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Saturday
May 15, 2004

"Don't Cry for Me" - Aristotle by Peter Cresswell

We all like a good 'weepy.' And we all know about catharsis. We got the idea from Aristotle, who argued that catharsis is the number one reason for enjoying drama. Ayn Rand didn’t agree. Art, she argued, shows us in concrete form what our world-view actually is. But have we got it all wrong? And is it okay to weep at the movies? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (7 messages)

Post 0

Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 5:09am

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Fascinating, Peter. Not much to add, other than to say I enjoyed your piece. I've always thought intellectual clarification and a good sob make for a great night at the movies!

Post 1

Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 2:03pm

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Thanks Cameron. "I've always thought intellectual clarification and a good sob make for a great night at the movies!" Indeed they do. No art/entertainment dichotomies here:-)

As it happens, actor/director Michael Hurst agrees. Talking with him Saturday night after seeing 'Goldie' he affirmed that intellectual clarification and powerful emotion are precisely the point of good drama, and exactly what he enjoys in classic Greek and Shakespearian tragedies.

Of course, it's also the point of good architecture. :-)

(Edited by Peter Cresswell on 5/16, 2:04pm)

Post 2

Monday, June 14, 2004 - 6:37am

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Hi Peter,

Thanks for the insights and bringing to my attention Leon Golden, I look forward to reading his work. What a cool man Aristole must have been.

Michael

Post 3

Monday, November 28 - 7:09am

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Great article!

Post 4

Monday, November 28 - 10:12am

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In a way, am surprised this supposed dichotomy even came up, especially if one is recognising the integrated being, wherein emotions are seen as 'just is', expressions responding to what is viewed in the Arts involved - even if it is wistfulness of 'what might have been'...

Post 5

Monday, November 28 - 10:49am

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Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford) does list a "clarification" definition, but the quote from Aristotle's Poetics is listed separately. It seems (if I've translated it correctly) to refer to tragedy as bringing about, through compassion and fear, the catharsis of sufferings of such a kind (employing an emphatic-such adjective where a "such" adjective might have been expected). If he'd really meant "epiphany" wouldn't he have said so? The cleansing metaphor might have implied "intellectual clarification", in a prophylactic sense, but doesn't seem to stretch that far itself. What's the gist of his argument for that interpretation?

I hadn't noticed Golden's book at Schoenhof's, and just now didn't find books by him either on their website, or at Bolchazy-Carducci, where he is listed as an associate editor. Elsewhere he's reported as having retired. To what Golden book are you referring?

Post 6

Monday, November 28 - 5:05pm

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"To what Golden book are you referring?"

Aristotle on Tragic & Comic Mimesis, by Leon Golden, 1992, American Philological Association, Scholars Press, Georgia

"If he'd really meant "epiphany" wouldn't he have said so?"

That's what Golden says he was saying, and that he's been misinterpreted since.

"The cleansing metaphor might have implied 'intellectual clarification,' in a prophylactic sense, but doesn't seem to stretch that far itself. What's the gist of his argument for that interpretation?"

I've summarised it only very briefly in the article, but some good summaries exist on the net if you want to Google them. And I do recommend the book very highly, where of course you get the full argument - and even if you disagree with Golden's philological detective work, his argument is so startlingly close to Rand's that it's worth consideration.