Aristotle and the Paradox of Tragedy

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The Angle Volume 1968 Issue 1 Article 2 1968 Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy John Morreall St. John Fisher College Follow this and additional works at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/angle Part of the Creative Writing Commons How has open access to Fisher Digital Publications benefited ou?y Recommended Citation Morreall, John (1968) "Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy," The Angle: Vol. 1968 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/angle/vol1968/iss1/2 This document is posted at https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/angle/vol1968/iss1/2 and is brought to you for free and open access by Fisher Digital Publications at St. John Fisher College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy 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?" Cover Page Footnote Appeared in the issue: 1968. This prose is available in The Angle: https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/angle/vol1968/iss1/2 Morreall: Aristotle And The Paradox Of Tragedy Published by Fisher Digital Publications, 1968 1 The Angle, Vol. 1968, Iss. 1 [1968], Art. 2 https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/angle/vol1968/iss1/2 2.

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