In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

• A Renaissance Exercise
• Roy Glassberg

Describing the influence of Aristotle's Poetics on education in Renaissance Italy, Lane Cooper writes, "Before 1543¹ it was a regular academic exercise to compare a Greek tragedy with a Senecan, with the demands of the Poetics as a standard."²

An interesting prompt for an article, one that I shall here pursue. In what follows, I compare Sophocles's Oedipus Tyrannus with Seneca's Trojan Women in terms of their adherence to a set of three criteria culled from the Poetics, dramatic elements that were regarded by Aristotle as conducive to a well-constructed tragedy. For example, Aristotle writes in chapter 6 that "the most powerful elements of emotional interest in Tragedy [are] Peripeteia or Reversal of the Situation, and Recognition scenes."³ And that these are most effective when they occur concurrently (A, p. 41). Thus, I will inquire of each play whether it includes a scene of reversal and recognition and whether these happen simultaneously.

Criterion one: Aristotle states in chapter 13 that "a well-constructed plot should … be single in its issue rather than double as some maintain" (A, p. 47). The plot of Trojan Women is double, one line of action leading to the death of Astyanax, the son of Hector and Andromache, and the other to the death of Polyxena, the daughter of Hecuba and Priam. The plot of Oedipus Tyrannus, on the other hand, is single, with its action focused on Oedipus from its beginning through its middle to its end. [End Page 490]

Criterion two: Aristotle tells us in chapter 13 that "a perfect tragedy should … imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation" (A, p. 47). He further remarks that "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune and fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves" (p. 45). Thus, we pity Andromache and Hecuba for the loss of their children and fear the loss of our own. Similarly, we pity Oedipus for his unmerited misfortune, his situation being the result of a curse brought down upon Laius, his father. And we fear being subject, ourselves, to unmerited divine hostility.

Criterion three: As noted above, reversal and recognition are regarded by Aristotle as providing "the most powerful elements of emotional interest in Tragedy" (A, p. 27).

In Oedipus Tyrannus, reversal and recognition transpire simultaneously when the messenger comes bearing good news that turns out to be bad news: that the king and queen of Corinth are not Oedipus's real parents.⁴ We find no scenes of reversal and recognition in Trojan Women.

Thus, in comparing Oedipus Tyrannus with Trojan Woman in terms of the three criteria presented above, the game goes to Sophocles.

Roy Glassberg Portland, Oregon

Footnotes

1. 1543 was the date of Cinthio's translation of Aristotle's Poetics into Italian, thus making the students' efforts at their own translations moot.

2. Lane Cooper, The "Poetics" of Aristotle: Its Meaning and Influence (New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1963), p. 201.

3. Aristotle, Poetics, trans. S. H. Butcher (Mineola: Dover Publications, 1951), p. 27; hereafter abbreviated A.

4. Sophocles, Oedipus the King, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954), pp. 54–55.

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中文翻译：

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文艺复兴运动

代替摘要，这里是内容的简短摘录：

• 文艺复兴运动
• 罗伊·格拉斯伯格

在描述亚里士多德的诗学对文艺复兴时期意大利教育的影响时，莱恩·库珀写道：“在 1543^年之前，将希腊悲剧与塞内坎悲剧进行比较是一种常规的学术练习，以诗学的要求为标准。” ^2个

一篇有趣的文章提示，我将在这里继续探讨。接下来，我比较了索福克勒斯的俄狄浦斯暴君和塞内卡的特洛伊女人，因为她们坚持从诗学中挑选出来的三个标准，即亚里士多德认为有助于构建良好悲剧的戏剧元素。例如，亚里士多德在第 6 章中写道，“悲剧中情感兴趣最强大的元素 [是] Peripeteia 或情境的逆转，以及识别场景。” ³并且当它们同时发生时，它们是最有效的（A，第 41 页）。因此，我会询问每部戏是否包括反转和识别的场景，以及这些是否同时发生。

标准一：亚里士多德在第 13 章中指出，“一个结构良好的情节应该……在其问题上是单一的，而不是像某些人所主张的那样是双重的”（A，第 47 页）。特洛伊女人的情节是双重的，一条是导致赫克托耳和安德洛玛刻之子阿斯蒂亚纳克斯之死，另一条导致赫卡柏和普里阿摩斯之女波吕克塞娜之死。而《俄狄浦斯暴君》情节单一，情节从头到尾都围绕着俄狄浦斯展开。【490页完】

标准二：亚里士多德在第 13 章中告诉我们，“完美的悲剧应该……模仿引起怜悯和恐惧的行为，这是悲剧模仿的独特标志”（A，第 47 页）。他进一步评论说，“像我们这样的人的不幸会引起不应有的不幸和恐惧”（第 45 页）。因此，我们为安德洛玛刻和赫卡柏失去了孩子而感到遗憾，也为失去我们自己的孩子感到恐惧。同样，我们为俄狄浦斯的不当不幸感到遗憾，他的处境是他父亲拉伊俄斯受到诅咒的结果。我们害怕自己受到不当的神圣敌意。

标准三：如上所述，亚里士多德认为逆转和承认提供了“悲剧中情感兴趣最强大的元素”（A，第 27 页）。

在Oedipus Tyrannus中，当信使带来好消息却变成坏消息时，逆转和承认同时发生：科林斯的国王和王后不是俄狄浦斯的亲生父母。⁴我们在《特洛伊女人》中没有发现逆转和承认的场景。

因此，在根据上述三个标准比较俄狄浦斯暴君和特洛伊女人时，索福克勒斯胜出。

罗伊·格拉斯伯格俄勒冈州波特兰

脚注

1. 1543 年是 Cinthio 将亚里士多德的《诗学》翻译成意大利语的日期，因此学生们自己翻译的努力变得毫无意义。

2. Lane Cooper，亚里士多德的“诗学”：其意义和影响（纽约：Cooper Square Publishers，1963 年），p. 201.

3. 亚里士多德，《诗学》，译。SH Butcher (Mineola: Dover Publications, 1951), p. 27; 以下简称A。

4. 索福克勒斯，俄狄浦斯王，译。罗伯特·菲茨杰拉德（芝加哥：芝加哥大学出版社，1954 年），第 54-55 页。

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