The Arc of Dramatic Catharsis: When Push Comes to Shove, Purge and Release, and How to Measure Them

The emergence of global, even universal, narratives has fostered a rich dialogue among diverse cultural expressions, enabling stories to transcend borders and resonate with audiences worldwide for maximum impact. Aristotle’s Poetics[1] is widely regarded as the foundational text in creative storytelling, playing a vital role in transmitting culture, values, knowledge, and traditions while inspiring innovation and change. It encourages imagination, exploration, and experimentation, fostering a dynamic, organic space that cultivates originality and growth. The hero recontextualizes reality within this framework, ultimately achieving relief, assimilation, and catharsis. By overcoming escalating external and emotional obstacles and internal conflicts, the hero drives the plot; their decisions and actions lead to liberating realizations and deeper self-understanding. Thus, dramatic catharsis serves as both the cause and purpose of the hero’s journey, shaping an arc that charts a path toward psychological transformation and self-actualization. Given the limited research on how the arc of dramatic catharsis unfolds in storytelling, this article presents a meta-study, synthesizing the findings of previous research.