Aristotle wrote the Poetics in the 4th century BCE as an account of his observations on the distinctive characteristics of tragedies and epic poetry. In this work, Aristotle defines catharsis as the “purging” and “cleansing” of the audience's emotions at the end of a tragedy or epic poem. Such feelings of pity or fear towards a character or group of characters are caused by their unfortunate circumstance during the plot of the tragedy or poem. In The Trojan Women, there are multiple characters who face hopeless situations that could make the audience feel pity and release their emotions. In the Iliad, the liberation of emotions is less evident but still present. Euripides' uses of catharsis in the Trojan Women and Homer's uses of catharsis in the Iliad conform to the definition Aristotle provides in the Poetics; and are essential in helping the public understand the severity of the Trojan War and its consequences. In The Women of Troy, Euripides shows the audience Hecabe's helplessness after the capture of the Greeks after the conclusion...