Catharsis is normally associated with____________

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which literary genre is linked with catharsis.

Step 2: Explain the concept Catharsis comes from a Greek word meaning "purging" or "cleansing." Aristotle used it in his Poetics to describe the emotional release an audience feels at the end of a tragedy. Watching the downfall of a tragic hero stirs up pity and fear, and when the play ends, the audience feels relieved and emotionally purified.

Step 3: Work through the options

• A. Pantomime: This is a theatrical entertainment that uses mime, music and slapstick humour. It is not about emotional purging.
• B. Tragedy: Correct. Aristotle's definition of tragedy says it arouses pity and fear to bring about catharsis. Examples are Oedipus Rex, Macbeth, Hamlet and Wole Soyinka's Death and the King's Horseman.
• C. Comedy: Comedy aims to amuse and usually ends happily, so it is not tied to catharsis in the Aristotelian sense.
• D. Farce: This is exaggerated, absurd comedy meant to provoke laughter.

Step 4: Answer Catharsis is normally associated with tragedy, which is option B.

Exam tip: Link the words catharsis = cleansing = pity and fear = tragedy. Whenever you see "Aristotle," "pity and fear," or "tragic hero," think tragedy.