Thinking Task - Aristotle's view on Tragedy

Hello everyone, This blog is based on students understanding of Aristotle's view on tragedy and weather we can imply his ideas on literary work or not.    

Q - With reference to the literary texts you have studied during B.A. Programme, write brief note on the texts which followed Aristotelian literary tradition (i.e. his concept of tragedy, catharsis, tragic hero with hamartia etc.)

Ans 

 During our B.A. program, we studied one of the most famous Shakespearean tragedies, "King Lear". And here we will try to imply Aristotle's view on this particular tragedy.

Concept of tragedy

Tragedy is something that is governed by the protagonist's actions. In which plot plays a vital role. According to Aristotle "plot is the soul of tragedy". Tragedy is not possible without plot. Tragedy is an imitation of complete and serious action that has a certain level of magnitude. In the play King Lear, we find action carried out by protagonists such as Edgar and Cordelia and a topsy-turvy of events, which is an essential part of tragedy.

Catharsis

Catharsis in tragedy is something that helps in releasing human emotions such as pity and fear, which are normally inclined into our minds. Tragedy or other literary works help us release these emotions. There are several incidents in Kind Lear that illustrate catharsis, such as when Edgar kills his stepbrother Edmund and, at last, when Kind Lear realizes his mistake that he did injustice to Cordelia, and now he cannot do anything but mourn her death.

 Hamartia

Hamartia, an error of judgment, or a tragic flaw are the same things. Every tragic hero has some kind of tragic flaw in him or her that leads to their downfall. That could be a tragic hero's weakness or moral failing in some cases. King Lear Initially in the play, King Lear is unable to understand the love of Cordelia and misjudges the intentions of his other two daughters, which in a way leads to his downfall.

Hubris  

Hubris means the excessive pride that one has in oneself that leads a tragic hero to his downfall. King Lear also has fake pride, which we come to know in the early part of the play when he asks his daughters to define how much love they have for their father.