POETIC

S
Aristotle

CONTENTS

About the Author

Purpose In Writing Poetics

Overview

Core Terms

Discussions

Criticisms

About the Author

Aristotle
384 BC - 322 BC
Aristotlewas a Greek
philosopher
who
made
important contributions by
systemizing deductive logic
and wrote on physical
subjects. His philosophy
had a long-lasting influence
on the development of all
Western
philosophical
theories.

About the Author

The greatest universal genius

of the ancient world, who
studied and wrote on just about
everything from metaphysics to
botany, was also the founder of
literary criticism. His Poetics is
the most important work of
literary which has survived the
ancient world and the most
influential of all his works.

PURPOSES In Writing
POETICS
1.

To give advice on writing tragedy to

contemporary poets.

2.

To answer the objections of

dramatic poetry expressed by his
teacher Plato in the Republic

3.

To explain why effective poetry has

stayed with audiences for so long.

OVERVIEW
POETICS is an attempt to explain
the basic problems of art. The Poetics
stands in opposition to the theory of
art propounded by Plato in
his
Republic. It is the earliest-surviving
work of dramatic theory (primarily
focused on drama). His original work
was divided into two parts, each book
was written in separate papyrus. Only
the 1st part which focuses on tragedy
survives. The lost 2nd part was
focused on comedy.

Core TERMS
Mimesis imitation or representation
Catharsis clarification
Peripeteia reversal
Anagnorisis identification
Hamartia miscalculation
Mythos plot
Ethos character
Dianoia theme
Lexis diction
Melos melody
Opsis - spectacle

PART I
Epic poetry, tragedy, comedy,
dithyrambic
poetry,
&
instrumental
music
are
all
modes of imitation but they
differ in medium, objects, &
manner of imitation.
In arts, imitation is produced
by rhythm, language, and/or
harmony.

PART II
Men are depicted in imitation
as either better than, worse
than, or the same as they are in
real life.

Comedy represents men

worse, tragedy as better.

as

PART III
Poets may narrate in 1st or
3rd person or present the
characters as living and moving
before us

Dramas
are
representing action.

poetry

PART IV
Mans 2 instincts that gave
birth to poetry: instinct of
imitation
and
instinct
of
harmony and rhythm.

Greater plots, stately diction

and
iambic
measure
were
adopted.

PART V
Comedy
imitates
the
ludicrous-some
defect
or
ugliness which is not painful or
destructive.

Comedy does not have as well

known of a history as tragedy.

PART VI
Tragedy imitates action that is
serious, complete & of certain
magnitude
in
artistically
embellished language.

The 6 parts of tragedy are plot,

character, thought, diction, song,
and spectacle, in that order of
importance

PART VII
A plot must
neither
begin
haphazard.

be whole and
nor
end
in

A plot must be great enough in

magnitude to be beautiful but not
so long that it cannot be
remembered in one view.

PART VIII
The plot should imitate one
action with structural union of the
parts.

Incidents whose presence or

absence makes no difference
need not be included.

PART IX
Poetry relates not what has
happened but what may happen
according to the law of probability
or necessity.

Poetry tends to express the

universal, history in particular.

PART X
Plots are either simple or
complex.

Complex plots have a change

of fortune with a reversal of the
situation.

PART XI
Reversal of the situation
when the action veers round
its opposite. Recognition,
change
from
ignorance
knowledge.
The plot includes a scene
suffering,
a
destructive
painful suffering.

is
to
a
to
of
or

PART XII
The parts of tragedy are:
Prologue, Episode, Exode, and
Choric song.

PART XIII
A perfect tragedy should be
complex, have a single issue and
excite pity of fear.

The change of fortune should

be from good to bad due to error
or frailty.

PART XIV
Superior plots arouse fear and
pity by their inner structure
rather than by spectacle and
extraneous aids.
Tragic deeds can be done or
not
done,
wittingly
or
unwittingly.

PART XV
Character should aim at
goodness, propriety, trueness to
life, and consistency.

The poet should follow the

necessary or the probable limits.

PART XVI
Recognition comes about by
signs, the will of the poet,
memory when the sight of some
object awakens a feeling by
process of reasoning.
The last way is superior.

PART XVII
The poet should try to place
the scene before his eyes as if
he were a spectator of the
action.

The poet should first sketch

the general outline of the story
then fill in the episodes in

PART XVIII
The 2 parts of a tragedy are
the Complication w/c extends
from the beginning to the
turning point & Denouement
which
extends
from
the
beginning of the change to the
end.
The poet should not attempt
to make an epic structure with

PART XIX
Thought includes every effect
produced by speech such as proof
ad refutation.

Thought also includes dramatic

incidents that need no verbal
exposition.

PART XX
The general parts of language
are: Letter, Syllable, Connecting
word, Noun, Verb, Sentence or
phrase.

PART XXI
Simple
words
are
composed
of
non-significant elements and compound
words are composed of a significant
and
non-significant
or
multiple
significant events.

Words are current, strange (foreign),

metaphorical, ornamental, newly-coined,
lengthened, contracted or altered.

PART XXII
Perfect
style
is
clear
without being mean. Style
consisting
wholly
of
metaphors is riddle; style
consisting wholly of strange
words is jargon.

PART XXIII
Narrative poetic imitation is
single meter should have a
plot constructed on dramatic
principles with a single, whole
and complete action.

PART XXIV
Epic poetry has the same
kinds and parts as tragedy,
but epic poetry is on a
greater scale and uses heroic
meter.

The poet should speak as himself

as little as possible.

PART XXV
Poets imitate either things
as they were or are, things as
they are said or thought to
be, or things as they ought to
be.
Language usage
examined carefully.

should

be

PART XXVI
Epic poetry is addressed to a
cultivated audience and tragedy
to an inferior public.

It includes music, spectacular effects,

vividness in reading as well as in
representation, pleasurable narrower
limits & unity

Criticisms
One of the most powerful,
perceptive and influential works
of criticism in Western literary
history, the Poetics has informed
serious thinking about drama
ever since.
One of his least talked about or
popular works among his corpus.

Criticisms
It seemed to be full of
shoulds and the latter came
across as though there is a
single answer to every possible
question, even about what
makes poetry good.
Aristotle says that the exercise
of any capacity brings pleasure.

Criticisms
Even art cannot escape
Aristotles categorical dissection.
Like an entomologist pulling
apart the wings of a butterfly to
see its beauty.
Aristotle approached poetry
with the same scientific method
with which he treats physics and
biology.

Criticisms
Poetics is one of those books
that makes you admire the
author while you want to
strangle him. This work is highly
influential.
Here is a rudimentary tablet of
knowledge by one of the greats.
First off, we are still eager to
explore poetics that are in this
aged article so clearly defined.

Criticisms
The information in this novel
will not only force the readers to
look at the world differently, but
it also educates them in the
ways of storytelling.
Aristotle discusses the issues in
craft involved in poetics or what
is I like to think of a storytelling.

Criticisms
Although this is quite possibly a
useful book, it was dry and
boring, I dont feel that I got
much of it, though Im sure if I
went to reread it, I might find
useful stuffs.
Poetics is to writers as what
bedrock is to architects.

Criticisms
I wont say this is the best book
on literary theory I have read,
but it may be the most
straightforward.

Click icon to add picture

The End