Aristotles Tragedy

A detailed Summary of Aristotles Tragedy

Aristotle defines Greek tragedy by the presence of a 'great mistake' performed by the protagonist due to particular flaws, which leads to an inevitable sequence of events. One of the flaws is that of Hubris, the capital sin of pride, and thus the antithesis of two ethics that the Greeks valued highly. Aidos (humble reverence for the law) and Sophrosyne (self-restraint, a sense of proper limits). In Greek Literature, hubris often afflicted rulers and conquerors who, though endowed with great leadership abilities, abused their power and authority and challenged the divine balance of nature to gratify their own vanity and ambition. Aristotle's Poetics both described and prescribed the structure of drama as it had evolved by the fourth century BC . One of the passages consists of this; "The best plot...will consist in a change of fortune... from prosperity to misfortune, occasioned not by depravity but by some great mistake... Tragedy having this construction is the finest kind of tragedy from an artistic point of view." Aeschylus' Agamemnon accompanies the description of tragedy very well, due to Agamemnon's actions (which include mainly the great mistake), lack of Aidos and lack of knowledge. He fell from extreme prosperit

In the first quote, Clytaemnestra makes direct reference to Agamemnon strangling their Iphigenia, by making reference to the noose around her neck. In the second quote she talks about the red stream, making reference to blood and death. When she says "we will do whatever Fate requires", it creates the atmosphere of revenge and death. Agamemnon's lacks of knowledge and his inability to read a person and realize their particular feelings lead to his own demise. This was just the next part of the inevitable sequence of events, because if it weren't meant to be then Agamemnon would have realized what his wife was saying and would have saved himself.

The inevitable sequence of events starts with Agamemnon having a tremendous flaw that plagued him throughout the story of the Trojan War as well as his return to his home. This flaw starts his downfall to death by allowing him to perform the 'great mistake'. That flaw was Hubris, the capital sin of pride. In Greek Literature, hubris often afflicted rulers and conquerors who, though endowed with great leadership abilities, abused their power and authority and challenged the divine balance of nature to gratify their own vanity and ambition. Agamemnon did exactly that in killing his daughter Iphigenia in order to gain the winds to transport his boats to fight the Trojan War. Agamemnon was given an ultimatum by the prophet Calchas: either he sacrifices his daughter to gain favorable winds to transport his troops to the Trojan shore or they will never be able to reach the shore by boat. Due to the ambition, lack of Aidos and lack of knowledge of the consequences in the future, Agamemnon strangles his daughter and sets sail to start the Trojan War. In Aristotle's Poetics, it states that "... from prosp

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Approximate Word count = 1189
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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