Erica Gamester - Nature of Art: Aristotle



Nature of Art: Aristotle

In the second chapter of “The Nature of Art,” Aristotle’s perspective of art is presented. Similar to Plato, Aristotle contends that art is representative or imitative of some sort of immortal form. The introduction establishes that Aristotle will be arguing from a teleological perspective, seeking the goal or objective of art by analyzing the various mediums. Specifically, this reading focuses on the function and essence of Greek drama.

Greek tragedy contains six elements: plot structure, character, style, thought, spectacle, and lyric poetry. Epic and lyric poetry is utilized in order to create “garnished” language as described in the reading. Emphasis is placed on the style and dramatic presentation of this narrative, eliciting a purging or “katharsis” of emotion. This dramatic caricature of action and dialogue reproduces emotion over and over again through the repetition of performance. Hence, this recurring generation of emotion is also a form of artistic imitation.

While the first record of Greek tragedy approximately occurred in 500 BC, this dramatized style is inadvertently comparable to modern events. For example, Princess Diana was a humanitarian with widespread popularity due to his philanthropic efforts. Despite her divorce from Prince Charles and her struggles with bulimia and depression, she persisted as a prominent figure in the media. While attempting to escape the paparazzi, Princess Diana was involved in a car accident and passed away at the hospital hours later. While devastating and unique in its own perspective, this series of events mimics traditional structure of Greek tragedy.


If everything is a copy of a copy, is there anything unique or profound to be analyzed in art?  Is the end goal of drama/tragedy to elicit emotion repeatedly? How can emotion affect motivation?

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