아리스토텔레스의 「시학」 바라보는 엇갈린 눈길 - 셰익스피어의 「햄릿」과 체호프의 「갈매기」를 중심으로

Abstract

Aristoteles in 「Poetics」 said that the most important element of the tragedy is plot. He emphasized that the tragedy without characters is possible, but the tragedy without plot isn't possible. By the way the most important element in tragedy, which lead the accident on the stage, isn't plot, but character. Here is a reason. The aim of the ancient greek tragedies is Catharsis, occurred by well-built plot. An audience by means of Catharsis could affirm that he is one of the commune, polis, and purify the wicked emotions in his mind. But in the tragedy of W. Shakespeare, the representative playwright in the epoch of the Elizabeth, Catharsis was no more the aim of the theatre. The bourgeoise audience, that at that time new formed, demanded the high leveled theatre with interesting spectacles. They wanted the pleasure in the theatre, because they were the son of the capitalism. The accident of the stage in Chekhov's drama 「The sea gull」 relied on the change of the relationship between the characters and the subtle emotion. The disposition of the important accident on the stage made a great difference between Shakespeare and Chekhov. Because the russian playwright interested in the collapse of the social environment where the dramatis personae lived. Their difference had influenced upon also the viewpoint of theatre. Shakespeare had the faith that human life is play, the world is theatre. He thought that theatre is a mirror which reflects direct the life and world. But Chekhov, depicted the trembling russian intelligentsia in the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, interested in the endless falling life of them.