Arcane vs Aristotle: Part VII
Catharsis, Inner Structure, and Character Motivation
SPOILER WARNING: This section will be filled with spoilers from the first three episodes of Arcane.
AUTHOR NOTE: The thoughts below are based purely on my own observations of the television show “Arcane: League of Legends” and the direct text of Aristotle’s “Poetics” based on the S.H. Butcher translation originally published in 1895. For this deep dive, I was too lazy to place footnotes on every quote, but any time you see quotations, know that the source is Aristotle’s words as translated by Butcher.
Introduction
If you have not read Parts I-VI of this deep dive, I recommend going through them first. In this section I will be making reference to Aristotelian terms introduced in those sections by placing them in quotes. (Example: ‘thought’) These words sometimes have a special meaning that carries more complexity than the standard dictionary definition, so I explain their meanings to the best of my ability in those earlier sections.
Purging Emotions in the Act I Climax
“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude…through pity and fear effecting (sic) the proper purgation of these emotions.”
-Poetics, VI
The end of Arcane’s Episode 3 leaves you reeling with emotions: shock, sadness, anger, pity, despair, and—inevitably—a desperate need to know what happens next. This emotional response, ‘the catharsis’, is only fully manifested when we reach an incident that significantly transforms the story’s core relationship—in this case, Powder and Vi.
To understand why this episode’s catharsis works so well in Aristotelian terms, let’s start by defining the term itself:
The Catharsis
The word “catharsis” is derived from the medical term katharsis (Greek: “purgation” or “purification”). Aristotle uses the word as a metaphor for “emotional purging” when tragedy produces emotions of pity and fear in the spectator.
In my book, the term “catharsis”, could be any form of emotional purging: laughter, tears, groans, yelling at your t.v., etc. However, while all of it may be cathartic, not all catharsis is equal.
You may have small bouts of catharsis throughout a story, but they almost always build toward a significant change or event for the major characters. For spectators, that moment is most often the same moment when the floodgates open: tears pour out uncontrollably, anger builds to a fever pitch, or the room erupts in cheers. For example:
So, what’s the difference between a catharsis that leaves you screaming with joy or one that just makes you say, “Oh, that’s nice.”? Or one that leaves your heart pounding with shock versus being barely concerned the main character just died? Can such effects be measured? Can you apply science to your writing to cause spectators to feel one way or the other on command?
Well, not exactly. You can never know for sure how a story moment is going to affect someone because humans are complex creatures. How they respond may have as much to do with their experiences in early childhood as it does with how someone treated them at Walgreens earlier that day. Or, while one spectator may simply not like the genre or actor of a movie, the person sitting beside them may break into tears just because the actor is Ryan Gosling.
The challenge of storytelling in any medium (theatre, television, comics, etc.) is bridging that gap between how the artist thinks and feels about their story to how the audience will experience it from their perspective. While things like art styles, genres, or sense of humor may vary the type of audience a story attracts, general emotions like love, anger, and fear are universal experiences that even a reluctant spectator may still find relatable.
This is why Aristotle posits that some writing when properly structured is still better than others because pity and fear are the same emotions regardless of style or other such embellishments. As he puts it:
“For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale will thrill with horror or melt to pity at what takes place.”
-Poetics, XIV
Which comes back to what we could call Aristotle’s central purpose for Poetics:
How does a “superior poet” arouse strong feelings of pity and fear in the audience?
With that question in mind, let’s try to use Aristotle’s concepts to reverse engineer Episode 3’s powerful catharsis and determine why it works so well.
The Inner Structure
“Fear and pity may be aroused by spectacular means; but they may also result from the inner structure of the piece, which is the better way, and indicates a superior poet.”
-Poetics XIV
It should be noted that there are several “spectacular means” working outside of the writing that are contributing to Episode 3’s catharsis: the animation, the music, the voice acting, the sound design, etc. The contributions of talented artists at all levels cannot be ignored as part of what makes the show work so well.
However, Aristotle would identify these elements as “embellishments” (‘diction’, ‘song’, and ‘spectacle’) which he ranks lower in importance to great Tragedy than the more structural and idea-oriented elements (‘plot’, ‘character’, and ‘thought’). Here’s a refresher (Part I) of how he ranks these elements:
Plot
“The soul of a tragedy” as he puts it. The arrangements of incidents that are an imitation of action.
Character
“The most beautiful colours, laid on confusedly, will not give as much pleasure as the chalk outline of a portrait.” In other words, people love people most of all—even poorly drawn ones.
Thought
“‘Thought’ is when something is proved to be or not to be, or a general maxim is enunciated.” Most often this is information that affects the plot revealed through speech.
Diction
The delivery of the words. Might be considered either the pentameter of the poetry or performance of the actors.
Song
The chorus and musical instruments used.
