tragic mistakes leading to their downfall.

Lope de Vega mostly respected Aristotle’s unity of action, but departed form the unity of time and place. In Spain, stage techniques in the late sixteenth century already allowed a quick change of settings (clothes, decorations); and in case of highly complex plots, the same actor might play several roles.

Despite his extreme writing speed (sometimes composing a whole play from scratch in just one day), Lope de Vega stayed loyal to the Aristotelian preference for catharsis.

The characters in Lope de Vega’s plays confronted profound moral dilemmas and sometimes made the wrong choices. Their misadventures elicited strong emotions in the audience.

Lope de Vega initially wrote verse (ballads, romances) and only focused on writing plays as of 1588, when he was twenty-six. His plays are written in witty verses that, still nowadays, delight students of Spanish language.

He wrote more than a thousand plays. Even if many of them are not full-length, his vivid imagination remains unsurpassed. Amongst all works by Lope de Vega, “Fuente Ovejuna” is my personal favourite. It meets the Aristotelian requirements, but has a happy end.

Calderon de la Barca and Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy and literature

A generation later, the Spanish author Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681) brought the Aristotelian paradigm to new heights. Calderon adhered to the Aristotelian tragedy pattern, portraying noble heroes that make dire mistakes and must face the consequences.

“Life is a Dream” (1635) is Calderon’s best play. It presents the story of Sigismund, a prince imprisoned for life to avert the prophesy that he might once become a tyrant.

When Sigismund is allowed to reign for a day, he displays tyrannical traits which confirm the prophesy, but later he gets a second chance, changes course, and becomes a good king.

Calderon uses a sub-plot, a romantic entanglement, to keep the story moving. The exquisite language (the play is written in verse) and the characters’ noble motivations meet all Aristotle’s requirements.

It makes a large difference whether an artwork fulfils the Aristotelian requirements. Vast numbers of literary works don’t fulfil the requirements because of their random plot, pointless sub-plots, evil characters, and illogical, meaningless ending.

You will enjoy life more if you focus on first-rate literature, theatre and movies, and steer away from the rest. Why would you want to waste your time watching or reading materials that will undermine your motivation?

If you are interested in applying Aristotelian principles to solving problems, I recommend you my book “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”

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