Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy

Authors

John Morreall, St. John Fisher UniversityFollow

First Page

Inside Cover

Last Page

Inside Cover

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"The paradox tragedy in simple terms may be stated thus: human misery is repulsive to us in real life, yet it somehow pleases us in tragedy. Indeed, tragedy is considered by many to be man's highest art form, and to classify a play as a tragedy is to predicate value of it. Why do we get pleasure from reading or watching drama in which our fellow human beings are portrayed as suffering? If anyone would object that we do not take pleasure in tragedy as in a sizzling steak, let him substitute some other word. Why do we receive satisfaction from tragedy, or why do we want to see tragedy?"

Recommended Citation

Morreall, John (1968) "Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy," The Angle: Vol. 1968: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/angle/vol1968/iss1/2