Tragedy

OBJ: To explore the idea of hamartia and to develop our ideas about Macbeth as a contemporary audience. 

Aristotle's Definition of tragedy:

 “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions.”

Characters in tragedy should have the following qualities:

1. 'good' or 'fine.' Aristotle relates this quality to moral purpose and says it is relative to class: "even a woman may be good, and also a slave, though the woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless."
2.  'fitness of character'; e.g valour is appropriate for a warrior but not for a woman.
3. 'true to life' or realistic
4. 'consistency'; Once a character's personality and motivations are established, these should continue throughout the play.
5. 'necessary or probable.' Characters must be logically constructed according to 'the law of probability or necessity' that governs the actions of the play.
6. 'true to life and yet more beautiful'