The Poetics of Aristotle constitutes mostly a study of the fundamentals of the art of tragedy leaving comedy out for a variety of reasons of which the most important is that he wanted to take it up in a separate work. The orientation of the Poetics towards tragedy is such that F.L. Lucas's celehrated commentary on it is titled Tragedy. "Tragedy has six constituents. They are plot, character, diction, thought, song and spectacle. Of these, according to Aristotle, the most important is plot. By plot is meant the sequential order or structure of the incidents or the action that is imitated. He defines tragedy in the special context of the overall significance of the plor Tragedy is an imitation not of men, but of an action and of life which consists of action.
Action in Aristotle is not purely extemal act but an actldeed that makes men what they are, but it is by reason of their actions that they are happy or otherwise. Further more, he holds that,,there could not be a tragedy without plot, but there could be one without charac- !sr." The plot is the first principle and the soul of tragedy, iust as the outline of a portrait is more appealing than the flourish of corours. Life consists in action and not qpalities. Character is the sum toul of all the characteristics of dramatic personal. Thecharacters in the play remain distinguished because of this.
Yet their qualities and marks of distinction are subordinate to and less important than their actions which make up plot. Diction is the expression ol'meaning through words or arrangements of verses, modes of utterance or art of delivery. Thought comes out in what the characters say proving a point or giving an opinion, pertaining to the given circumstimces. It is the efl'ect produced by speech Song implies the musical presentation of the story. Spectacle is the totality of whatever things presented on the stage with a visual orientation. Plot, character and thought make up the matter of a tragedy. Diction and song are the media. Spectacle implies the manner of the art of dramaturgy. These elements demand integration for the unity and reality of the play. A play like "Oedipus" not only presents a unified and significant image or reality but in itself a form of reality.
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