Q: Dramatically explain the Catharsis: pity and fears of Poetics by Aristotle.
Catharsis is the process of releasing, and
thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. "Music is a
means of catharsis for them." Catharsis
is from the Ancient Greek word "katharsis", meaning "purification"
or "cleansing", commonly
used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way
of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal and
restoration. Aristotle a tragedy is an imitation of an
action. What the actor on stage does
thrusting through the curtain with his sword represents Hamlet thrusting through the curtain
with his sword. Aristotle's fragmentary treatise on the Fine Arts
(Poetike) has been the subject of commentary since its composition in
the 4th
century B.C. to Aristotle's concept of katharsis
and the "medical" vs "moral" controversy surrounding
it. Pity and fear are the most common emotions to be "purged"
in catharsis because they are easily built up and easily related to.
Most often, catharsis occurs toward the end of the story
because emotion needs time to be built as events unfold over the course of the
story. Aristotle
affirms, “Tragedy, then,
is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude;
it is presented in dramatic, not narrative form; with incidents arousing pity
and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions.”
In his work "The
Philosophy of Right" and his lectures on aesthetics, G. W. F. Hegel discusses how tragedy and
dramatic events often elicit profound emotional responses, including fear, by
portraying intense, often disastrous situations and moral dilemmas. Aristotle outlines
the components of a tragic plot, including Peripeteia
(Reversal of Fortune), Anagnorisis
(Recognition), Hamartia (Tragic Flaw).
The pre-eminent scholar on katharsis,
whose views eventually predominated, was Jakob Bernays. His work, Zwei Abhandlungen über die Aristotelische Theorie
des Dramas, appeared in Berlin in 1880. The
"medical"
vs. "moral" controversy surrounding it pertains to Aristotle's analysis of how the
production of pity, fear, and the catharsis of these emotions in
audiences—whether readers, auditors, or viewers—is essential to works of
dramatic tragedy, or at least to good works of dramatic tragedy. A real-life
incident may be fearful and pitiable, and yet its witnesses may be in the
middle of a drunken revel, too stupid to feel fear, too self-centered to feel
pity, or, like some doctors, too inured to this kind of event to feel much of
any fear. Thus events or incidents may be amusing, hilarious, pitiable, or fearful.
In this context, a philosopher can explain what make-believe
events he has in mind as suitable for tragedy is by describing real series of
events like them. Here, Aristotle expresses, "The plot, therefore, is the first principle, and, as it
were, the soul of tragedy. It is not, as some people think, a mere
chronological series of events, but a unified whole, in which the incidents are
interconnected, and the complexity is due to the way in which the plot is
constructed." These are because real-life actions can also
be divided into simple and complex. It's important to characterize emotionally
the feelings vs. emotional characterization of actions, incidents, or events.
Indeed, Aristotle to be holding
this throughout the Poetics with respect to
the negative emotions of pity and fear.
Audience reactions to plays are taken as evidence of their
quality. But whether theater works have to have such effects to be tragedies,
or good ones, is a different issue. "We can often
recognize the nature of a thing and its features simply by inspection, but the
true understanding of its essence, especially in the case of dramatic works, requires
a deeper analysis of how well it fulfills its purpose and achieves its effects."
Now on the common interpretation of Aristotle,
we cannot tell a text or performance to be a tragedy, or a good tragedy, just
by inspecting. We must also undertake a psychological study of the members of
its audience to assure ourselves that the pity, fear, and catharsis have indeed
been produced before we may really be secure in judging it to be a tragedy, or
a good one.
Finally, Aristotle
mentions the pleasure men take in such "imitations", i.e., in make-believe.
Yet if these works were known to produce real pity and fear, it would seem that
only masochists would voluntarily view them. The negative emotions of pity and
fear so one can then have a catharsis and be free of them is like knocking
one's head against the wall in order to have the subsequent relief of ceasing
to do so. In his work, "An Apology for
Poetry" (also known as An Apology for Poetrie), Sir
Philip Sidney discusses the effects of dramatic events on audiences
by comparing them to real-life experiences. He examines how poetry and drama,
by imitating real-life actions and emotions, can evoke similar responses in the
audience, such as amusement,
hilarity, pity, or fear.
Aristotle exposes, "The
best tragedies are those that present actions which are not only serious and
complete but also evoke feelings of pity and fear." A
change of fortune for the worse which is a morally fitting or appropriate
resolution of a pitiable and fearful situation is the correlate in the sphere
of events of effecting a catharsis, a resolution, of pity and fear in the
sphere of felt emotions. Of course, tragedies may incidentally, even typically,
produce emotions in people, but on our interpretation Aristotle is not committed to their
having to do so.
In conclusion, Aristotle's, "Poetics"
shows the exploration of tragedy in dramatic art that emphasizing the intricate
interplay between plot, character, and emotional impact. Aristotle’s concept of catharsis has
been subject to various interpretations and criticisms. Some scholars argue
that the idea of purgation is too vague or that it is difficult to measure the
effectiveness of catharsis. Aristotle's concept
of catharsis remains influential, highlighting the importance of emotional
engagement in drama. In "The Philosophy
of Tragedy", Robert M. Adams explores how tragedy
functions both as a reflection on human life and as a source of emotional
catharsis.
Related
works and Scenes in William Shakespeare:
1. "Macbeth"
– Explores ambition and guilt, leading to the tragic downfall of Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth.
2. "Hamlet"
– Centers on revenge, madness, and existential angst, culminating in a tragic
resolution.
3. "King Lear" – Depicts Lear’s
descent into madness and the consequences of his misjudgments.
4. "Othello" – Focuses on jealousy
and manipulation, leading to tragic outcomes for Othello and Desdemona.
5. "Romeo and Juliet" – Conveys the
intensity of youthful love and the devastating effects of family feuds.
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