A Study Of Aristotle's Classical Narrative Theory

As a whole, Aristotle's classical narrative theory rises from the splendid ancient Greek literature. It is the first systematic summarization to narrative theory in the history of western narratives. Compared with modern narrative theory, the author places it as the classical narrative theory for it's longevity of sophistication in history. Though there was germination of scattered classical narrative theory in ancient Greek literature, till to Aristotle, the western classical narrative theory then came to it's first era of achievement. There are four reasons for this achievement. First is the achievement of exclusive knowledge on classical narrative theory. As fully explored the germination, element, technique, effect and criticism of classical narrative theory, as early brought plot, character and so on into the range of literary study, hence Aristotle's Poetics is the first monograph particularly on classical narrative theory in the west. Second is the result of systematic classical narrative theory. In Poetics Aristotle for the first time studied the types of tragic, comedic and epic narratives, He impenetrated the kernel conceptions such as plot and imitation in the classical narrative theory, and therefore exhibited the wholeness and consistency of the classical narrative theory system. Third is the achievement of nucleation in classical narrative theory. The Aristotelian imitation is the kernel conception of classical narrative theory which relates to creation, aesthetics and ontology as they gradually embed in the classical narrative theory system. Fourth is the completeness of the study on classical narrative theory. Aristotle's classical narrative theory is not a single and isolated theoretic system. It works together with Aristotle's philosophy, rhetoric, ethics and politics; those studies which constitute such a colossal system. One example is Catharsis which is treated by the author as an Aristotelian principle of criticism on narrative and ethics.The introduction is actually the summarization of references of Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The author reviews and summarizes the studies on Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The author tries to historically grasp the law behind Aristotle's classical narrative theory and exhibit the locus of its heritage and development. First, a review and a reflection have been made to the study of Aristotle's classical narrative theory itself. Based on the profundity and immutability of Aristotle's classical narrative theory, the author brings forward the cause of this study. From the perspective of historical origination, the author collects and analyses the references on Aristotle's classical narrative theory from before Aristotle up till modern day. Much attention has been paid to the common topics of Aristotle's classical narrative theory. Second, a recapitulative review on modern narratology and a reasonable consideration to Aristotle's classical narrative theory have been made by the author. On the one hand, the author demonstrates the subject relation between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and modern narratology; on the other hand, the author demonstrates the object relation between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and modern narratology. Hence the inner relation between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and modern narratology has been demonstrated and the significance of Aristotle's classical narrative theory to contemporary research has been emphasized. Third, a summarization of the basic connotation of Aristotle's classical narrative theory has been made. The author in turn tidies up the germination, element, technique, effect, criticism and enlightenment of classical narrative theory and consequently discerns it's qualities of knowledge, speciality and system.The first chapter deals with the literary foundation of Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The author focuses his investigation on three dimensions in turn: ancient Greek legendary and fabulous art with narrative, ancient Greek dramatic art with narrative, and ancient Greek poetical art with narrative. From this horizontal perspective the narrative evidence has been founded in ancient Greek literature and thus consolidations have been made to the foundation of Aristotle's classical narrative theory for the support of argumentation. The part of ancient Greek legendary and fabulous art with narrative can be divided into ancient Greek mythos with narrative and ancient Greek fable with narrative. The narrative time and oral narrative in ancient Greek mythos relate to narrative arrangement, fiction and improvisation in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The narrative brevity and object format in ancient Greek fables relate to the plot completeness and character figuration in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The part of ancient Greek dramatic art with narrative can be divided into ancient Greek tragedy with narrative and ancient Greek comedy with narrative. The motifs of ancient Greek tragedy relate to the fatal conflict and personality defects in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The style of satire and the effect of fiction in ancient Greek comedy relate to imitative object, truth of art in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The part of ancient Greek poetical art with narrative can be divided into ancient Greek lyric with narrative and ancient Greek epic with narrative. Sappho's narrative person and Pindar's narrative comments relate to the voice, the type of narrator, the role of chorus and so on in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. The mode of description and grandiose scope relate to the demarcation narrative imitation, narrative arrangement in Aristotle's classical narrative theory. Thus we can see the creative foundation and supporting evidence of Aristotle's classical narrative 'theory. If there was not the splendor of ancient Greek literature, we would not have the spread of Aristotle's classical narrative theory beginning two thousand years ago.The second chapter deals with Aristotle's tragic narrative theory (from the second to the fourth chapter there is each individual study of Aristotle's classical narrative theory). The author primarily explores and analyses the question from a point and a layer of Aristotle's classical narrative theory. First, as to the point of Aristotle's narrative conception, the author brings forward a new elucidation of Catharsis. Namely, Catharsis is a fundamental measure for the practice of ancient Greek tragic narrative exemplified by the analysis of ancient Greek tragedies. It is also a related term synthetized in Aristotle's theoretical system. Further it is an Aristotelian narrative-ethic principle of criticism that functions in narrative. Therefore the author reveals the reasonable connotation of Catharsis as a principle of balance and harmony. Second, from the constitution of the whole of narrative layers, the author explores the necessary conjunction between tragic elements and narrative