Poetics

“Every tragedy consists in tying and Untying of a knot.” a polymath and a philosopher Aristotle was one of the greatest minds of his time. Aristotle’s poetics written in 335 BC is one of the foremost and most notable treatises on literary theory and it focuses on the tragic element in drama and poetry. With examples from Aeschylus Sophocles and Euripides – The three greatest tragic playwrights Aristotle explains the six elements of a tragedy which evoke fear and pity in man thus resulting in catharsis and altered behaviour to avoid a similar fate as the tragic hero. A perusal of poetics will enhance the understanding of dramatic tragedy and therefore perceiving classic drama in a new light.