Tragedy

This article refers to the literary work. For the punk band see Tragedy (band)

Theories of tragedy

The philosopher Aristotle theorized in his work the Poetics that tragedy results in a catharsis (emotional cleansing) of pity and fear for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama. Not all plays that are broadly categorized as "tragedies" result in this type of cathartic ending, though - some have neutral or even ambiguously happy endings. Exactly what constitutes a "tragedy", however, is a frequently debated matter. Some hold that any story with a sad ending is a tragedy, whereas others demand that the story fit a set of requirements (often based on Aristotle) to be considered a tragedy.

Related Topics:
Aristotle - Catharsis

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