Aristotle- The Poetics

Aristotle, in The Poetics, defines good poetry as having a complex plot where all things happen because of an action before and are the necessary results. He resolves that Tragedy is the highest form of poetry, even over Epic poetry. It is superior because it uses all the elements of epic poetry, yet is more refined and provides better pleasures, such as pity or fear. The most effective poetry is one that does not have to use any other vehicle but words to affect the listeners with such feelings. They must feel that the actions were inevitable and made in ignorance. To steer clear from bad poetry, one must make sure it is not accidental or incorrectly imitated. "Things are censured either as impossible, or irrational, or morally hurtful, or contradictory, or contrary to artistic correctness" (pg 45). These are the factors that critics watch for and are what poets need to be careful of when attempting effective poetry. In earlier writings he defined this tagic poetry as having pathos, "a quality that evokes pity or sadness." 

Effective, tragic poetry must create pathos while having a complex plot, inevitable actions and all that was stated before. This does not leave much for the artist to do except find a location and character names. He says this himself, "and it is this universality at which poetry aims in the names she attaches to the personages" (pg 26). He created this guide that all great, tragic poems must follow, but then there will be no drastic change between them, he is making them like history. "The true difference is that one reltates what has happened, the other what may happen. Poetry therefore, is a more philosophical and a higher thing than history: for poetry tends to express the universal, history the particular" (pg 26). History already happened, and except for slight differences, so did these tragic poems that Aristotle deems effective and great. He states how almost every action should happen and who should act on it, such as a killing. "But when the tragic incident occurs between those who are near or dear to one another- if, for example, a brother kills, or intends to kill, a brother, a son his father, a mother her son, a son his mother, or any other deed of the kind is done- these are the situations to be looked for by the poet" (pg 30). The universality he speaks of does not create much change in the history of tragic poems. This is not to degrade tragic poetry as not effective for creating pathos, but with Aristotle's guide, there is little freedom for variation and a poet may feel constrained when writing one. 

Is there any ledgendary and effective tragic poetry that does not follow Aristotle's design?