The main purpose of any tragedy, as it is claimed by Aristotle, is based on the notion "catharsis" (Milch), which is a fundamental element in the drama. Catharsis, consequently, as described by Cambridge Dictionary, is considered “the process of releasing strong emotions through a particular activity or experience in a way that helps to understand those emotions”. Thus it was expected from the Aristotelian audience to be feeling a great level of emotional connection towards the actors, greatly empathizing with them – it concerned mainly such feelings as fear and pity. The ultimate aim of this approach was for the audience to reach the final sense of exaltation and purifying together with an elevated perception on the notion of the gods and men, life and fate.
The catharsis is brought about through the process of observing some particular disastrous changes (Milch) which occur in the lives of protagonists. The rapid turn of their fates and inevitability towards it usually enable the audience to delve into this atmosphere. Comparing “The Angels in America” and its protagonists to the Aristotelian ones and reflecting the Aristotelian basic elements of philosophy of catharsis, we may state that the whole range of such disastrous events may be observed throughout the whole play: Prior telling his lover Louis that he has got AIDS, in accordance to which Louis gets the arising feeling of panic and
fear, Harper suffering hallucinations and restlessness because of his addiction, the revealing the truth of Joe being homosexual, rejecting and failing relationships, the scenes of unethical or even unmoral behaviors – it all greatly contributes to the feeling of Aristotelian catharsis which is to be evoked among the audience.
Much of the philosophy of Kushner's protagonists can be tied to the one of the Aristotelian protagonists, which may be confirmed by the exert form Mormon mother and Harper's conversation, where Harper asks her about her perception of the world and life experience: “God splits the skin with a jagged thumbnail from throat to belly and then plunges a huge filthy hand in” – he states, continuing: “he grabs hold of your bloody tubes and they slip to evade his grasp but he squeezes hard, he insists, he pulls and pulls till all your innards are yanked out and the pain!” This description of how people change, according to Sparknotes, is one of the most remarkable parts in the whole play. The dramatic affects of change is described extremely acutely: “We can't even talk about that. And then he everything back, dirty, tangled and torn. It's up to you to do the stitching.” The question of change comes as a central theme of the play and is introduced though almost all the play's protagonists, who are the subjects of changes and ultimately the ones who change to the great extend within the flow of the life. Therefore there is a great deal of tragism which lies on the fates of the protagonists.
The notion of tragic hero, according to Aristotle, can be introduced by the profile of a person who makes a judgment mistake which fatally leads the one to one's own destruction. (Aristotle). As Aristotle claims, "a man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." (Aristotle). Judging from this perspective, we may consider Prior Walter as a main victim of fate in the play. During the play, however, his drastic change is visible, as he discovers and obtains the power which he wouldn’t believe he could ever had. This one more element of Aristotelian approach to characters, so-called “peripeteia”, which means an absolute reversal of life conditions that, consequently, changes one's status and fate. Such peripeteia is applied not only to Prior Walter, but to other protagonists, as well for example, Louis and Joe, who tend to be overconfident, decisive, and strong, have eventually changed, turning to more humble features of character. Whereas initially opinionated people became more modest, the disadvantaged ones were able to find their place under the sun and shape the destiny they strived for.
What is also remarkable for the Aristotelians protagonists is that his tragic heroes are primarily strikingly average – they are deliberately neither worse nor better than ordinary people in terms of morals and actions. This allows the spectators to relate to them and therefore empathize. It also introduces pity, which is crucial in Aristotelian tragedy. As well as in Aristotle's theatre works, the realism of human nature is realistically outlined in the “Angels in America”.
Through the Aristotle's plays it may be concluded that the following issues are as well important in shaping the tragic hero profile: a hero, who is considered doomed from the very beginning, bears it appropriately, suffering, as it may seem, more than he actually deserves. His life experience made him wounded, whether spiritually or physically. The tragic hero has to make important decisions, and learn from one's own mistakes. All of the above feature can be also easily traced in the “Angels in America”, which not only gives the play its great complexity, but also greatly defines it. Therefore this play may be a remarkable example of how ancient philosophy of drama and approaches to the plays may be successfully applied in the modern dramatic works.
Works Cited
Aristotle. Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. Bainbridge Island School District. Web. 1 Sept.
2016.
Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. New York: Theatre
Communications Group, 1993. Print.
Milch, Robert J. CliffsNotes on Aristotle on Tragedy. 01 Sep 2016
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Angels in America.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC.
