Saturday, July 27, 2019
Read the following excerpt from Aristotle's Poetics and discuss the Essay
Read the following excerpt from Aristotle's Poetics and discuss the respects in which the Medea adheres to his guidelines and - Essay Example *** The Third Episode of Medea contains all the elements necessary, from Aristotleââ¬â¢s point of view, for a play to be called a tragedy. Among others these include, Jasonââ¬â¢s mimesis, dialogues, structure of the plot, peripeteia. Another evidence of tragedian character of Euripidesââ¬â¢ play is a scene of pain. In the Third Episode we can see the mimesis when Medea repeats Jasonââ¬â¢s wrong doings in burning desire to revenge on him and make him suffer. She makes a plan how to force Jason to suffer as much as Medea did felt when he has broken his oath. So here we can observe one of the main elements of a tragedy according to Aristotle. Another key element of a classical tragedy is dialogue, which Medea uses when speaking to Aegeus and asking him to ââ¬Å"Swear by the Earth on which you tread/Swear by the Sun, my fatherââ¬â¢s father dread/Swear by every god and godheadâ⬠to always defend her. This utterance is a dialogue as it said in a highly poetic, elevated tone. Peripeteia of this tragedy also purely corresponds to Aristotleââ¬â¢s requirements stated in the Poetics. ... In Euripides' tragedy there is too much suffering, due to this reason Aristotle called Euripides the most tragic of the playwrights. Here we can observe sufferings when Jason sees his sonsââ¬â¢ blood seeping from under the door. It was Medeaââ¬â¢s plane to make him suffer ââ¬â with this purpose she killed her children, the only part of Jason she still had. She wanted to get rid of him completely and at the same time to make him feel grief and agony. The Third Episode of the tragedy shows vividly all the elements in which Euripidesââ¬â¢ Medea adheres to Aristotleââ¬â¢s guidelines. So, Medea represents a classic tragedy and can be taken as an example for analysis. In spite of the fact that Aristotle himself considered Medea to be one of the best samples of classical tragedy, Euripidesââ¬â¢ masterpiece contains a few elements which do not satisfy Aristotleââ¬â¢s views. For example, Aristotle reproached Euripides for partiality to the method of "God from the machine â⬠, which consists in the fact that the denouement does not escape from the plot, but is achieved with godââ¬â¢s help. Aristotle wrote: ââ¬Å"... the denouement of the plot should follow from the plot, but not, as in Medea, through the machine.â⬠And if the denouement of the conflict so often required the sudden appearance of supernatural forces, then it was not due to Euripidesââ¬â¢ inability to find a more convincing composite course, but due to the fact that the poet had not seen in contemporary world solutions for many intricate human affairs. The poet is abhorrent to every theatrical convention. According to Aristotle, a real tragedy, arousing in the viewer sympathy and fear, makes discharging of these affects, directing them into
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