In Butcher's Poetics VI, what arguments does the text give for plot over character and for action over description of persons, and what does 'character' mean there?
VI says tragedy imitates an action and life, not men, and that character is subsidiary to action; the plot is 'the end' and 'the soul'. It argues from the possibility of tragedy without character, from the weaker effect of well-made character speeches without plot, from reversal and recognition being plot parts, and from a painting analogy. 'Character' there means revealed choice, so speeches showing no choice do not count. Baker's different emphasis is compared by candidate ID only.
VI says tragedy imitates an action and life, not men, and that character is subsidiary to action; the plot is 'the end' and 'the soul'. It argues from the possibility of tragedy without character, from the weaker effect of well-made character speeches without plot, from reversal and recognition being plot parts, and from a painting analogy. 'Character' there means revealed choice, so speeches showing no choice do not count. Baker's different emphasis is compared by candidate ID only.
Curator qualifications: Plot over character; narrow 'character' sense; Baker comparison by summary.
Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
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"citations": [
{
"url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1974/pg1974.txt",
"note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
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}Evidence claims
- [sourced_fact] VI says tragedy imitates an action and life, not men, and that character is subsidiary to action; the plot is 'the end' and 'the soul'. It argues from the possibility of tragedy without character, from the weaker effect of well-made character speeches without plot, from reversal and recognition being plot parts, and from a painting analogy. 'Character' there means revealed choice, so speeches showing no choice do not count. Baker's different emphasis is compared by candidate ID only. · locator: candidate evidence excerpts source
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