Answering the question of What Is The Function of Art.
Aristotle explains the paradox of tragedy with his doctrine of catharsis, which states that tragedy provokes emotions of pity and fear to the extent that they are purged from the individual, who takes pleasure in that purgation.
THE CATHARSIS THEORY:
(VI) [Definition of tragedy. Six elements in tragedy. Plot, or the representation of the action, is of primary importance; character and thought come next in order.]
Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions.
Thought and character are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions again all success or failure depends.
Every tragedy must have six parts, which parts determine its quality-namely, Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Song.
But most important of these six is the Plot: the structure of the incidents. For tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action.
Plot is the first principle, and, as if were, the soul of a tragedy: Character holds the second place. Thus, Tragedy is the imitation of an action, and the agents mainly with a view to the action.
Third in order is Thought,-that is, the faculty of saying what is possible and pertinent in given circumstances. Character is that which reveals moral purpose, showing what kind of things a man chooses or avoids.
Fourth among the elements enumerated comes Diction; by which I mean the expression of the meaning in words; and is the same both in verse and prose.
(VII) [The plot must be a whole, complete in itself, and of adequate magnitude.]
A beautiful object must not only have an orderly arrangement of parts, but must also be of a certain magnitude; for beauty depends on magnitude and order.
In the plot, a certain length is necessary, and a length which can be easily embraced by the memory.
(VIII) [The plot must be a unity. Unity of plot consists not in the unity of hero, but in unity of action. The parts must be organically connected.]
Unity of plot does not consist in the unity of the hero. For infinitely various are the incidents in one man's life which cannot be reduced to unity; and so, too, there are many actions of one man out of which we cannot make one action.
(IX) [(Plot continued.) Dramatic unity can be attained only by the observance of poetic as distinct from historic truth: for poetry is an expression of the universal; history of the particular. The rule of probable or necessary sequence as applied to the incidents. The best tragic effect depends on the combination of the inevitable and the unexpected.]
It is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happened--what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity.
Poetry is a more philosophical and a higher thing than history for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular. By the universal Aristotle means how a person of a certain type will on occasion speak or act; and it is this universality at which poetry aims in the names she attaches to the personages.
It clearly follows that the poet or "maker" should be the maker of plots rather than of verses; since he is a poet because he imitates, and what he imitates are actions. Tragedy is an imitation not only of a complete action, but of events inspiring fear or pity.
(XIII) [(Plot continued.) What constitutes tragic action. The change of fortune and the character of the hero as requisite to an ideal tragedy. The unhappy ending more truly tragic than the "poetic justice" which is in favor with a popular audience, and belongs rather to comedy.]
A perfect tragedy should be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plan. It should imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation. Pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves.
(XIV) [(Plot continued.) The tragic emotions of pity and fear should spring out of the plot itself. To produce them by scenery or spectacular effect is entirely against the spirit of tragedy.]
The plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes place.
(XV) [The element of character in tragedy. The rule of necessity or probability applicable to character as to plot. The "deus ex machina." How character is idealized.]
In respect of Character there are four things to be aimed at. First, and most important, it must be good. The second thing to aim at is propriety. Thirdly, character must be true to life: for this is a distinct thing from goodness and propriety. The fourth point is consistency: for though the subject of the imitation, who suggested the type, be inconsistent, still he must be consistently inconsistent.
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