Introduction
Genres have developed throughout literature’s history, and for many ages, tragedy has established itself as one of the most popular forms. Several authors have drawn from the tragedy genre, including poets, philosophers, and others. This essay discusses how Nietzsche and Aristotle are widely regarded as some of the field’s top specialists in tragedy and how they consider it a critical aesthetic form.
Some of the works written about the nature of tragedy in literature are Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ and Nietzsche’s ‘The Birth of Tragedy.’ Tragedies serve a crucial function as an art form because they allow audiences to release their suppressed feelings through abreaction.
Aristotle’s View on the Essential Nature of Tragedy
In Aristotle’s view, tragedy is best used to illustrate a hero’s fall from glory because of a miscalculation. Unfortunately, the hero often brings about his tragic end by doing some action that puts them in a position of adversity and misery in a turnaround of fortunes, eliciting the audience’s sympathy.
Characters
The tragic hero, the story’s main protagonist, is a defining feature of tragedies (Bröchner, 2022). Since, in normal circumstances, excellent individuals do not face calamities and vice versa, Aristotle argues in ‘Poetics’ that a tragic hero should contain an element of wrong. For Aristotle, a tragic hero is the kind of person who is recognized for some fault (Francis, 2021). This signifies that the person’s fortunes are represented by adversities.
Themes
The reversal of fortune, complete with new hardships, is a common theme in tragedies, and with good reason: it is the best way to make audiences tremble in fear and feel compassion for the protagonists. As a result, a tragedy’s focus should be on the heroic deeds of its protagonists and the various factors that contribute to the tragic ending (MacAllister, 2023).
Plot
It is agreeable with Aristotle that the importance of the tragic form is important since a poet should strive to depict it clearly in writing a tragedy that achieves its purpose. The goal of tragedy is to elicit the thrill that arises from the sentiments of pity and terror. For this to happen, the poet should create a storyline the audience can delve into that would demonstrate that the audience ‘believes’ in the story and the characters. If this is not the case, they will likely lose interest and stop paying attention altogether, hindering any attempts to elicit intense feelings.
Nietzsche’s Perspective on Tragedy as a Vital Artistic Form
Tragedy as the Pinnacle of Human Creativity
Nietzsche believed that tragedy as art was more than a pastime; it was the pinnacle of human creativity. The most famous sentence from the book can be found at the end of chapter five, which sums up the central argument that living in the universe is justified as an artistic manifestation (Yacek & Jonas, 2019). The best attitude toward life and the world is a central theme in Nietzsche’s ‘The Birth of Tragedy.’ He slams the era he lived in, and by extension our own, for being too scientific in its outlook and believing that life and the universe should be viewed solely as something to be studied.
The Role of Tragic Art in Imbuing Life with Meaning
Knowledge and rationality cannot validate life and the world; thus, Nietzsche concludes that living is useless. According to Nietzsche, tragedy art is the only way to give meaning to a person’s life (Huddleston, 2020). In particular, the tragic elements of art, music, and literature take readers beyond philosophy and reason. Life and the world acquire significance not as facts to be known but as aesthetic encounters. The meaning and value of existence can only be grasped through artistic expression rather than in the greater context of life.
The Limits of Rationality in Understanding Tragedy
As Nietzsche comprehends, Socratic rationality is incompatible with Greek tragedy. In contrast to Socrates’ insistence that people can only become fully human if they become entirely logical, tragedy’s power comes from revealing the depths underneath the reasoning veneer. Ever since Socrates, philosophers have used reason to try to uncover the truth (Yacek & Jonas, 2019). Nietzsche implies that ideology is a fruitless endeavor because it lacks the depth to deal with the complexities of the human condition. To him, real wisdom is not something a person’s rational brain can figure out. People might obtain true insight via Dionysian self-dissolution in tragedy, fiction, and song. They want a myth alongside reality to help them cope and understand it.
The Evolution of Greek Tragedy and Its Dionysian Roots
Greek tragedy developed from religious ceremonies, including a chorus of musicians and dancers. It took its final form when two or more performers distinguished themselves from the melody as tragic performers. Some academics assume that the chorus in a Greek tragedy represents the ‘ideal spectator.’ It is agreeable with Nietzsche that they represent the primitive unity attained by the Dionysian. The downfall of a tragic hero means the death of the self, which is then reabsorbed into the primordial Dionysian unity (Huddleston, 2020). The hero’s demise in Greek tragedy is not a destructive act but a creative assertion of life via art because of the Dionysian rites of song and dance that are given form by the Apollonian inclinations of Greek tragedians.
Conclusion
Tragedies have an important role as a form of art because they enable audiences to release their pent-up emotions. If a poet wants to write a tragedy that succeeds, they should agree with Aristotle that the form has significance and work to portray it accurately. Regardless of how well-organized a poet’s tirades describing characters are in terms of language and logic, they will fail to serve tragedy’s purpose if they are simply strung together. Rather than the larger context of life, Nietzsche believes the significance and value of existence can be understood through art.
References
Bröchner, J. (2022). Project tragedies. International Journal of Project Management, 40(5), 467-470. Web.
Francis, H. (2021). Aristotle’s Poetics and aesthetic design. TechTrends, 65(5), 686-688. Web.
Huddleston, A. (2020). Nietzsche’s aesthetics. Philosophy Compass, 15(11), 1-10. Web.
MacAllister, J. (2023). Moral learning through tragedy in Aristotle and Force Majeure. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 57(1), 1-18. Web.
Yacek, D. W., & Jonas, M. E. (2019). The problem of student disengagement: Struggle, escapism and Nietzsche’s birth of tragedy. Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 26(1), 64-87. Web.