he destroys them. This is the essence of the plot; the rest is episode.



XVIII

Every tragedy falls into two parts,--Complication and Unravelling or
Denouement. Incidents extraneous to the action are frequently combined
with a portion of the action proper, to form the Complication; the rest
is the Unravelling. By the Complication I mean all that extends from the
beginning of the action to the part which marks the turning-point to good
or bad fortune. The Unravelling is that which extends from the beginning
of the change to the end. Thus, in the Lynceus of Theodectes, the
Complication consists of the incidents presupposed in the drama, the
seizure of the child, and then again * * extends from
the accusation of murder to the end.

There are four kinds of Tragedy, the Complex, depending entirely on
Reversal of the Situation and Recognition; the Pathetic (where the motive
is passion),--such as the tragedies on Ajax and Ixion; the Ethical (where
the motives are ethical),--such as the Phthiotides and the Peleus. The
fourth kind is the Simple element>, exemplified by the Phorcides, the Prometheus, and scenes laid
in Hades. The poet should endeavour, 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.