I. Poetry
A. Epic poetry and tragedy are all modes of imitation. Epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, and choral hymns
sung at the festival of Dionysius are modes of imitation but differ in rhythm, melody, and verse. They
differ in the:
1. Means of discussionrhythm, language, and harmony.
2. Objects discussed.
3. Way they imitate.
III. Character
A. Poetry, tragedy, and comedy differ in the means, object, and manner
B. Plays are dramas because characters act out the story.
C. Characters may remain the same throughout without change.
D. Sophocles portrays characters as good men.
IV. Imitation
A. Imitation is something humans learn from childhood and sets us apart from other animals.
B. Humans learn first by imitation.
C. **We enjoy imitation and we enjoy painful experience; we delight in seeing things painful to see.
D. **We want to feel empathy for characters.
E. Review of changes in tragedy:
1. Number of actors increased to two by Aeschylus.
2. Third actor and scenery added by Sophocles.
3. Tragedy acquired its magnitudebecame a form of art.
4. Meter changed from trochaic (more musical) to iambic (most speakable).
5. Increased number of episodes or acts (scenes).
V. Comedy
A. Comedy shows men worse than average (not in all regards but in one fault).
B. Comedy includes the ridiculousa mistake or deformity that does not produce pain or harm in
othersmasks or incites laughter.
C. Epic poetry doesnt have any time limit. Its one kind of verse in narrative form.
D. **Tragedy is an imitation of serious subjects in grand verse.
E. **Tragedy usually has a fixed limit of timeusually takes place in one day.
F. A judge of good and bad in tragedy is/is not a good person.
VI. **Tragedy
A. **Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious and having magnitude, complete in itself, is
elevated in language (language is pleasurable), is dramatic, not narrative in form, incidents arouse
pity and fear, and audience is able to have a cartharsis of the emotions of pity and fear.
B. Agents (characters) have two thingsthought and character that lead to their success or failure.
C. Thought and character lead to success or failure of the protagonist.
D. Thought proves a particular point or says a general truth.
E. Six parts to every tragedy:
1. Fable (plot)combination of events or things in a story.
2. Characterwhat puts certain morals to the actors.
3. Dictioncombination of verses.
4. Melody
5. Spectaclestage appearance of actors.
6. Thoughtwhere the play enunciates a general truth.
F. Tragedy is an imitation of action, life, happiness, and misery. Tragedy is an imitation of people who
pass from happiness to misery.
G. The character gives us qualities in actions, but it is what we do that makes us happy or miserable.
H. Plot/fable is the end of purpose of tragedy, and tragedy is impossible without action, but a tragedy may
be one without characters.
I. **The most powerful element of tragedy is Peripeties (discoveries) as parts of the plot.
J. Plot comes first; characters come second. The third most important element is thoughtthe power of
saying whatever can be said or is appropriate to the occasion. Character reveals the moral purpose of
the agentwhat they seek or avoid. Thought is shown when they prove or disprove a point or say a
universal proposition.
VIII. Plot
A. It should be unifiedmust have actions which are closely connected.
X. Simple Plots
A. Simple plots occur when a heros fortunes change without Peripety or Discovery. The actions or
discovery needs to arise out of the plot itself.
XI. Peripety
A. Peripety is a change from one state of things to its oppositea discovery from ignorance to
knowledgesuch as the messenger who is coming to remove fears of Oedipus mother but he really
reveals the truth.
B. Discovery is a change from ignorance to knowledge and thus to either love or hate.
C. **A peripety will either arouse pity or fear and will also serve to bring about the happy or unhappy
ending.
D. Suffering is an action of destructive or painful nature.