elements and analyses the conjunction and effect to narrative elements by tragic elements which make up of six members as plot, character, thought, diction, lyric poetry and spectacle. Insomuch as the above, the following issues are concretely discussed one by one, including the three differences between the plot of Aristotle and modern narratology, the five types of "discoveries" in tragic plot, the four principles of tragic character, the divine essence of thought, the lyric characteristics of diction, the function of lyric poetry by adornment & actualization and the tragic effect of spectacle.The third chapter deals with Aristotle's comedic narrative theory. The author tries to explore it from both the perspective of the narrative examples of comedists and the perspective of Aristotle's comedic narrative theory. The former is the practice of comedic narrative and the latter is the theoretical summarization of comedic narrative. In this chapter the author tries to unify these two parts in order to deepen Aristotle's comedic narrative theory. There are four types of laughable narrative motifs as absurd, falsehood, weird and jocular in Aristophanes' comedy. There are also four types of amusing narrative methods as partial tone, pun, uglification and actualization in Aristophanes' comedy. Therefore the satirical wisdom of Aristophanes exhibits through three normalities: amusement, prediction and improvisation. From the former perspective to the latter, it can be concluded that Aristotle's comedic narrative theory has been created on the basis of ancient Greek narrative literature. The constitution of comedic plot is not so coherent as the tragic one, though the comedic characters are buffoonish, ironist, boaster and so on, the method of comedic character creation is still imitation. There are seven types of comedic language method as partial tone, synonymy, repetition, paronym, parody, metaphor and manner of speaking.The fourth chapter deals with Aristotle's epic narrative theory. This is a demonstration both by concrete analysis of epic narrative and by effectual summarization of Aristotle's epic narrative theory. First, insomuch as the complicate narration in Iliad, the author reveals the fact that repetition is both a narrative technique and a narrative mechanism though it is covered by it's complicated narration. Second, as regards marital narration in Odyssey, the author explores a strange marital pattern of older wife with younger husband which has long time been neglected by researchers, then reveals it's social, historical and cultural causations, in particular it's fictional causation of narrative. Third, the author sums up Aristotle's epic narrative theory. 1. The oral narrative theory. There are demonstrations on the role of repetition to the bard's improvisation, germination and tradition of the oral epic. 2. There is revelation on the relation between narrative truth and historical truth, though the narrative truth is a presumptive, subjective and emotional truth. On the one hand, it must take historical truth as it's precondition; on the other hand, it must be considered as a surpass and upgrade to historical truth. 3. There is a summarization of classical narrative technique, namely they are techniques of narrative arrangement on narrative time and of a covert narrator.The fifth chapter deals with Aristotle's imitation narrative theory. Compared with the former chapters that dealt with individual studies of Aristotle's classical narrative theory, this chapter deals with his kernel study. First, the author explores the relation between Aristotle's imitation and narrative creation. By tiding up the imitations and their influences before Aristotle, the author reveals the correlation between Aristotle's imitation and narrative creation through imitative media, object and manner thereby sums up the five types of narrative imitation. Second, the author explores the relation between Aristotle's imitation and narrative aesthetics. 1. The relation between Aristotle's imitation and the ideal of narrative aesthetics. From the premise of imitation, the truthfulness of imitation determines the reliability and feasibility of the ideal of imitative aesthetics. From the constitution of the ideal of narrative aesthetics, imitation deeply determines the rationality and necessity of the ideal of narrative aesthetics. From the result of the ideal of narrative aesthetics, imitation eventually determines the function and actualization of the ideal of imitative aesthetics. But as a whole as cognition and value, the author emphasizes the correlative unification between Aristotle's imitation and the ideal of imitative aesthetics. 2. The characteristics of the beauty of narrative harmony created by imitation. From the intrinsic construction of imitation, the beauty of Aristotle's narrative harmony reflects the characteristics of being complete and unified. From the selection of narrative objects, the beauty of Aristotle's narrative harmony reflects the characteristics of contradiction and unification. From the arrangement and capacity of imitative narrative, the beauty of Aristotle's narrative harmony reflects the characteristics of the sequence of smallness and bigness. Third, the author explores the relation between Aristotle's imitation and narrative ontology. 1. The demonstration that narrative germinates from imitation. 2. The essence of narrative. The author reveals the essence of narrative from the three aspects as existing state, role & function and intrinsic construction. Hence the author places the essence of narrative as the contradiction and unification of truth, goodness and beauty.The conclusion deals with the relation between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and contemporary narratology. As the end part of this study, to some extent, the author tries to reflect an academic prediction of this research and an affinity between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and contemporary narratology. First, concerning the profundity and immutability of Aristotle's classical narrative theory, on the one hand the author reflects it's sufficient value, perfect system and profound philosophy; on the other hand proves it's scientific credibility as to the history of narrative literature. Second, the author explores the incorporation and expectation of Aristotle's classical narrative theory with contemporary narratology. One the one hand, the revival of Aristotle's classical narrative theory nowadays ascribes to it's knowledge merit; and on the other hand, ascribes to it's artistic potency which can be explored continuously. Just as a consideration to the relation between Aristotle's classical narrative theory and the harmony of the human self, the author discovers that the poetic narrative of Aristotle's classical narrative theory harmonizes the human emotional balance for its characteristics; as an ethical narrative, it controls the human self for valuation as its purpose; as a political narrative, it keeps practical accordance with the human self for its result. This demonstrates that the study of Aristotle's classical narrative theory is both prosperous and encouraging.