In classicaltragedies, thecatastasis (pl.catastases) is the fourth part of an ancientdrama, in which the intrigue or action that was initiated in theepitasis, is supported and heightened, until ready to be unravelled in thecatastrophe. It also refers to theclimax of a drama.[1]
Inrhetoric, thecatastasis is that part of a speech, usually theexordium, in which the orator sets forth the subject matter to be discussed.[2]
The term is not a classical one; it was invented byScaliger in hisPoetics (published posthumously in 1561).[3] It "is more or less equivalent to thesumma epitasis of Donatus and Latomus and to what Willichius sometimes called theextrema epitasis,"[4] and was first used in 1616 in England.[5]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Catastasis".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.