Aristotle's Poetics

 

Aristotle's Poetics :

The Poetics is written by great Greek philosopher Aristotle. He was born in Athens during the classical period and was the student of the great philosopher Plato.

Q 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 Plato's objections.)

     Plato was a Greek Philosopher born in Athens during the classical period in ancient Greece.

           Plato disapprove poetry because it's immoral and based on falsehood. He objected poetry through educational point of view, moral point of view and philosophical point of view.

 According to him artist are possessed and immoral and they pass on it to the viewers, listeners and readers. They are liars and they corrupt the soul.

For me it's not wholly untrue that artist takes liberty to make falsehood and create an allusion in there work.

There are some examples of it.   

 

             Jani dushman is the revenge story of a girl name Divya who search of vengeance in after life and commit suiside rather than seek the justice in law system, it becomes more disturbing by the presence of a shape shifting snake who was the lover of Divya in her previous life

 

                   

Another example of creative liberty in "the" movie Deshdrohi. The movie about a common man named Raja who explore the reality of city life but in very ridiculous way that not even common people can relate with the story.

 

    The show Crime petrol is based on the crimes that happens in every day life. The show is less informative than it spreads insecurity and fear in the mind of people.

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

  

 During my B.A. programme I have studied some tragedies tht followed Aristotelian literary tradition,

Those works are:

   1. All my sons

   2. Othello 

   3. Ghashiram Kotwal

   4. Tughlaq

1. All my son

Tragic Hero : According to Aristotle tragic Hero Is " an intermediate kind of personage, not pre- eminently vertuous and just."

     The hero must be form the higher class in society.

In the drama All my sons the protagonist Joe Keller is an outstanding businessman whose prime focus is to gain welth and secure his family's future.

Hamartia: it means " to miss the mark " in other words error of judgement.

Here Joe's Hamartia is to deliver the defective cylinder heads of aircrafts, knowing the fact that they were defective. It couses the death of 21 soldiers including his own son Larry.

Catharsis : It means purification or the purgation of emotions (especially pity and fear) primarily through art.

       In All My Sons audience feel Catharsis when Joe realise that he was to blame for his own son and not just it but also othe soldiers who died because of defective cylinder heads.

In his words " Sure, he was my son. But I think to them they were all my sons."

2. Tughlaq

Tragic Hero: in the play Tughlaq the main protagonist Muhammad bin Tughlaq is the king (Sultan) of Delhi, that means he presents the privileged and High classical lifestyle.that makes him Aristotelian tragic Hero. He was very visionary and thoughtful king.

Hamartia : The Hamartia of Tughlaq is large, the every decision of his becomes false prediction of his vision.

His decision to change capital of his kingdom form Delhi to Daulatabad, reforming currency form gold to silver and making five time prayer compulsory or removing prayer, everything became error of judgement.

Catharsis: after so much of a action like punishing his step mother, killing couriers and giving Aziz a permanent position in his court, Tughlaq goes to sleep as his downfall has come.

3. Othello: 

Tragic Hero: Othello is very femous tragedy of William Shakespeare.The main protagonist is Othello, an African general of the army of Venice. Who is brave and physically strong and also naïve and insecure.

The perfect example of Aristotelian tragic Hero.

Hamartia: Othello's Hamartia is that he blindly belives in Iago and suspects Desdemona of cheating. He becomes jealous and rushes to the judgment and kills Desdemona. The insecurity of himself leads Othello to the error of judgement.

Catharsis: the catharsis of Othello is that he realises that Iago manipulated him and he was foolishly stepped in the trap created by Iago. Realisation of his fault and sence of guilt leads him to commits suiside.

as his life gets ruined by his ill fated decision audience feels pity towards Othello.

4. Ghashiram Kotwal

Tragic Hero: the drama Ghashiram Kotwal is written by an indian dramatist Vijay Tendulkar.the main protagonist of the drama is Ghashiram who becomes Kotwal (police chief) of the City of Puna by the help of Nana, the corrupted minister in the court of the Peshwa. Ghashiram wanted to take revenge of the humiliation suffered by him in the city of Puna.

Hamartia: in the play Ghashiram Kotwal, Hamartia is that Ghashiram becomes to obsessed for his revange that sacrifices his own daughter Gauri and gives her to Nana for the post of Kotwal, not knowing that Nana was not trustworthy.

       He acts harsh and cruel towards the people of Puna that they starts to hated him. In the end Ghashiram makes mistake of sending some Brahmins to jail and they suffocates and dies. That leads Peshwa to release punishment order of Ghashiram, Nana also gives command to people to kill Ghashiram.

Catharsis: in the end Ghashiram dies and also lost his daughter. But first he lost his vertue for his agony of humiliation and desire of revenge. The tragic death of Ghashiram and his daughter is outcome of his raging decision.

Q-3 With reference to the literary texts you have studied during B.A. programme, write brief note on the texts which did NOT follow Aristotelian literary tradition. (i.e. his concept of tragedy, catharsis, tragic hero with hamartia etc.)

  The only literary text that does not follow Aristotelian tradition of tragedy is the play The Hairy Ape.      

       The Hairy Ape does not have Aristotelian tragic Hero as they present a common man, a labourer as tragic Hero. Yank, Bob Smith is a fireman with beastly appearance who works on ocean liner. Yank does not fit in the definition of Aristotle's tragic Hero.

    Hamartia also does not apply to the play because Yank don't have the error of judgement, it's society who outcast him and make him feel that he does not belong in the society. The growing industrialization and class division of rich people makes him feel that he I uncivilized and resembles as animal.

    The play have catharsis as we all can relate with the character of Yank as he face the harsh reality of society and class division. The meanness of rich people and there view on common workers.

  In the end Yank visits a zoo where he sees the Gorilla. He set the Gorilla free, the Gorilla attacks Yank and kills him.