In Chapter 13,Poetics, Aristotle talks about what makes a tragedy's story and its main character really powerful. He believes that the best tragedy makes people feel pity and fear, which helps them to release those feelings, a process he calls catharsis. Aristotle points out that a character's downfall should come from a mistake or weakness (hamartia) instead of being purely evil. He says that a tragic hero should be someone who isn't completely good, and their bad luck comes from their own flaws, not from bad intentions. This means a tragic hero is a person who messes up because of their human weaknesses. If a totally good person goes through tough times, the audience might feel awkward instead of sympathetic. On the other hand, if the person in trouble is bad, the audience probably won't feel sorry for them, but rather a sense of satisfaction.
Aristotle's idea of hamartia is really important. It shows that tragedy is about human mistakes instead of just evil actions. We feel for the characters because it proves that even good people can mess up if they make bad decisions. This also scares us because it makes us realize that it could happen to anyone, even us. To make his point, Aristotle talks about Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. Oedipus is a good king who wants to help his people, but he makes a huge mistake because he doesn't know who he really is. When he finds out the truth, everything falls apart for him. His story fits perfectly with what Aristotle says about true tragedy: Oedipus isn't a bad person, but he suffers because of a wrong choice. In the end, Aristotle shows that the best tragedies feature mostly good characters who face disaster because of their own mistakes. These stories hit us hard and remind us how fragile life can be. Even though his words are old-fashioned, Aristotle's ideas remain constant and can be adapted to the present situations and conditions.
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