DRAMA 201: World Drama I (2008)

The outline of Judith Butler’s theory that I gave in class was necessarily abridged and simplified. You can read the article yourself for a more detailed argument: Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” Theatre Journal, Vol 4. No. 4 (Dec 1988), p. 519-531). The article is available through JSTOR, which you can access via the Library’s e-resources, or by clicking here (this link may not work off campus): Butler article

From The Poetics
“Tragedy is a representation of a serious, complete action which has magnitude, in embellished speech, with each of its elements [used] separately in the [various] parts [of the play]; [represented] by people acting and not by narration; accomplishing by means of pity and terror the catharsis of such emotions”

Here are the two quotations we discussed in class:

From The Poetics:
“Comedy is the imitation of people who are rather inferior [in the sense that they are laughable], for the laughable is a sort of error and ugliness that is not painful and destructive”

From The Tractatus Coislinianus (argued to be a summary of The Poetics II):
“Comedy is a imitation of an action that is laughable and lacking in magnitude…accomplishing by means of pleasure and laughter the catharsis of such emotions”