EDITED:
Today we looked up what tragedy is on Wikipedia. I had a basic knowledge of tragedy beforehand, but today I learned exactly what makes a tragedy. I learned that Aristotle actually defined a tragedy in his work Poetics. These are the characteristics that he claimed a tragedy must have
1. It must be mimetic
2. It is serious
3. It tells a full story
4. It contains rhythm and harmony
5. Rhythm and harmony differ in different parts of the tragedy
6. It is performed
7. It arouses pity or fear with is then released
As you can tell, tragedies require certain elements. There is usually some kind of problem, which slowly builds over the course of the play. These problems are usually serious problems that the main character faces. The reader must feel pity for the main character in their struggles. The story must end with the fall of the main character. At this point, the pity is released and the reader is left feeling a sense of rightness. To put it simply, the reader must see why the character fell and feel that they fell for a good or worthy reason.
To me, tragedies are entertaining because they start normal and then escalate very quickly. Tragedies also have very obvious morals; Romeo and Juliet is about love, Hamlet is about justice. Because their plots are often over the top, their morals are obvious and their plots are entertaining.
Here's a link to a summary of Aristotle's Poetics which summarizes what a tragedy should be.
Today we looked up what tragedy is on Wikipedia. I had a basic knowledge of tragedy beforehand, but today I learned exactly what makes a tragedy. I learned that Aristotle actually defined a tragedy in his work Poetics. These are the characteristics that he claimed a tragedy must have
1. It must be mimetic
2. It is serious
3. It tells a full story
4. It contains rhythm and harmony
5. Rhythm and harmony differ in different parts of the tragedy
6. It is performed
7. It arouses pity or fear with is then released
As you can tell, tragedies require certain elements. There is usually some kind of problem, which slowly builds over the course of the play. These problems are usually serious problems that the main character faces. The reader must feel pity for the main character in their struggles. The story must end with the fall of the main character. At this point, the pity is released and the reader is left feeling a sense of rightness. To put it simply, the reader must see why the character fell and feel that they fell for a good or worthy reason.
To me, tragedies are entertaining because they start normal and then escalate very quickly. Tragedies also have very obvious morals; Romeo and Juliet is about love, Hamlet is about justice. Because their plots are often over the top, their morals are obvious and their plots are entertaining.
Here's a link to a summary of Aristotle's Poetics which summarizes what a tragedy should be.