Arousal-of-emotion-in-aristotle-poeticsī

  Arousal of Emotion in Aristotle's Poetics

when talking about english literature poetry holds a main base one cannot complete the syllabus without reading poetry and famous Poets.

In Poetics, Aristotle explains that the primary function of tragedy is the arousal of emotions such as pity and fear, which ultimately leads to catharsis. Through a well-structured plot, tragic characters, and dramatic action, tragedy stimulates emotional responses in the audience. Aristotle believed that this emotional arousal was essential, as it purifies and regulates human emotions, allowing the audience to achieve psychological balance. The concept of catharsis remains central to Aristotelian literary criticism and continues to shape the understanding of tragedy in classical and modern literature.

1. Implicit Purpose in Poetics:

·        Aristotle doesn't explicitly state the dramatist's purpose as creating emotional excitement but implies it.

·        Tragedy's pleasure comes from pity and fear through imitation (Poetics XIV:3).

2. Historical Accounts on Emotional Arousal:

·        Greek plays, especially tragedies, aimed at strong emotional arousal.

·        Historical accounts highlight intense emotional responses from audiences, including weeping, shock, and physical reactions.

3. Ancient Art of Emotional Arousal:

·        Rhapsodes and actors aimed to evoke intense emotions in the audience, leading to ecstasy and emotional catharsis.

·        The lost treatise on pathos, 'psychagogic,' focused on arousing and controlling emotions.

4. Aristotle's Insights on Emotional Manipulation:

·        While Poetics assumes emotional arousal, Aristotle provides insights on emotional manipulation in Rhetoric.

·        Aristotle mentions that emotions involve physical symptoms, and some observable bodily effects result from all of them.

5. Key Emotions Discussed in Rhetoric:

·        Aristotle's Rhetoric explores various emotions, such as pity (eleos), fear (phobos), anger (orge), hatred (misos), shame (aischune), and gratitude (charis).

·        Pity is emphasized as the supreme emotion in tragedy, involving compassionate grief.

·        Fear is associated with symptoms like paleness, chilliness, and intense reactions.

·        Anger holds prominence in oratory and is natural in plots with conflict, often depicted in Greek poetry.

6. Other Emotions in Greek Theatre:

·        Sexual emotion (eros) is portrayed as a passion leading astray, a kind of madness.

·        Filial affection (storge), gratitude (charis), and friendship (philia) are considered, divided into visceral and sentimental categories.

7. European Interpretation of Aristotle:

·        During the Renaissance, European theatre drew on Aristotle's Poetics for theoretical guidance.

·        European theatre departed significantly from the ancient Greek tradition, becoming secular and realistic.

·        The new theatre reinterpreted Aristotelian concepts of plot, character, thought, and language to align with its own artistic vision, downplaying emotional pleasure.

Introduction to Ancient Greek Theatre and Aristotle's Poetics

1. Religious Nature of Ancient Greek Theatre:

·        Ancient Greek theatre was religious and performed during festivals, fostering communication with ancestors and gods.

·        Timing influenced performance techniques and nature, combining dance, music, and strong emotions.

2. Dramatic Theory in Aristotle's Poetics:

·        Aristotle's Poetics consists of four principles: mimesis, genre classification (epic, tragedy, comedy), six elements of tragedy (plot, character, thought, language, music, spectacle), and catharsis.

·        Dramatic festivals, often at sites like the temple of Asklepios, were influenced by religious and healing practices.

3. Significance of Mimesis, Genres, and Tragic Elements:

·        Mimesis is both a principle and practice, representing a human urge with aesthetic values.

·        Western literary and aesthetic discussions revolve around Aristotle's principles, impacting Elizabethan, Neo-Classical, Romantic, and Modernist theories.

4. Exploring the Six Elements of Tragedy:

·        Six elements (plot, character, thought, language, music, spectacle) are analyzed separately for clarity but form a unity on stage.

·        Internal elements (plot, character, thought) are subjective, while external elements (diction, music, spectacle) are more apparent.

5. Role of Myth (Plot) and Ethos (Character):

·        Myth or plot, referred to as the soul of tragedy, is an organic whole, representing the protagonist's passage from one state to another.

·        Aristotle emphasizes myth's structural role, shaping the total performance in a complex structure.

6. Myth as an Organic Whole:

·        Myth or plot aims to show the protagonist's transition, called an action complete with a beginning, middle, and end.

·        Aristotle allows poets to modify events for magnitude and wholeness, considering poetry a higher form than history.

7. Two Kinds of Myths - Simple and Complex:

·        Aristotle defines two kinds of plots: simple (without reversal or recognition) and complex (with both).

·        Peripetia (reversal) and anagnorisis (recognition) apply to both tragedy and comedy, contributing to irony and changes in character knowledge.

