Aristotle was a Greek Philosophers and  

polymath during the Classical period in Ancient

Greece. Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him.
his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West
and it continues to be a subject of contemporary philosophical discussion.

Aristotle identifies tragedy as the most refined version of poetry dealing with lofty
matters and comedy as the most refined version of poetry dealing with base matters. According
to Aristotle, tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of certain
magnitude. Aristotle insists that the principal element in the structure of tragedy is not character
but plot. Since the erring protagonist is always in at least partial opposition to the state, the
importance of tragedy lies not in the character but in the enlightening event. “Most important of
all,” Aristotle said, “is the structure of the incidents. 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.”

To explain the concept of tragedy more clearly, Aristotle established the six basic principles of
tragedy i.e. plot, character, diction, Spectacle, thought, and song. Aristotle defines plot as the
soul of tragedy and emphasizes much on its unity. By Character, Aristotle means the tragic hero
who is always higher than ordinary moral worth. Thought involves the content. Diction has been
already said, the expression of the meaning in words; and its essence is the same both in verse
and prose. Song holds the chief place among the embellishments. The Spectacle has, indeed, an
emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least
with the art of poetry.

We can apply Aristotle’s principles of tragedy in different modern movies and series .
Let’s take the example of “breaking bad” a Netflix series consisting of 5 seasons. It is the story
of a chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. After knowing about his disease,
Walter H. White started manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in
order to secure his family’s future. After Knowing that he had a very short time to live, he
started thinking about his handicapped son and his pregnant wife. He wanted to give his family a
secure future. In order to do that, Walter started to use chemistry and make the world’s finest
crystal methamphetamine. He used the help of his student Jesse pinkman. Walter and Jesse got
very rich instantly. They became so famous in the world of crimes. This instant fame made them
arrogant. It made Walter a very dangerous criminal. To protect the future of his family, he did
many illegal things. This leads to a tragic ending when Walter is Shot dead. The death of Walter
leaves the audience in fear and pity. Now here if we talk about Aristotle’s tragedy, we will came
to know that Aristotle’s tragedy must involve the emotions of fear and pity.

In Aristotle’s tragedy a plot should remain constant thought the movie. The plot of this
series remains same till the last season. The main character Walter white was evil from the start
and till the end of the season he remained evil. Not once in the season he tried to be good. Also if
we talk about the character, it’s moral is higher than the ordinary moral worth even after being
evil. In a nutshell we can say that the main character had a tragic fall. Hence the Aristotle’s
principles of tragedy can be easily explained through this movie.