Aristotle s doctrines are basic to every critical discussion of greek tragedy and of other literary forms. Aristotle proposes to study poetry by analyzing its constitutive parts and then drawing general conclusions. The centerpiece of aristotle s work is his examination of tragedy. We know that aristotle also wrote a treatise on comedy that has been lost. Aristotle defines poetry very broadly, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and even some kinds of music. A founding text of european aesthetics and literary criticism, from it stems much of our modern understanding of the creation and impact of imaginative writing, including poetry, drama, and fiction. Poetics penguin classics aristotle, heath, malcolm on. Theres no introduction to the book, just a note about when it was written circa 330bc and about aristotle himself, taking up less than a page. The portion of the poetics that survives discusses mainly tragedy and epic poetry. Aristotle certainly knew the passage, and it looks as if his treatise on poetry was an answer to platos challenge.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of poetics and what it means. In the poetics, his nearcontemporary account of classical greek tragedy, aristotle examine the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Aristotle s poetics is the most influential book on poetry ever written. Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article aristotle. Book excerpt e of being an old word which is accepted and reinterpreted by aristotle rather than a word freely chosen by him to denote the exact phenomenon he wishes. Poetics by aristotle, part of the internet classics archive. At some point, aristotle s original work was divided in two, each book written on a separate roll of papyrus.
In it, aristotle offers an account of what he calls poetry. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read poetics. Although the poetics has often been denounced or rejected, such rejection is usually the result of a misunderstanding of what aristotle says. Poetics aristotle aristotle s poetics aims to give an account of poetry. Aristotle taught that tragedy is composed of six elements. In this book aristotle lays out almost all of his major ideas about the purpose of politics, the virtue of citizens, the varieties of regimes and the nature of justice. Long forgotten by commentators, it nevertheless had a great influence, since aristotle s poetics has given birth to three concepts crucial for psychology, social sciences, and philosophy of art. Aristotle gives his views on tragedy, the plot, the characters and the content, and then it is compared to epic poetry. The core of the book is an appraisal of aristotles view of tragic drama, in which professor halliwell contends that at the heart of poetics lies the philosophical. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
Sure, its 2400 years old, but aristotles discussionsunity of plot, reversal of the situation, characterthough written in the context of ancient greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry, still apply to our modern literary forms. Poetics focus philosophical library and millions of other books are available for. In some cases, what aristotle says seems quite right, while in others his conclusions seem very limiting. Poetics by aristotle, free pdf, ebook, epub global grey. Aristotle seems to be proceeding with the assumption that the same is true for poetry. In this, the fullest, sustained interpretation of aristotle s poetics available in english, stephen halliwell demonstrates that the poetics, despite its laconic brevity, is a coherent statement of a challenging theory of poetic art, and it hints towards a theory of mimetic art in general. Content wise, i think this book is great, but it was just so very boring. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of aristotle 384322 b.
Assessing this theory against the background of earlier greek views on poetry and art, particularly plato. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. Among the most influential books in western civilization, aristotle s poetics is really a treatise on fine art. It is especially popular with screenwriters as seen in many script gurus howto books. Quite a few comments have been posted about poetics. Part i i propose to treat of poetry in itself and of its various kinds, notin. It discusses things like unity of plot, reversal of situation, and character in the context of greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry. The editors 300page exposition and interpretation follows. Aristotle s politics is a key document in western political thought. In book i he argues vigorously for a political theory based on nature.
