CATHARSIS

Catharsis

Catharsis is the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or to any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration. It is a metaphor originally used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of tragedy on the spectator.

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catharsis

Noun

  1. A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy).
  2. Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.
  3. A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.
  4. A therapeutic technique to relieve tension.
  5. Purging of the digestive system.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: catharsis
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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