Oedipus, one of the main examples of tragedy given by Aristotle
Aristotle writes in Poetics of the philosophical hierarchy of poetry, especially tragedy, compared to that of history. He argues this is because "poetry tends to express the universal," meaning it can portray a specific example yet it is relative to many people. A complex plot of poetry should contain a reversing fortune, like good to bad, and characters that have recognition, but not thorough recognition, of each other and their changing fortunes. One of the more superior types of poetry, tragedy, should inspire fear or pity because the tragedy occurs for a fortunately average man, who has inherited unmerited misfortune. Because it appeals to men of various classes and follows in an order that still inspires awe when the events, which have been previously told, still shock the audience, Aristotle argues that tragedy is a one of the superior forms of poetry.
Aristotle writes about a man's fortune changing from one opposite to the other, even though the man may not have done anything particularly right or wrong, or good or bad. "It should come about as the result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty," meaning that a character who has stumbled upon misfortune, in the case of a tragedy. These ideas are opposed by those of John Smith, who advocated man's agency. Only almost-supernatural misfortunes and blessings were attributed to God or Fortune. Other than those, every man lived for himself, like the beliefs of Darwinism; good would happen to those who worked hard, while setbacks would pry open the doors to the souls of those who didn't or acted disorderly.
How are all the parts of a Tragedy, like the Prologue, Episode, Exode, and Choric Song, relevant to what Aristotle argues about tragedies?
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