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Diction In Aristotle's Play Bacchae

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Other components that make up a great plot for Bacchae is the inclusions of the other elements that help to create a tragedy. The characters are what makes up the second most important aspect of the tragedy Bacchae. Now when I say character, I don’t mean who the actors are playing but more the moral qualities of the characters. The characters were created to depict morals which helps the viewers understand the idea of representation of the tragedy. What Aristotle believes is “The moral character is what reveals the nature of the people’s fundamental options; that is why there is no such thing in speeches in which the speaker reveals no choice or rejection” (Aristotle, 22). Thought is another element that helps the audiences get the sense …show more content…

For a well written play to be considered a tragedy such as Bacchae, a tragedy should be able to “Express thoughts into words, an effect that can be produced into either a prose or verse” (Aristotle, 27). For a tragedy to have good diction, the language should be fitting to the characters morals, and personalities. Otherwise, if the diction doesn’t go along with the tone of the play or doesn’t go along with how a character should talk, then its considered a bad use of diction within a play, and can affect the viewers opinions about the play (Aristotle, …show more content…

Aristotle believes that a tragedy shouldn’t fully rely on the staging aspect, “Staging can be emotionally attractive, but it is not a matter of art and is not integral to poetry” (Aristotle, 27). Although the aesthetics of the Bacchae should be top notch in order for a true understanding of mimesis, Aristotle believes “The power of tragedy can be exercised without actors and without a performance. Staging belongs to the scene-painter’s art than to that of the poets” (Aristotle, 28). If we look back at the setting and staging of Euripides Bacchae, we could see that it’s not over the top, but has the basics needed to understand the plot and the different locations where the play takes place. For Pentheus’ palace, there is a wooden faced along the back side which is used to as the center back drop. Along with the back drop, there are also columns to help support a structure known as a entablature. On one side of the stage, the viewers can see a tomb and the ruins of a house all cover in vines, which as the audience knows was Dionysus’ doing. This is representative of Dionysus’ mother Semele house where she lived and where she is currently buried. And lastly, to show the characters such as the “stranger” and Pentheus going off to visit the maenads at the mountain top, the characters would make an exit towards stage left. And the exit

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