Aristotle does this by attempting to explai n poetry through first principles, and by classifying poetry into it s different genres and component parts. In the poetics, his nearcontemporary account of classical greek tragedy, aristotle examine the dramatic elements of plot, character, language. It has been a standard book for literary criticism since centuries. A founding text of european aesthetics and literary criticism, from it stems. Poetics has been divided into the following sections. The lost second book of aristotles poetics is a core plot element in umberto eco s bestseller novel, the name of the rose. An intellectual adventure of the most stimulating kind. Aristotle discusses at length a seemingly very technical question of what the true definition of a. The project gutenberg ebook of poetics, by aristotle this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
A penetrating, nearcontemporary account of greek tragedy, it. The plot is the source and the soul of tragedyin his nearcontemporary. In these first two books aristotle shows his complete mastery of political theory and practice, and raises many crucial issues still with us today. This brief volume brims with aristotle s timeless insights into such. Butcher in poetics by aristotle, we see the author dissect the various elements of poetry, from why we like it to what a tragedy needs to be any good. From the poetics by aristotle devoted to literary criticism, only the first part mainly dedicated to the tragedy was received.
Character includes all qualities we associate with individuals represented in the play. Epic poetry and tragedy, comedy also and dithyrambic poetry, and the music. Aristotles poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory in the west. Only the first part that which focuses on tragedy and epic as a quasidramatic art, given. The book is divided into short, fragmented sections that deals with every aspect of drama, poetry and epic.
The new york times this book contains the celebrated butcher translation of aristotle s poetics, faced, page by page, with the complete greek text as reconstructed by mr. And that is where huttons work is uniquely important. The core of the book is a fresh appraisal of aristotles view of tragic drama, in which halliwell contends that at the heart of the poetics lies a philosophical urge to instill a secularized. Following, then, the order of nature, let us begin with the principles which come first. The modern library collection of greek and roman philosophy 3book bundle. Aristotle moves on to elements relating to the humans represented in tragedy, thought and character. Aristotles poetics is the most influential book on poetry ever written. Book iii is, thematically speaking, probably the central book of the politics. Aristotle s work on aesthetics consists of the poetics, politics bk viii and rhetoric. By nature, man is a political animal, one naturally fitted for life in a polis or state. Aristotelis politica in greek, with notes in latin.
What is poetry, how many kinds of it are there, and what are their specific effects. The portion of the poetics that survives discusses. His most recent book is a new history of western philosophy 2010. Buy poetics penguin classics book online at low prices. A founding text of european aesthetics and literary criticism, it has shaped much of our modern understanding of the creation and impact of imaginative writing, including poetry, drama, and fiction. Taking examples from the plays of aeschylus, sophocles and euripides, the poetics introduced. While it is believed that aristotles poetics originally comprised two books one on comedy and one on tragedy only the portion that focuses on tragedy has survived. A penetrating, nearcontemporary account of greek tragedy, it demonstrates how the elements of plot, character and spectacle combine to produce pity and fear and why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. In it are mentioned not only epic and dithyrambic poetry, but tragedy, comedy, and flute and lyre playing. The lost second book of aristotles poetics is a core plot element in umberto ecos bestseller novel, the name of the rose. Aristotles poetics is the earliestsurviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory. Malcolm heaths introduction fills almost half the book but he truly captures the essence of poetics. Sir anthony kenny is a distinguished philosopher whose books include the aristotelian ethics 1978, aristotles theory of the will 1979, and aristotle on the perfect life 1992. Poetics by aristotle 384322 bc translated by ingram bywater 18401914 aristotle s poetics from the 4th century b.
Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The original, aristotles short study of storytelling, written in the fourth century b. Chapter 4 of the poetics, for example, discusses the essential place of imitation in learning, and the books of the rhetoric are full of material about psychology. Among the most influential books in western civilization, aristotles poetics is really a treatise on fine art. He examines its first principles and identifies its genres and basic elements. The internet classics archive poetics by aristotle. Aristotles poetics is one of the most powerful, perceptive and influential works of criticism in western literary history. Aristotles poetics seeks to address the different kinds of poetry, the structure of a good poem, and the division of a poem into its component. Aristotles poetics summary aristotles poetics seeks to address the different kinds of poetry, the structure of a good poem, and the division of a poem into its. The titles might suggest that these works are primarily relevant to themes of literature, but they in fact fit more tightly with the themes of human life explored in aristotle ethics.
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