He defined tragedy as ‘a representation of action that is worth serious attention, complete in itself and of some amplitude (…) presented in one form of action, not narration; by means of pity and fear bringing out the purgation of such emotions.’ This theory is still relevant to many plays today. Many of them are based on a serious exploration of a significant action made by the main character, which causes their downfall or changes their life in a significant way. Aristotle thought that actions in tragedy were not made by chance; they were made inevitable because of the actions and situations in the drama. According to Aristotle’s theory that actions should be ‘of some amplitude’ we now make our acting dramatic, or larger than life. Many forms of drama work around a big event, which grabs our interest and stirs up the lives of the characters involved.

Another important theory of Aristotle’s was that of Catharsis. This was the ability to make the audience experience the

Ø He suggested that a tragedy should be in five acts and of sufficient length to properly represent the actor’s passing from misfortune to happiness or the other way around.

The difference between tragedy and epic

According to Aristotle’s theory, the main character is always exhausted by the physical and emotional demands of the plot and their life is ruined within the action of the play. This idea is still used in modern theatre. When there is a sense of the destinies of characters being concluded at the end of a play, we call this a ‘closed structure’. In many modern plays, there is often the idea, that the lives of characters continue even after the play has finished. This is known as an ‘open structure’.

This is the third genre of theatre with its origins in 5th century Athens. It is performed after a tragedy. The satyr plays were more informal and were parodies of myths, legends, or even tragedies, combining songs, dances and sketches. Recent studies of Athenian comedy and Satyr plays reveal some very extraordinary connections with the modern theatre. The use of satire reoccurs through the history of theatre drama and mirrors forms of carnival and the old English custom of charivari, in which masked gangs would parade the streets. This acting, (as most modern drama does), also ignored the unities of time, space and action.

Ø

Some topics in this essay:
According Aristotle’s, Antagonists Greek, Aeschylus Sophocles, Aristotle’s Catharsis, Century Athenian, main character, modern theatre, , according aristotle’s theory, unity action, tragedies based, aristotle’s theory, conflict characters, sophocles added, lives characters, tragedy epic, satyr plays,