2. Analyzing Tragedy & Tragic Fiction Aristotelian Theory

3. Objectives Students will understand the Aristotelian Theory for analyzing tragedies by taking notes and then identifying the parts of tragic structure in a common fairytale, and later, in Greek tragedy.

4. Aristotle Poetics (4 th century B.C.) Traditional analysis of drama or “dramatic” fiction Mimesis: imitation of an action; a spiritual movement which is represented in concrete artistic form

5. Unity of Action Tragic plots must have a clear beginning, middle & end Action should be ordered/continuous Action arises through cause & effect

6. Catharsis Events should inspire terror & pity Through vicarious participation, the audience purges their emotions, is morally purified, or attains clarity of intellectual viewpoint

7. Tragedy Protagonist= highly renowned/prosperous Fall from greatness/ reversal of fortune Downturn brought about by an error or frailty Hamartia: “to err” (Greek); inner weakness or inherent error Hubris: excessive pride

8. Scene of Suffering Suffering is a prerequisite for wisdom

9. Humpty Dumpty Let’s look at the story of Humpty Dumpty and see how Aristotle’s theory can be applied to this tragedy!

10. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall… He’s a noble protagonist set perilously in a high place of power-

11. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall… He experiences a reversal of situation; he falls from greatness- his tragic weakness is his frailty- a thin shell-and an error-he probably wiggled around, showing off, on the wall or tried to stand up on it.

12. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again 

13. The readers feel pity and terror. The egg is cracked. The yolk streams out. Poor Humpty- he’ll never sit on the wall again. He is irreparably damaged and deprived of his once-high position and enjoyable life.

14. And the same thing could happen to the reader one of these days if they’re not careful! But…. It hasn’t happened to us. We have vicariously experienced the story & learned wisdom from the suffering of the protagonist. We leave the story with a feeling of catharsis.

15. Works Cited Barker, et al. The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English. College Entrance Examination Board, 2002.