Pathos or Suffering, Ethos or Character, Hamartia or The Tragic Failing, Dianoia and Lexis 

1.     Pathos or Suffering:

·        Third part of a myth, involving destructive and painful actions like death, bodily agony, and wounding.

·        Primarily found in tragedies with a reversal from good to bad or a final destruction.

·        Aristotle distinguishes between tragedies where final destruction is averted (second-rate) and those where it occurs.

2.     Ethos or Character:

·        Tragic characters termed 'good men,' while comedy and satire feature 'mean persons.'

·        Protagonists must exhibit goodness, propriety, truth to life, and consistency.

·        Ethos judged by moral choices, courage, and the protagonist's ability to reveal moral purpose through actions.

3.     Hamartia or The Tragic Failing:

·        Hamartia, meaning hitting off the mark, refers to an error of judgment leading to failure.

·        Not all Greek tragedies heavily emphasize hamartia; some feature predetermined events.

·        Contrasts with Christian or moralistic tragedy where the hero's downfall is often due to a cardinal sin.

4.     Dianoia and Lexis:

·        Dianoia (Thinking):

·        Inner questioning and thought process leading to the protagonist's choice.

·        Essential for tragedy, reflects ethos (character) and moral choices made by characters.

·        Different from reflections on the nature of things; focuses on actions and choices.

·        Lexis (Language):

·        Spoken and sung word; no clear distinction in ancient theatre between dialogue and song.

·        Language transformed into dramatic discourse through intonation, pitch variation, or song.

·        Aristotle's exclusion of Modes of Utterance from inquiry suggests a focus on phonology, grammar, and figures of speech.

·        Overall:

·        Dianoia and Lexis crucial in understanding the protagonist's thought process and the transformation of language into dramatic discourse.

·        Aristotle's emphasis on dialectical dianoia linked to Greek theatre's influence from political debate and forensic pleading.

Kinds of Style, Melopoiia or the Musical Element, Opsis or the Visual Content

1. Kinds of Style:

·        Aristotle emphasizes a balance between clarity and loftiness in a playwright's linguistic style.

·        Recommends using current words for clarity and extraordinary words for loftiness without obscurity.

·        Clarity and distinction achieved by deviating occasionally from normal idiom.

·        Loftiness admired by Aristotle but warns against creating a style solely composed of unusual words.

2. Melopoiia or the Musical Element:

·        Greek chorus and actors had the freedom to use various musical forms with no ritual restrictions.

·        Music played a pivotal role in tragedy, essential for its vitality.

·        Aristotle doesn't provide detailed insights into how language was performed on the Greek stage.

·        Modes, melodies, and tunes from cultural memory contributed to the musical richness of Greek theatre.

3. Opsis or the Visual Content:

·        Opsis includes everything visual in theater, such as costumes, movements, gestures, and stage scenery.

·        Aristotle's focus on opsis was often limited to stage scenery, but its totality was vast in Greek theater.

·        Study of opsis must appreciate its richness and function beyond Aristotle's limited descriptions.

·        Opsis comprised gestures, costumes, formations of dancers, and various visual elements contributing to the overall theatrical experience.

·        Conclusion: Aristotle's framework for tragedy covers linguistic style, the musical element, and visual content. Despite limited details on music and opsisin the Poetics, these aspects were crucial in Greek theater. Aristotle's insights help preserve the understanding of Greek tragedy as a holistic theatrical experience encompassing word, gesture, dance, and music.

Introduction to Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy

1. Elevation of Tragedy:

·        Aristotle holds tragic poetry in higher regard than epic poetry.

·        Challenges the traditional hierarchy, placing tragedy above the epic, contrary to the prevailing order with Homer and Hesiod at the top.

·        Tragedy, according to Aristotle, stands as the most sublime form of art.

2. Total Art Concept:

·        Aristotle emphasizes that theater, and particularly tragedy, is a total art.

·        Beyond dialogue, characters, and plot, theatre includes crucial elements like spectacle, music, and dance.

·        Tragedy's superiority is attributed to the incorporation of these elements, providing vivid pleasures.

3. Completeness of the Poetics:

·        Acknowledges the potential incompleteness of the extant text of the Poetics, missing portions on comedy and satyr plays.

·        Suggests that Aristotle's overview in the surviving text still offers a comprehensive view of art.

4. Aristotelian View of Mimesis:

·        Aristotle transforms the Platonic concept of mimesis, maintaining it as a copy of a model.

·        Unlike Plato, Aristotle reverses the denigration of mimesis, emphasizing its value and connection to knowledge.

·        Aristotle's mimesis focuses on providing pleasurable likenesses, leading to knowledge of particulars.

5. Media of Mimesis:

·        Identifies three media for artistic mimesis: rhythm, language, and harmony.

·        Rhythm encompasses movement with regularity, not just a mere beat, extending to dance and music.

·        Language, in the form of poetry or verse, becomes a vital medium for mimesis.

·        Harmony, or melophilia, is briefly mentioned as another element of tragedy, but details are not explored.

