I found two points stated in Aristotle’s Poetics to be especially interesting:
-Firstly, the plays we have read (and seen) so far in this course have reflected Aristotle’s idea that a poet should report what happened, but more also allude to what is likely to happen. The audience is presented with clues throughout the plot that allow them to foreshadow future happenings of the play as well as possible events that could extend past the scope of the production. For example, in Death of a Salesman, the probability that Willy was going to kill himself grew greater and greater as the plot progressed. Similarly, as the events untied throughout Medea, the audience figured out that her sons, Creon, and his daughter would not end up alive, however it is curious to ponder the probability of Medea killing herself after the play ends with the dragon chariot. Personally, I would have predicted a quick suicide following the tragic plot.
- Finally, I agree that pity and fear play a significant role in the tragic act, since that’s what will drive an emotional reaction out of a previously indifferent audience. Aristotle explains that these feelings must be incorporated into specific events of the play in order to portray the correct emotion. I did find it interesting that Aristotle mentions that the most effective way to do this is to have the “tragic acts come within the limits of close blood relationships” (p.93). I quote that sentence because I think it is interesting to consider how frequently events such as mother killing children or brother killing brother occurred in tragedies of the past. In my opinion, I was appalled at the fact that Medea killed her children, and am extremely grateful that these types of events are not as prevalent in contemporary theatre.
P.S. Happy 10/10/10!
Dear Kristi—I agree that events like mother killing children or brother killing brother are very frequent in older tragedies, and these events create a lot of emotion. This not only happens in Medea, but also in Oedipus and other common tragedies. And I must agree with you, I am very glad that these events are not as common in today’s theatre!!
ReplyDeleteThe quote you included here is extremely interesting. I agree with your ideas of Medea but also found it intriguing that Aristotle hit on so many things that are seen in modern plays. His elements are seen in more than just tragedies and I think they can be seen outside of Ancient Greek plays as well. I would be interested to know if people try to conform to the things he mentions or if they are just seen in plays and Aristotle happened to identify them correctly. Either way, Aristotle was very accurate in identifying the major things that we see in plays.
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