Aristotle's Poetics-Thinking Activity

Hello guys, Here I am sharing my views on five questions which are based on Aristotle's poetics.  

 Question-1

How far do you agree with Plato’s objection to freedom of expression and artistic liberty enjoyed by creative writers? Name the texts (novels, plays, poems, movies, TV soaps etc which can be rightfully objected and banned with reference to Plato’s objections)           

          

Writers played a very vital role in shaping a society. So they must have a look freedom of writing and freedom of expressing their views and ideas. Freedom of speech is a mostly debated topic among the Authors for their own freedom. Freedom of speech of writers creates so many controversies because they had a voice and that voice could reach the masses. So I do not agree with Plato's objection but there should also be one point that poets can't use their freedom of speech perversely.Here i would like to share two examples of work of literature which are banned...

          

"The Satanic Verses" is inspired by the life of the prophet Muhammad. Rushdie uses magical power to create his characters. The book was banned in India for hate speech directed towards a religious group..Muslim Accuses Rushdie as blesphemy.

"Aarakshan" movie written and directed by Prakash Jha objected by Kanpur groups in actor's royal background and saw his role of so called Dalit as an insult of community. The film was banned in Uttarpradesh for 2 months on the grounds that it could create law and order problems in the state. The Punjab government says that scenes and dialogues in films inflame the passion of  some communities. At the end NCSC made an overall study of the movie and said...

"While the overall theme of the film is not objectionable, it is loaded with anti-Dalit and anti-reservation dialouges."

So to sum up we conclude that freedom of speech should be given to writers and then and then we become able to make some slight changes in society.

        

Question-2

With reference to the literary texts you have studied during B.A. write brief note on the texts which followed Aristotelian literary tradition (i.e. his concept of tragedy, catharsis, tragic hero with hamartia etc)

Aristotle makes brilliant tapping of many sides of tragedy in one definition...

Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in the language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation-catharsis of these and similar emotions.”

              

"Othello'' as an African General for the Venice Army. At the end of the story Othello and Desdemona are both dead along with Roderigo and Emilia. Iago remains to live on, no one succeeded but the only villain who still remains blameless. So, drama remains serious.

There is no plot regarding love and romance and shared between not any comedy or tragedy with evil intentions are satisfied. At the end Othello learns about Iago's intrigue and he weeps into pain or guilt for killing his innocent wife. So the situation created "pity and fear" towards the hero and Novel passed in followed Catharsis also.

                      

Othello is overall a good man but his only fault is to make trust on Iago without knowing the truth.Othello's hamartia is jealousy and burned by his self doubt and low self-esteem.

 Question-3

With reference to the literary texts you have studies during B.A. programme, write brief notes on the texts which did NOT follow Aristotelian literary tradition. (i.e. his concept of tragedy, catharsis, tragic hero with hamartia etc.)

The hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill is considered as "Modern Tragedy" because it is not conventional in Aristotelian tradition. It's subject and theme are the same but the form is different. So it is a great tragedy with a difference.

            

Aristotle said that Hero must be exceptional and individual and a man of high rank. Yank- the hero of the hairy Ape is not a king or prince.He is a humble stoker.Still he represents highly individuality...

• He belongs
• He can eat smoke and coal
• He is a power which makes the ship go

There is no tragic flaw.Yank suffers because of conflict in the outer environment and certain social forces. So there is no fault of Yank for his own decay so it is a tragedy with no tragic flaw. Aristotle considers action or plot as the soul of tragedy. There is also enough action and melodrama but action is internal not external.

Here, Villain is not any God or fate or any human being but the mechanical forces of the social environment. Society is the real villain and he is started being called as Hairy Ape and meets tragic death. So this is the tragedy of the Common man which is not following the rules of the tragedy of Aristotle.

Question - 4

Have you studied any tragedies during B.A. programme was/were the tragic protagonist/s in those tragedies? What was their ‘hamartia’?

                   

Othello is a Tragic Hero whose Hamartia is jealousy. Othello makes trust on Iago to some extent who is responsible for the downfall of Othello. While Othello is also man of "No thinking" who act first and than think that what he has done in his angerness.

Question - 5

Did the ‘Plot’ of those tragedies follow necessary rules and regulations proposed by Aristotle? (Like chain of cause and effect, principle of probability and necessity, harmonious arrangement of incidents, complete, certain magnitude, unity of action etc)

'All my sons' follow the magnitude like unity of time,place and Action are well maintained. The whole story played in only 18 hours. But this is the story which runs through several years.

           

Here we can also see harmonious arrangement of incidents that at end we come to know that Chris keller father is real culprit and who is responsible for death of several man and even his own son Larry also commit sucide because of misdeeds of his father.

                

Principle of probability and necessity is also maintained and chain of cause and effect is also maintained. At first joe keller send defeated cylinder because of that 21 young man died and in this guilt his son Larry commit sucide and chris also became against his father and at last joe keller killed himself by gun. So this way the play also fitted in chain of cause and effect.

              

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