Poetics and The Iliad

Central to AristotleÆs theory as to the definition of art is his view of catharsis, a process that operates by first exciting and then calming the emotions. Catharsis works to purge the human emotion of morbidity, the subjective, and the purely personal and egotistic element. Tragic drama not only arouses the sympathetic identification of the audience by presenting mimesis, or imitation, of human nature, but also it appeals to the instinct for harmony, harmonia, as well. Aristotle simply believed that the function or art was to depict nature and to interpret or present nature so that man could gain a greater understanding of their world and thereby achieve wisdom and knowledge. According to Bate, ôBeneath

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rifice self for their followers. The Iliad is primarily about the struggle of men to achieve hero status and to demonstrate that they are as capable as the gods are of obtaining glory. The Iliad also maintains the unities of time, space, and place. Likewise, the Iliad demonstrates catharsis, but for Achilles the catharsis stems from his own hamartia. Both Achaeans and Trojans perform daring deeds of great heroism and courage; at the same time, both sides illustrate that underneath a veneer of honor and moral probity lie conflicting attitudes and behaviors. When Patroclus, the best friend of the sulking Achilles, is killed in fair combat by the Trojan, Hector, Achilles is finally aware of the breach of proper behavior and of personal honor that he has committed. He redeems himself by killing Hector, and finds in ôhis own death only a release from the loss of both friend and honorö (Loomis 285). The Iliad also maintains the structure that Aristotle deems mandatory for tragic drama, for it has a beginning, middle, and end, with a climax that ends in catharsis HomerÆs epic ends with Hector mourned by his wife Andromache, his mother Hecuba, and even Helen, to whom he had been kinder than most Trojans, many of whom understanda
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Approximate Word count = 1261
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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