Cambridge University
Who is fit to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle? Elaborate.
Who is fit to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle? Elaborate.
Who is fit to be a tragic hero according to Aristotle? Elaborate.
Aristotle argues that the best tragedies - and thus the best plays, since Aristotle considers tragedy to be the highest dramatic form - use reversal and recognition to achieve catharsis. He writes that reversal works with a story's spine or center to ensure that the hero comes full circle. Oedipus is his exemplar of a hero who undergoes such a reversal and thus has cathartic self-recognition. Aristotle considers catharsis to be a form of redemption. For instance, even though Oedipus' recognition is tragic it still redeems him: he is no longer living in ignorance of his tragedy but instead has accepted fate.
And redemption is not the only result of catharsis; the audience too undergoes a catharsis of sorts in a good drama. The hero's catharsis induces both pity and fear in the audience: pity for the hero, and fear that his fate could happen to us.
http://www.gradesaver.com/aristotles-poetics/study-guide/themes