Concept of tragedy of Aristotle

 

What, in the opinion of Aristotle should be the action f a tragedy which you find in Aeschylus' Agamemnon?

 

Ans. The action of a tragedy, in the opinion of Aristotle, must be grave, noble and solemn. He also mentions the essential qualities of the protagonist of the play.

 

Agamemnon is a drama which has creditably stood the test of time. It is very rightly said about Agamemnon that Aeschylus has very successfully wielded the chisel of a Titan to curve a mountain into a gigantic statue. He has created a series of great situations in his play and blended them into a single action. A single theme has united all the three plays into single unit. Critics consider Agamemnon a masterpiece which offer a tragic grandeur, not to be surpassed by any great master until now.

 

Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and Cassandra are all tragic characters. Agamemnon as the supreme commander of the Greek Army seems to be superhuman figure cast in the heroic mould. In the opinion of Aristotle, in a tragedy a good man should not be seen passing from happiness to misery and a bad man from misery to happiness. Agamemnon is neither an unblemished good man nor an unmitigated villain. He has been ripped apart between love for his daughter Iphigenia and national duty. Clytemnestra being an adulteress, her tragedy does not have that much impact, but her indomitable resolution is awe inspiring. She slew both her husband and his mistress to satisfy the spirit of her beloved daughter.

 

Agamemnon therefore, fulfils all the conditions of a powerful tragedy in full conformity with the definition of Tragedy by Aristotle.