1. “Aristotle’s view on Catharsis”
Name: Neelamba. R. Sarvaiya.
Roll no:24
Sem: 1
Paper-3 Literary theory and
criticism :Western-1
S.B.Gardi English department
M.K. Bhavnagar University.
Year-2013-2014
Guided by: Dilip Barad.

2. Catharsis
Aristotle ‘s view on
Catharsis

3. Aristotle offered a different and
quiet original theory of the
audience’s response to tragic
literature.

4. About the Catharsis:
Aristotle ask the question
Plato gives answer this
question.

5. Aristotle’s
view
Plato’s view

6. Fear…..

7. Pity with joy…

8. Definition of Catharsis
According to Aristotle:
“Aristotle argues that people feel pleasure when
reading tragic literature not because they want to
experience the exact same emotions as the fictional
characters. We don’t read or watch a tragedy because
we enjoy tears, rage, and manic emotions. The
pleasure we take in tragedy is aesthetic. We enjoy
the representation of tragic events because it offers
an ‘artistic taming of the horrible.”
“Tragic literature arouses a very specific set of
emotions-pity and fear-and brings about a
healthy and pleasurable experienced called
Catharsis.”

9. • Tragic
lierature
• Arous
Emotion
Healthy
pleasurable
• Pity
• Fear
• Experience
Catharsis

10. Catharsis’s meanings:
Purgation
Clarification
‘moderating’ of the passion

11. Aristotle writes that the
function of tragedy is to arouse
the emotions of pity and fear,
and to affect the Catharsis of
these emotions.

12. Thank you.