The Poetics Summary

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The Poetics- Aristotle

Tragedy- the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear; where with to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.

I. Discussion of Tragedy
A. Six parts to a tragedy:
1. fable/plot- the combination of incidents, or things done in the story
2. characters- they’re what make us ascribe certain moral qualirties to the agents (actors)
3. diction- the composition of the verses
4. thought- shown in what is said when proving a point is enunciating a general truth
5. spectacle- stage appearance of the actors
6. melody- self explanatory

II. Importance of the Fable/Plot over the other elements
A. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons, but of action and life, of happiness and misery
B. The life and soul of a tragedy is the plot
1. Tragedy is impossible without action, but there may be one without Character
C. The most powerful elements of attract...

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