31 August, 2022
Hello friends, Here I am going to write a blog on Dryden on Dramatic Poesy. Which is assigned by Dilip Barad sir.
The Act: Dryden on Dramatic Poesie
∆ Do you any difference between Aristotle's definition of Tragedy and Dryden's definition of Play?
Play and Tragedy are literary and theatrical genres that date back to ancient times but are still commonly used in modern forms of entertainment.
Dryden's definition of Play :
The original definition of Play was provided by Dryden,Just and lively image of human nature,representing its passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind.According to the definition, drama is an ‘image’ of ‘human nature’, and the image is ‘just’ and ‘lively’. By using the word ‘just’ Dryden seems to imply that literature imitates human actions.
The first thing is that a play is an image of human nature. It is not a servile copy, it resembles and at the same time differs from human nature. A play is an image of human nature mainly because it represents it's passions and humours, so many human emotions, passions with which a heart throbs and all the intricate subtle psychic processes are to be portrayed.
Here Dryden has explained that emotions or character is expressed through action. The phrase 'change of fortune' refers the plot. Now Aristotle explains drama as an imitation of on action. In his theory, human passions or character is in the background.
On the other hand, Dryden gives importance to the passions and humours though they are revealed through action.
Obviously Dryden's concept at all universality is based on more on psychological realism than the Aristotelian probability.
The original definition of tragedy was provided by Aristotle, who defined tragedy as a form of drama in which the protagonist has a tragic flaw, such as excessive pride. This flaw will cause him to take an action that triggers an unfortunate series of events that will ultimately lead to his own downfall. Typically these protagonists were men of power and stature; the greater the distance the protagonist fell, the greater the tragedy.
According to Aristotle, tragedy has six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and song, of which the first two are primary.
Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery. And life consists of action, and its end is a mode of activity, not a quality. The purpose of action in the tragedy, therefore, is not the representation of character: character comes in as contributing to the action. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of the tragedy; and the end is the chief thing of all.
The aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of the central character, he must be a figure with whom the audience can identify and whose fate can trigger these emotions. Aristotle says that "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves."
In the end, In some way they both are different and in some way they both are similar with each other.
∆ What would be your preference so far as a poetic or prosaic dialogues are concerned in the play?
I would like to go with prosaic dialogues in the play. Because just like in movies, good fiction needs dialogue to engage readers and infuse its story with drama. There's more to the purpose of dialogue, though, than just giving the main players words to say. Through characterization and plot development, dialogue is ultimately a source of critical information in helping readers understand the story.
The way a character speaks can provide a lot of information. Because the characters each have distinctive voices, realistic, well-written dialogue will introduce readers to them in ways that show their most important attributes.
Dialogue benefits narratives in several ways. It theatricality enhances and entertains. It also adds different voices to the story and keeps it fresh. A scene of dialogue can move the plot of a story forward.
Effective dialogue usually includes action, body language, subtext, and the thoughts, opinions, and emotions of the viewpoint character. It’s a powerful, dynamic device that, done right, will draw readers deep into your story.
Example :
Here are examples of dialogues between some characters from the play Macbeth.
Thank you...