Spectacle
“The least artistic of the elements” and least connected with poetry according to Aristotle. Might include costumes, sets, special effects, etc.
While Aristotle says a lot more about why the ‘inner structure’ is essential to a successful catharsis, he also points out that incorporating as many of these elements as possible in order of their importance is still most desirable.
“The poet should endeavor, if possible, to combine all poetic elements; or failing that, the greatest number and those the most important; the more so, in face of the cavilling criticism of the day. For whereas there have hitherto been good poets, each in his own branch, the critics now expect one man to surpass all others in their several lines of excellence.”
- Poetics, XVIII
I point this out because I am going to focus more on the structural writing elements, but the groundbreaking animation, excellent voice acting, and original songs in Arcane still contribute considerably to the emotional impact of the catharsis.*
*I am putting some great videos about some of these other elements here if you want to explore just how much excellent work went into this series.
“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action…”
“Thought and Character are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions again all success and failure depends.”
-Poetics, VI
The ‘plot’ (a.k.a. “the soul of Tragedy”) is the most important roadmap on our trip to pity and fear according to Aristotle. It is closely linked to ‘character’ when it comes to character choices driving the plot.
However, the distinction we should remember in Aristotelian terms is that ‘plot’ is the actions that affect the characters’ fortunes whereas ‘character’ is merely the definition of who a person is as defined by their virtues and choices.
Here’s my paraphrase of how he breaks down this hierarchy:
Tragedy is an imitation of action (plot) > action implies personal agents (most often persons) > persons possess distinctive qualities of ‘character’ and ‘thought’
Therefore, coming back to the old “plot driven vs character driven” story, what people often consider the weaker “plot driven” stories may be a misguided interpretation of what is going on.
Action is almost always going to be character driven in some way because most action is driven by the choices of characters. Granted, action can also be instigated by ‘Deus ex Machina’ and other forces. There is also a case to be made for active characters (characters who choose actions) versus passive characters (characters who are acted upon), but even in passive character stories, there are usually other characters making choices driving the action.
What the spectator is more likely perceiving in a so called “plot driven” script is a weakness in how the plot supports the character motivations as intended by the writers. (Again, this is where the gap between the writer’s intentions and the audience perception becomes visible.)
The Four Motivations
This problem of character motivation is where I have found Aristotle’s ‘Four Types of Tragedy’ to be most useful in my writing and in understanding why good writing is working. If you interpret the four types not as just a description of the tragedy but rather as the distinct way characters are motivated, it becomes clear why action is always at the top of Aristotle’s lists.
Remember, of the four types, Aristotle ranks the most powerful and cathartic type of tragedy as ‘Complex’—a reversal of situation, a recognition, or both. This type of tragedy hinges on a tragic incident that may or may not be the result of a character choice, but it is definitely the result of the plot that led up to that moment.
So, whereas ‘Pathetic’ and ‘Ethical’ tragic events may result from a character making choices driven by emotions or ethical principles, Aristotle argues that the most tragic misfortune for a character is that which results not from the ‘quality’ of their choices but because of the unfortunate events or action leading to that moment—especially if we consider that character likeable and virtuous.
(Also remember: action in drama is an imitation of life, and as in life, any action comes with a risk of consequences. Because of this, action moments will always hold a stronger place in a viewer’s mind than moments that present information through ‘thought’.)
It is a confusing distinction to make, for sure, and I am sure there are gray areas to be argued. The important point I am trying to make clear is when considering the Four Types of Tragedy as the Four Types of Motivation instead, the strongest form of character motivation becomes plot (or actions), then passion, then ethics, and finally, the weakest, events that do not change fortunes or are purely brought on by spectacle—not the choices of characters.
So next time you are watching something that seems like you don’t really care about what the character is doing or feeling, ask yourself:
Are there actions that I actually saw happen in the story that are motivating this character’s choices?
Did the actions result in consequences the characters had to deal with?
You will likely start to find when your connection to the character feels weak, it is because the character is being motivated more by ‘thought’ moments in the story than by ‘action’ moments. Or there is an expectation placed on the viewer that the character’s passion or ethics are motivation enough without the need to be backed up by a well constructed plot to justify those choices.
“For Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life, and life consists in action, and its end is a mode of action, not a quality.”
-Poetics, VI
NEXT TIME:
In the thrilling conclusion of Aristotle vs Arcane: Part VIII, we will break down every concept of Aristotle being used the Episode 3 climax with a super-scientific point system I made up myself and is completely patented!
Sterling Martin is an artist and designer living in Chicago, IL. His background includes drawing, writing, theatre, teaching, improv & sketch comedy, and whatever else he can get his hands on to be creative. You can find him on the internet at:
Instagram: @sterfest.art
Website: sterlingmartin.design
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Note: All images above come from Wiki-commons and Arcane: League of Legends