Analysis of The Poetics - Chapter 12

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Aristotle mentions about the quantitative parts of a tragedy. Each tragedy is divided into - (i) Prologue, (ii) Episode, (iii) Exode and (iv) choral song. These are the parts of a folk tragedy. The prologue is the whole of that part of a tragedy which comes before the parode of the chorus. The episode is the whole of that part of a tragedy which comes between two complete choral songs. The exode is the whole of that part of a tragedy which has no choric song following it. In the choral sections, the parode is the whole of the first utterance of the Chorus and a Stasimon is a choral song having no anapests or trochees. In some tragedies, there is commos which is a lamentation song sung by both the Chorus and the actors. These are the different sections in which a tragedy is divided.

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