Aristotle was wrong.
Referring to tragedy as that which provokes "fear and pity" is a bit like referring to the
chicken pox as that which provokes raised, red bumps on the skin.
Let me explain:
"Tragedy" is actually a very special word, much like "
evil", "
genius" or "
insanity." All of these words
signify a failure to do what it is that words usually do: map the external universe into fixed categories within the mind.
When you say that something is "tragic," what you are actually saying is that an event is not only sudden and terrible, but also of such horrific magnitude that it surpasses your ability to contain that event intellectually.
Similarly, a good gloss for "evil" is: "so bad that it defies categorization."
That's one reason that the media should be careful of using the former term and
certain political figures should
avoid the second:
it makes you sound small and ignorant because it fails, by definition, to describe that which you set out to describe.
For more on this, check out King Lear, Macbeth, Indefinition and Tragedy by Stephen Booth.