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British Drama

Notes 5. “Necessary or probable” Characters must be logically constructed according to “the law of
probability or necessity” that governs the actions of the play.
6. “True to life and yet more beautiful” (idealized, ennobled).
In a perfect tragedy, character will support plot, i.e. personal motivations will be intricately connected
parts of the cause-and-effect chain of actions producing pity and fear in the audience. The protagonist
should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of fortune can be from good to bad. This change
“should come about as the result, not of vice, but of some great error or frailty in a character.” Such
a plot is most likely to generate pity and fear in the audience, for “pity is aroused by unmerited
misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves.” The term Aristotle uses here, hamartia.
The meaning of the Greek word is closer to “mistake” than to “flaw,” and I believe it is best interpreted
in the context of what Aristotle has to say about plot and “the law or probability or necessity.” In
the ideal tragedy, claims Aristotle, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall—
not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough. The role of the
hamartia in tragedy comes not from its moral status but from the inevitability of its consequences.

Thought
Thought is third in importance, and is found “where something is proved to be or not to be, or a
general maxim is enunciated.” Aristotle says little about thought, and most of what he has to say is
associated with how speeches should reveal character. However, we may assume that this category
would also include what we call the themes of a play.
Diction
Diction is fourth in importance and is “the expression of the meaning in words” which is proper
and appropriate to the plot, characters, and end of the tragedy. In this category, Aristotle discusses
the stylistic elements of tragedy; he is particularly interested in metaphors: “But the greatest thing
by far is to have a command of metaphor; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors
implies an eye for resemblances.”

Song or Melody

Song or melody is fifth in importance and is the musical element of the chorus. Aristotle argues that
the Chorus should be fully integrated into the play like an actor; choral odes should not be “mere
interludes,” but should contribute to the unity of the plot.

Spectacle
Spectacle is sixth in importance and is last, for it is least connected with literature; “the production
of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet.”
Although Aristotle recognizes the emotional attraction of spectacle, he argues that superior poets
rely on the inner structure of the play rather than spectacle to arouse pity and fear; those who rely
heavily on spectacle “create a sense, not of the terrible, but only of the monstrous.”

The End of Tragedy—Catharsis
The end of the tragedy is a catharsis (purgation, cleansing) of the tragic emotions of pity and fear. It
is another Aristotelian term that has generated considerable debate. The word means “purging and
Aristotle seems to be employing a medical metaphor—tragedy arouses the emotions of pity and
fear in order to purge away their excess, to reduce these passions to a healthy, balanced proportion.
Aristotle also talks of the “pleasure” that is proper to tragedy, apparently meaning the aesthetic
pleasure one gets from contemplating the pity and fear that are aroused through an intricately
constructed work of art.

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