Katharsis In Medea, King Lear, And All My Sons - 882 Words

Poetics, by Aristotle, addresses each part of a tragedy and its significance, including katharsis. The main purpose of a tragedy is to provoke pity or fear in the reader or audience, then a kommos occurs, a song of lamentation, and the katharsis happens subsequently. The katharsis is a cleansing or purge from those feelings of pity or fear, as the character whom faces tragedy from their faulty, laments. Kommos creates katharsis through the death of children in the tragedies Medea, King Lear, and All My Sons. All three plays follow Poetics’ guidelines, regarding the inclusion of katharsis and the tragic event inspiring katharsis, to be among family members. However, each play approaches the aspect of katharsis differently, because of†¦show more content†¦Aristotle also expresses the fact that the tragic act that occurs is best to occur in a family to generate more impactful feelings of katharsis. Poetics’ outline of katharsis, kommos, and the impact of a tragic event occurring between family members are all aspects of tragedy that can be seen in Medea, King Lear, and All My Sons. In the tragedy Medea, Jason is faced with realization of the death of his twin sons who were killed by their, mother, Medea; he falls into agony as he laments, inspiring a katharsis in the reader. Jason cheated on Medea, assuming that it was okay with her, saying, â€Å"†¦I/ Grew tired of your bed and felt the need for a new bride† (18). Jason desired a bride of title so that his current children and future children could be brought up â€Å"worthily† (26). He betrayed his family and Medea’s love for another woman, causing Medea began to seek revenge. She decides to do two acts: kill her husband’s fiancà ©e and kill her own sons. â€Å"†¦I shall kill my own children. /My children, there is none who can give them safety,† Medea expresses, as she plots her plan (26). Jason is unaware of this act that his wife is ready to commit. No longer does he have a fiancà ©e, but now he has lost his heirs to the kingdom. The tragic act occurring among family members, happens in Medea, which was highlighted in Poetics. The death of Medea and Jason’s sons leads to Jason’s