Anaïs Mitchell and the Rebirth of Greek Tragedy

Eve Noblezada and Reeve Carney as Eurydice and Orpheus in Hadestown: the Musical The word “catharsis” enters English from Greek through Aristotle, mostly his book Poetics . Therein, Aristotle uses the word “katharsis” to describe the effect he believes tragic drama has on audiences, raising negative emotions and, by expressing them, leaving them behind in the theater. For the most part, only…