6. Theatre as a Unifier of Arts:

·        Theatre unites various art forms – speech, song, dialogue as song-like enunciation, gesture, music, and dance.

·        Aristotle's enumeration of tragedy's six elements highlights the integration of linguistic and musical content.

7. Rendering Lexis through Rhythm and Tone:

·        The gap between speech and song in ancient theatres was narrower.

·        Ancient Greek, with its rhythmic qualities, facilitated the use of rhythm in speech, recitation, and song.

·        Aristotle recognizes rhythm as a powerful tool for emotional communication, along with the modulation of voice tones.

8. Theatrical Mediums:

·        Aristotle discusses the three mediums of theatre: rhythm, language, and harmony.

·        Rhythm is not just a beat but involves movement with regularity, impacting emotional effects.

·        Greek theater rarely used prose, and rhythm was inherent even in spoken portions, creating a unique cadence.

·        Dialogue in iambic trimeter was typically spoken, while other forms involved recitation or song.

Conclusion: Aristotle's theory of tragedy goes beyond textual elements, embracing the integration of various arts in theater. The interplay of rhythm, language, and harmony contributes to the emotional and aesthetic impact of tragic performances.

Ancient Dances in Theatre

1. Greek Dancing in Mousike:

·        Greek dance was an integral part of mousike, involving singing and instrument playing.

·        Dance was considered mimetic or expressive, using rhythmical gestures and motions to convey specific meanings.

2. Unity of Dance and Words:

·        Gestures and motions in Greek dance were closely associated with words, creating a unified expression.

·        Aristotle's mention of language, rhythm, and harmony in drama reflects the interconnected use of these elements.

3. Mystery-Related Dances:

·        Choruses in dramatic episodes related to mysteries and secret cults might have drawn inspiration from Thesmophoric dances.

·        Dances related to cults often involved ecstatic, clamorous, and frenzied movements, sometimes using torches.

4. Religious and Secular Dances:

·        Religious dances incorporated snake handling and ritualistic elements, such as in Apollo's Delphic shrine.

·        Dionysian dancers used symbolic costumes like fawn skin, fox pelts, and panther skins for identification.

·        Public occasions featured various performances, including war dances like purrixe in Athens and Sparta.

5. Pantomimi - Theatrical Entertainment:

·        Pantomimi, a captivating dance form, involved frequent costume and mask changes.

·        Cheironomia, a hand-gesture technique, was extensively used in pantomimi, proving its effectiveness in storytelling.

6. Dance in Dramatic Genres:

·        Dramatic genres, such as dithyramb, phallika, and komos, originated from dance genres associated with Dionysian worship.

·        Noble and dignified emmelia dance was considered the dance of tragedy.

7. Comedic Dances:

·        Comedy portrayed a variety of characters, beings, animals, clouds, and birds through lewd and vigorous dances.

·        Kordax, the proverbial dance of comedy, emphasized lascivious movements.

·        Satyr plays featured a similar dance called skinnis, performed by fat and ugly sileni.

8. Unification of Dance with Words:

·        Chorus performances in fifth-century drama involved unity in song, dance, groupings, color, and spectacle.

·        Dance was meant to express the meaning of the verse mimetically, with rhythm matching the verse's meter.

·        Specific dance movements were connected to particular meters used in choral lyrics, creating a seamless combination of rhythmic poetry, song, and dance in theatre.

9.     Rescue of Theatre from Plato's Condemnation:

·        Aristotle played a pivotal role in saving the art of theatre from Plato's harsh criticism.

·        Plato condemned theatre in his works, considering it an imitation far removed from truth.

10. Constructive Definition of Mimesis:

·        Aristotle provided a constructive definition of mimesis, laying the foundation for subsequent theories of representation.

·        Mimesis, according to Aristotle, involves a study of life as observed, emphasizing its pleasant and educative nature.

11. Metaphysical, Moral, and Aesthetic Worth of Mimesis:

·        Aristotle assigned metaphysical, moral, and aesthetic value to mimesis, which Plato had denied.

·        Mimesis, as per Aristotle, was credited with a moral function, elevating its status and justifying its place in art.

12. Ground for Theories of Representation:

·        Aristotle's definition of mimesis became the ground upon which various theories of representation were built.

·        The Renaissance to modern times saw the development of diverse artistic theories, all acknowledging Aristotle's concept of mimesis.

13. Mimesis as Pleasant and Educative:

·        Aristotle highlighted the pleasant and educative aspects of mimesis, emphasizing its capacity to provide both enjoyment and knowledge.

·        This dual nature contributed to the moral function of art, aligning it with ethical and educational pursuits.

14. Anticipation of Examination of Mimesis in Tragedy:

·        The note concludes with a mention of the upcoming examination of how mimesis operates in tragedy.

·        Aristotle's groundwork on mimesis sets the stage for understanding its specific application in tragic representation.