Aristotelian Theatre
ITS Fall 2011
Section 5
12/19/2011
Multiple Truths of the Theater For many people the theatre is merely a means of pure entertainment; its either a comedy, drama, love story, or tragedy that people are attracted to in the theater. Everyone in attendance finds some sort of connection with the events taking place on stage. The events of the stage are not solely just to connect but rather, I believe that there is a deeper, more truthful purpose. I strongly agree with Aristotle’s theory of tragedy in The Poetics, as he argues that “drama is more truthful than history.” Whilst history serves as a means to inform, theatre allows us to act upon the truth of history, allowing theatre-makers such as Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud to reflect these truths through their theoretical texts and plays such as Mother Courage and Her Children and Jet of Blood. In The Poetics, Aristotle distinguishes the differentiation between history and tragedy as he states, “It is, moreover, evident from what has been said, that it is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happen- what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity” (Aristotle, Poetics, XI). History serves as the basis for theatre to exist, giving theatre a platform to exist upon. The separation between history and theatre lies in their purpose; history is narrowly focused on a specific event, whilst theatre broadens and uses the event to create a myriad of possibilities of thoughts, words, and actions. The events that occurred in history may not have been due to a specific happening of events, or a cycle of causes and effects. Due to this, historical events may not be relevant to one another and therefore it is the duty of the theater to propose a connection (cause and effect) of possible events that may have occurred. The deeper purpose for this is for the audience to view themselves within society as part of this cause and effect cycle. Theater-makers keep within the
Section 5
12/19/2011
Multiple Truths of the Theater For many people the theatre is merely a means of pure entertainment; its either a comedy, drama, love story, or tragedy that people are attracted to in the theater. Everyone in attendance finds some sort of connection with the events taking place on stage. The events of the stage are not solely just to connect but rather, I believe that there is a deeper, more truthful purpose. I strongly agree with Aristotle’s theory of tragedy in The Poetics, as he argues that “drama is more truthful than history.” Whilst history serves as a means to inform, theatre allows us to act upon the truth of history, allowing theatre-makers such as Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud to reflect these truths through their theoretical texts and plays such as Mother Courage and Her Children and Jet of Blood. In The Poetics, Aristotle distinguishes the differentiation between history and tragedy as he states, “It is, moreover, evident from what has been said, that it is not the function of the poet to relate what has happened, but what may happen- what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity” (Aristotle, Poetics, XI). History serves as the basis for theatre to exist, giving theatre a platform to exist upon. The separation between history and theatre lies in their purpose; history is narrowly focused on a specific event, whilst theatre broadens and uses the event to create a myriad of possibilities of thoughts, words, and actions. The events that occurred in history may not have been due to a specific happening of events, or a cycle of causes and effects. Due to this, historical events may not be relevant to one another and therefore it is the duty of the theater to propose a connection (cause and effect) of possible events that may have occurred. The deeper purpose for this is for the audience to view themselves within society as part of this cause and effect cycle. Theater-makers keep within the
Cited: Aristotle, and S. H. Butcher. Poetics. New York: Hill and Wang, 1961. Print. Artaud, Antonin. Jet of Blood.Benedict and Walworth Modern French Theatre NY: EP Dutton 1964. pp 222-226. Brecht, Bertolt. A Model for Epic Theater. The Sewanee Review, Vol. 57, No. 3 (Summer, 1949), pp. 425-436 Brecht, Bertolt. Mother Courage and Her Children. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama. W.B. Worthen. Wadsworth, 2011. 523-547. Print. Brecht, Bertolt, and John Willett. Brecht on Theatre: the Development of an Aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang, 1966. Print. Brecht, Bertolt. A Short Organum for the Theatre. New York City: Hill and Wang, 1993. Print. Gaffield-Knight, Richard L. "ANTONIN ARTAUD: IN THEORY, PROCESS AND PRAXIS OR, FOR FUN AND PROPHET." Diss. Graduate School of the State University of New York at Binghamton, 1993. Print.