1.

Peripety and discovery:-

In his poetics, Aristotle introduces the concepts of peripety and discovery in his discussion of simple and
complex plots. Aristotle makes a distinction between the complex and simple plots. A simple plot, he
says, is one in which the change of fortune occurs without any sudden Reversals (Peripety) or
Discoveries (Anagnorisis). The complex plot is one in which there is Peripety or Angnorisis or both
together. Aristotle clearly indicates that the complex plot is the better one . In this connection, Aristotle
introduces three important concepts. The first, “peripety” (peripeteia), refers to a sudden reversal, a
turning point in the action of the plot. Probably all effective drama involves some form of reversal.
Peripeteia is also known as the turning point, the place in which the tragic protagonist’s fortune changes
from good to bad. This literary device is meant to surprise the audience, but is also meant to follow as a
result of a character’s previous actions or mistakes. According to Aristotle, peripeteia is the single most
important and powerful element of plot in a tragedy. Peripeteia is meant to cause fear and pity in the
audience upon witnessing the tragic twist of fate which abruptly ruins the life of the protagonist.
Peripeteia provides plays, poems, novels, movies, and television shows with a dark moment when the
plot twists and the protagonist’s life changes forever. Antony’s loss at the battle of Actium, in
Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, would be just one example.

Discovery, says Aristotle, is a transition from ignorance to knowledge. A part of the complex plot,
it can occur either by itself, or in combination with peripety. Discovery may be of the identity of certain
persons. Or it may concern things, or situations. When it concerns persons, it brings about a complete
change in attitude between them; it produces love or hate between them. Both peripety and anagnorisis
are capable of producing tragic emotions of pity and fear. It refers to a moment of acquisition of
knowledge, when the hero suddenly becomes aware of the reality of his situation. In Shakespeare’s King
Lear, for example, when Lear realizes that he has ill-treated and misjudged his loyal daughter, Cordelia,
that is a moment of Aristotelian anagnorisis, as is the moment in Shakespeare’s Othello, when Othello
realizes that Iago is not the loyal aide Othello took him to be.

2. Mimesis:-
It is argued that Plato and Aristotle attribute different meanings to the term ‘mimesis’. Plato considers
‘mimesis’ in ethical and political context, Aristotle uses ‘mimesis’ as an aesthetic phenomenon. They
both agree that poetry is mimetic but they have different idea about poetry and ‘mimesis’. In his theory
of Mimesis, Plato says that all art is mimetic by nature; art is an imitation of life. He believed that ‘idea’
is the ultimate reality. Art imitates idea and so it is imitation of reality. So to Plato, philosophy is superior
to poetry. Plato rejected poetry as it is mimetic in nature on the moral and philosophical grounds. On
the contrary, Aristotle advocated poetry as it is mimetic in nature. According to him, poetry is an
imitation of an action and his tool of enquiry is neither philosophical nor moral. He examines poetry as a
piece of art and not as a book of preaching or teaching. Aristotle rejected Plato’s metaphysics and its
built-in value theory. Aristotle recognized imitation as the essential component in human growth,
education, and various artistic activities. For example, Aristotle argued, contrary to Plato, that the arts
have a certain healing power because they are imaginative, and that the healing (catharsis) of tragedy is
generated only because they are imitative and detached from reality.

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 3. Cathersis:-
Catharsis is a metaphor used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of true tragedy on the
spectator. The use is derived from the medical term katharsis (Greek: “purgation” or “purification”).
Aristotle states that the purpose of tragedy is to arouse “fear and pity” and thereby effect the catharsis
of these emotions. Aristotle has nowhere explained the term comprehensively, and his exact meaning
has been the subject of critical debate over the centuries. The term in drama refers to sudden emotional
breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great sorrow, pity, laughter any extreme
change in emotion that results in the restoration, renewal and revitalization for living. Romeo and
Juliet is a great example of a tragedy, and its popularity might be explained by the idea of catharsis. In
the end, the young lovers end up dead because they made the mistake of following their childish
passions instead of being rational and patient. As an audience, we feel sympathy and pity for Romeo and
Juliet, but we may also feel some relief at the end due to the effects of catharsis.

4. Carpenter is more closer to reality than poet- why?

In his theory of Mimesis, Plato says that all art is mimetic by nature; art is an imitation of life. He
believed that ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality. Art imitates idea and so it is imitation of reality. He gives an
example of a carpenter and a chair. The idea of ‘chair’ first came in the mind of carpenter. He gave
physical shape to his idea out of wood and created a chair. The painter imitated the chair of the
carpenter in his picture of chair. Thus, painter’s chair is twice removed from reality. Hence, he believed
that art is twice removed from reality. He gives first importance to philosophy as philosophy deals with
the ideas whereas poetry deals with illusion – things which are twice removed from reality. So to Plato,
philosophy is superior to poetry. Plato rejected poetry as it is mimetic in nature on the moral and
philosophical grounds. Plato thus opines that artist or poet takes man away from reality rather than
towards it. Thus artist deals in illusion.

5. A soul “bewailing his fate, leaving manliness”- Plato’s conception of

poetry.
In Book III of Plato’s Republic, Socrates continues his discussion of poetry. He asserts that poetry ought
to dispel the fear of death, not encourage it. For example, he criticizes Homer’s portrayal of Achilles in
the underworld. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus meets Achilles in the underworld. Achilles tells Odysseus
that he “would rather be a serf on the land of a poor man than rule over all the dead.” Socrates argues
that this type of attitude will cultivate a fear of death in the minds of young men who read Homer’s
Odyssey. Next, Socrates turns his attention to the poets’ portrayal of the gods. Again, Socrates finds fault
with Homer. Homer depicts the gods’ behaviour as capricious, cruel, and petty. Socrates contends that
men will find justification for their wickedness in these types of portrayals. If the gods behave in such an
unvirtuous manner, then men will not feel ashamed about their own shortcomings and will not pursue a
virtuous life. Socrates requires that poets present the gods as models of virtue – models that men desire
to imitate. What Plato wants to mean is that the underworld should not be portrayed as a bad place so
that the guardians will not be too afraid of death. The heroes and gods should not be presented
lamenting so that the guardians can develop courage. The underlying assumption is that since gods, can
do no wrong, stories that describe them engaging in wrong doing must of course be false. These stories
are omitted so that children are not harmed or wrongly taught by falsehoods.

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