| ARISTOTLE | |
| Aristotle
defined Tragedy as " the imitation of an action that is serious and
also, as having Magnitude, complete in itself, with incidents arousing
Pity and Fear, wherewith to accomplish Catharsis (process of purification)
or such emotions". The philosopher defined COMEDY as well. Unlike
tragedy, comedy deals with common, everyday people and situations.
According to Aristotle, a play should be a unified whole, action should be concentrated in one day and the scene should remain unchanged, therefore keeping the unity of Time, Place and Action. The English playwright responded to the dual pressures of popular and educated audiences. From the early Elizabethan playwrights (Thomas Sackville, Christopher Marlowe , Thomas Kid) to the later dramatists (Shakespeare, Ben Johnson), English drama was able to connect the Senecan emphasis on the supernatural and revenge, to English legends and Aristotelian concepts of tragedy and comedy. |
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