ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Aristotle describes catharsis as the purging of the emotions of pity and fear that are aroused in the viewer of a tragedy.

Detailed explanation-2: -catharsis, the purification or purgation of the emotions (especially pity and fear) primarily through art. In criticism, catharsis is a metaphor used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of true tragedy on the spectator.

Detailed explanation-3: -ca·thar·sis kə-ˈthär-səs. plural catharses kə-ˈthär-ˌsēz. : purification or purgation of the emotions (such as pity and fear) primarily through art.

Detailed explanation-4: -CATHARSIS: The emotional effect a tragic drama has on its audience. Aristotle introduced this term (which can mean either “purgation” or “purification” in Greek) into literary criticism in the Poetics (c. 330 B.C.E.).

Detailed explanation-5: -Along with fear, pity is one of the emotions aroused in the audience of a tragedy. We respond with pity, Aristotle seems to suggest, when we as members of the audience identify with the tragic hero’s suffering. Pity and fear are “purged” in the process of catharsis. Aeschylus.