Plot 1 example essay topic

The Poetics- Aristotle Tragedy- the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear; where with to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. I. Discussion of Tragedy. Six parts to a tragedy: 1. fable / plot - the combination of incidents, or things done in the story 2. characters- they " re what make us ascribe certain moral qualities to the agents (actors) 3. diction- the composition of the verses 4. thought- shown in what is said when proving a point is enunciating a general truth 5. spectacle- stage appearance of the actors 6. melody- self explanatory II. Importance of the Fable / Plot over the other elements A. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons, but of action and life, of happiness and misery. The life and soul of a tragedy is the plot 1. Tragedy is impossible without action, but there may be one without Characters.

The most powerful elements of attraction in a tragedy, the Peripeties and Discoveries, are parts of the plot. D. Plot first; Characters second 1. Compared with a painting- a black and white sketch will be preferred over the most beautiful colors laid without order. E. Character in a play is that which reveals the moral purpose of the agents, i.e. - the sort of thing they seek or avoid, where that is not obvious. F. Proper construction of the fable / plot 1. It must be constructed as a whole, with a beginning, middle, and end. 2. It must be of a certain magnitude. a.

Mustn't be too small (short) or doesn't, make the point. b. Mustn't be too large (long) or you can't grasp the entire point. c. The longer a story is, consistent with its being comprehended as a whole, the finer it is by reason of its magnitude. G. The unity of the plot does not consist of having one man as its subject. 1. Because the plot is supposed to be an imitation of action, its unity consists of its representation of a complete action as a whole.

2. Homer understood this concept well- e.g. - Odyssey. Episodic plots are the worst. 1. Plots are episodic when there is neither probability nor necessity in the sequence of its episodes. Bad poets do this on accident, while good poets so this on behalf of their players. I. Peripeties and Discoveries 1.

Peripety- the change of the kind described from one state of things within the play to its opposite, and that too in a way we are saying, in the probable or necessary sequence of events. 2. Discovery- a change from ignorance to knowledge, and thus to either love or hate, in the personages marked for good or evil fortune. J. The third part of the plot is suffering. 1. Suffering- an action of a destructive or painful nature, such as murders on stage, tortures, wounding's, etc. 2.

In terms of suffering, a writer should avoid: a. a good man passing from happiness to misery. a bad man passing from misery to happiness 3. An intermediate (regular) kind of personage, a man not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune is brought upon him not by vice or depravity, but my some error of judgment. K. Plots should only have a single issue. L. Tragic fear and pity can be aroused by the Spectacle; but may also be aroused by the very structure and incidents of the play. M. The Denouement should arise out of the plot itself, and not depend on a stage-artifice.