The Relation between Seneca’s Hercules Furens and Aristotle’s Poetics E

The Relation between Senecas Hercules Furens and Aristotles Poetics The enwrapped of this paper is to discuss Senecas Hercules Furens in relation to Aristotles comment of tragedy as outlined in the Poetics. It begins by discussing char put to worker, and attempts to determine the reputation of Hercules error (a(marti/a).11 The paper then discusses matters of plot (muqoj), attempting to determine the degree to which Hercules Furens meets Aristotles requirements for good tragedy in this regard. According to Aristotle, the beaver tragedy evokes feelings of solicitude and pity.22 Since characters in a tragedy must perform action (pracij), it follows that the best tragedy must contain some action that is repugnant (mia&ron) or terrible, so as to inspire pity and fear.33 In Hercules Furens this action is Hercules finish up of his wife and children. present, as a result of his madness, Hercules commits a repulsive act in ignorance of what he does, which according to Aristotle is bett er than to act with knowledge of the evilness of the act (he gives Medeas murder of her children as an example). The very best tragedy, however, is sensation in which the character is ignorant of the repulsive act he is around to commit, yet becomes aware of that act just in time to forbear from committing it. Obviously this last is not the case with Hercules, and on that pointfore Aristotle would count Senecas tragedy as belonging to the second best type (like Sophocles Oedipus).However, there is a second action of this sort that occurs at end of the play, when Hercules intends to murder himself. It occurs just as Hercules is about to carry out the act of suicide. Here Amphitrion also threatens to kill himself should Hercules die aut vivis aut occidis (1308), eithe... ... 10.10 Poet. 1452a25-30.11 Poet. 1452a20-25.12 Poet. 1452a30.13 Poet. 1452a25.14 Lawall (1983) 10 argues that the final act, not the madness, is the confessedly dramatic climax of the play.Works CitedAristo tles Poetics. Trans. Apostle, H. G., E. A. Dobbs, and M. A. Parslow. Grinell, IA The Peripatetic Press 1990.Lawall, Gibert. Virtus and Pietas in Senecas Hercules Furens. Senecan Tragedy. Spec. issue of Ramus 12.1-2 (1983) 6-26.Motto, A. L. and J. R. Clark. Maxima Virtus in Senecas Hercules Furens. real linguistics 76 (1981) 101-17.Additional Works ConsultedMotto, A. L. and J. R. Clark. The Monster in Senecas Hercules Furens 926-939. Classical Philology 89 (1994) 269-72.Rose, A. R. Senecas Dawn Song (Hercules Furens, 125-58) and the Imagery of cosmic Disruption. Latomus 44.1 (1985) 101-23.