Meet Aristotle
Before we begin our discussion with Aristotle, let me formally introduce him and give you a brief background on him. He was born in 384 B.C. He grew up in an educated family, with his father being the personal physician to the king. When he was 18 he went to Athens to continue his education at Plato's Academy, where he stayed for 20 years until Plato died. Because of his schooling, Aristotle is very learned in all aspects of life: science, politics, medicine, and physics, just to name a few. For our theater discussion, or rhetoric and poets as Aristotle wrote, we are just going to focus on things relative to theater. Aristotle has already composed one book about Tragedies. I am sure he can help us answer any questions we may have.
Discussion
Before I turn the time completely to Aristotle, I wanted to remind everyone what Aristotle's six elements of theater are. These are important for the discussion today.
1. Plot
2. Character
3. Thought
4. Diction
5. Music
6. Spectacle
Please keep these in mind as you formulate your questions. Now, I turn the time over to Aristotle.
(Clapping)
Aristotle: Hello. I am happy to be with all of you today to discuss my thoughts about theater, as I have studied for years on such matters. We can simply have a standard question and answer format. Please. Let us begin.
Question: Mr. Aristotle, which of the six elements is the most important?
Aristotle: "The most important of the six is the combination of the incidents of the story. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of activity, not a quality. Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions—what we do—that we are happy or the reverse. In a play accordingly they do not act in order to portray the Characters; they include the Characters for the sake of the action. So that it is the action in it, i.e. its Fable or Plot, that is the end and purpose of the tragedy; and the end is everywhere the chief thing. Besides this, a tragedy is impossible w Aristotle: "The most important of the six is the combination of the incidents of the story. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of activity, not a quality. Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions—what we do—that we are happy or the reverse. In a play accordingly they do not act in order to portray the Characters; they include the Characters for the sake of the action. So that it is the action in it, i.e. its Fable or Plot, that is the end and purpose of the tragedy; and the end is everywhere the chief thing. Besides this, a tragedy is impossible without action, but there may be one without Character.ithout action, but there may be one without Character."Question: If the plot is first, what comes second?
Aristotle: "The characters come second--compare the parallel in painting, where the most beautiful colours laid on without order will not give one the same pleasure as a simple black-and-white sketch or a portrait."
Question: Where we come from, the spectacle is huge. It refers to more than just costumes, but lighting and special effects. What is spectacle in Greek theater?
Aristotle: "It is the least artistic of all parts and is least likely to do with the art of poetry. The spectacle is more a matter for the costumier than the poet."
Question: What is the difference between thought and diction?
Aristotle: "Thought is the power of saying whatever can be said, or what is appropriate to the occasion... (It) is shown in all (the actors) say when proving or disproving a certain point. Diction is the expression of their thoughts in words, which is practically the same things with verse as with prose."
Question: Aristotle, why do you find theater and poetics so important?
Aristotle: "Poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular."
Question: If I want to be a good poet, what do I need to do?
Aristotle: "The plot must be not simple but complex; and further, that it must imitate actions arousing fear and pity, since that is the distctive function of this kind of imitaion. It follows, therefore, that there are three forms of Plot to be avoided. (1) A good man mush not be seen passing from happiness to misery, or (2) a bad man from misery to happiness. The first situation is not fear-inspiring or piteous, but simply odious to us. The second is the most untragic that can be; it has no one of the requisites of Tragedy; it does not appeal either to human feeling in us, or to our pity, or our fears. Nor, on the other hand, should (3) an extremely baad man be seen falling from happiness into misery. Such a story may arouse the human feeling in us, but it will not move us to either pity of fear."
Question: Then how do I move the audience to pity or fear?
Aristotle: "Pity is occasioned by undeserved fortune, and fear by that of one like ourselves. The perfect Plot must have a single, and not (as some tell us) a double issue."
Aristotle: I need to further my research in other areas of study now and fear I must leave you. In closing, "so much for Tragedy and Epic poetry--for these two arts in general and their species; the number and nature of their constituent parts; the causes of success and failure in them; the Objections of the critics, and the Solution in answer to them." Farewell.
1. Plot
2. Character
3. Thought
4. Diction
5. Music
6. Spectacle
Please keep these in mind as you formulate your questions. Now, I turn the time over to Aristotle.
(Clapping)
Aristotle: Hello. I am happy to be with all of you today to discuss my thoughts about theater, as I have studied for years on such matters. We can simply have a standard question and answer format. Please. Let us begin.
Question: Mr. Aristotle, which of the six elements is the most important?
Aristotle: "The most important of the six is the combination of the incidents of the story. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of activity, not a quality. Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions—what we do—that we are happy or the reverse. In a play accordingly they do not act in order to portray the Characters; they include the Characters for the sake of the action. So that it is the action in it, i.e. its Fable or Plot, that is the end and purpose of the tragedy; and the end is everywhere the chief thing. Besides this, a tragedy is impossible w Aristotle: "The most important of the six is the combination of the incidents of the story. Tragedy is essentially an imitation not of persons but of action and life, of happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of activity, not a quality. Character gives us qualities, but it is in our actions—what we do—that we are happy or the reverse. In a play accordingly they do not act in order to portray the Characters; they include the Characters for the sake of the action. So that it is the action in it, i.e. its Fable or Plot, that is the end and purpose of the tragedy; and the end is everywhere the chief thing. Besides this, a tragedy is impossible without action, but there may be one without Character.ithout action, but there may be one without Character."Question: If the plot is first, what comes second?
Aristotle: "The characters come second--compare the parallel in painting, where the most beautiful colours laid on without order will not give one the same pleasure as a simple black-and-white sketch or a portrait."
Question: Where we come from, the spectacle is huge. It refers to more than just costumes, but lighting and special effects. What is spectacle in Greek theater?
Aristotle: "It is the least artistic of all parts and is least likely to do with the art of poetry. The spectacle is more a matter for the costumier than the poet."
Question: What is the difference between thought and diction?
Aristotle: "Thought is the power of saying whatever can be said, or what is appropriate to the occasion... (It) is shown in all (the actors) say when proving or disproving a certain point. Diction is the expression of their thoughts in words, which is practically the same things with verse as with prose."
Question: Aristotle, why do you find theater and poetics so important?
Aristotle: "Poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular."
Question: If I want to be a good poet, what do I need to do?
Aristotle: "The plot must be not simple but complex; and further, that it must imitate actions arousing fear and pity, since that is the distctive function of this kind of imitaion. It follows, therefore, that there are three forms of Plot to be avoided. (1) A good man mush not be seen passing from happiness to misery, or (2) a bad man from misery to happiness. The first situation is not fear-inspiring or piteous, but simply odious to us. The second is the most untragic that can be; it has no one of the requisites of Tragedy; it does not appeal either to human feeling in us, or to our pity, or our fears. Nor, on the other hand, should (3) an extremely baad man be seen falling from happiness into misery. Such a story may arouse the human feeling in us, but it will not move us to either pity of fear."
Question: Then how do I move the audience to pity or fear?
Aristotle: "Pity is occasioned by undeserved fortune, and fear by that of one like ourselves. The perfect Plot must have a single, and not (as some tell us) a double issue."
Aristotle: I need to further my research in other areas of study now and fear I must leave you. In closing, "so much for Tragedy and Epic poetry--for these two arts in general and their species; the number and nature of their constituent parts; the causes of success and failure in them; the Objections of the critics, and the Solution in answer to them." Farewell.
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