ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -“Most important of all, ” Aristotle said, “is the structure of the incidents. For tragedy is an imitation not of men but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality.” Aristotle considered the plot to be the soul of a tragedy, with character in second place.

Detailed explanation-2: -The most important of the six components of the tragedy, the plot is the representation of human action. Plots can be simple or complex; Aristotle clearly indicates that complex plots are required for successful tragedies.

Detailed explanation-3: -According to Aristotle, tragedy has six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle (scenic effect), and song (music), of which the first two are primary.

Detailed explanation-4: -So in a Tragedy the plot should depict a hero passing from happiness to misery and not the other way round. A tragedy with happy ending or flippant action will not arouse the emotions of pity and fear which is according to Aristotle, the specific function of Tragedy.

Detailed explanation-5: -Aristotle divides tragedy into six different parts, ranking them in order from most important to least important as follows: (1) mythos, or plot, (2) character, (3) thought, (4) diction, (5) melody, and (6) spectacle. The first essential to creating a good tragedy is that it should maintain unity of plot.