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  • Essay / Unity of Place in King Lear Essay - 1380

    According to Aristotle, the importance of tragedy as a genre is to represent action. Thus, unity of action is believed to have the strongest implications for the effectiveness of the work itself. Aristotle postulates "that a story, since it is the representation of action, must concern a single and entire action, with its numerous incidents so structured that the displacement or deletion of one of them would disrupt and dislocate the whole”. (Aristotle 27) and considers this statement imperative. A good plot, and therefore an effective tragedy, does not include events that are not related to each other or specifically to the main plot. In theory, these unrelated events distract from the main action and dissipate the tragic effect. According to Aristotle's definition, no subplot should exist in tragedy. So that all events are “necessary or [have] a probable connection with each other”. (Aristotle 27) there should be none that is not directly related to the main action. Again, unity helps focus the tragic effect, with the aim of allowing heightened feelings of pity and