Abstract
Aristotle distinguishes “complex” from “simple” tragedy, arguing that the defining structure of complex tragedy—peripeteia and anagnorisis generating catharsis—is what makes it complex. Catharsis, he insists, is the purpose of tragedy. His notion of a protagonist as someone neither too great nor too small: that is, someone like ourselves, is also crucial to understanding why complex tragedy is superior.
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Notes
Aristotle, “The Art of Poetry,” in Selections from Seven of the Most Important Books, trans. Philip Wheelwright (New York: Odyssey Press, 1935, 1951), 303.
Heinrich von Kleist, Michael Kohlhaas, in The Marquise of O- and Other Stories, trans. David Luke and Nigel Reeves (London and New York: Penguin Books, 1978).
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© 2014 Ben La Farge
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La Farge, B. (2014). Complex Tragedy. In: The Logic of Wish and Fear: New Perspectives on Genres of Western Fiction. Palgrave Pivot, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137465689_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137465689_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, New York
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