Poetics

Books

• 1
  Book 1

  Poetry as imitation (mimesis). All art imitates human action. Aristotle classifies poetry by medium, object, and manner of imitation.

  14 lines
• 2
  Book 2

  The origins of poetry. Comedy from phallic songs, tragedy from dithyrambs. The natural human love of imitation and learning.

  7 lines
• 3
  Book 3

  The difference between comedy and tragedy. Comedy imitates inferior people, tragedy imitates superior ones.

  6 lines
• 4
  Book 4

  The history of tragedy. Aeschylus added the second actor, Sophocles the third. The chorus diminished as dialogue grew.

  21 lines
• 5
  Book 5

  Comedy and its early development. Less well-documented than tragedy because it was not taken seriously at first.

  11 lines
• 6
  Book 6

  The definition of tragedy: the imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, effecting through pity and fear the catharsis of such emotions.

  28 lines
• 7
  Book 7

  The six parts of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle, and song. Plot is the soul of tragedy — the most important element.

  12 lines
• 8
  Book 8

  The ideal plot. It must be a complete action with beginning, middle, and end. It must have a certain magnitude — neither too short nor too long.

  4 lines
• 9
  Book 9

  Unity of plot. The plot should centre on a single action, not a single hero. Homer understood this; the Cycle poets did not.

  15 lines
• 10
  Book 10

  The poet's task is to describe not what has happened but what could happen — what is probable or necessary. Poetry is more philosophical than history.

  4 lines
• 11
  Book 11

  Simple and complex plots. Complex plots involve reversal (peripeteia) and recognition (anagnorisis). The best combine both.

  10 lines
• 12
  Book 12

  The parts of a plot: reversal, recognition, and suffering. Reversal is a change to the opposite; recognition is a change from ignorance to knowledge.

  10 lines
• 13
  Book 13

  The quantitative parts of tragedy: prologue, episode, exode, and choral parts (parode and stasimon).

  13 lines
• 14
  Book 14

  The tragic hero. He should be neither perfectly good nor completely wicked, but a good man who falls through hamartia — an error of judgement.

  21 lines
• 15
  Book 15

  Pity and fear. The best tragedies arouse these through the plot itself, not through spectacle. The Oedipus is the model.

  15 lines
• 16
  Book 16

  Character in tragedy. The four requirements: characters should be good, appropriate, lifelike, and consistent.

  12 lines
• 17
  Book 17

  Recognition scenes. Six types, from the crudest (tokens and birthmarks) to the best (arising naturally from the events of the plot).

  11 lines
• 18
  Book 18

  Practical advice for poets. Visualise the action on stage. Work out the general structure before filling in the episodes.

  20 lines
• 19
  Book 19

  Complication and resolution. Every tragedy has a complication (the tying of the knot) and a resolution (the untying). The deus ex machina should be avoided.

  9 lines
• 20
  Book 20

  Types of tragedy: complex, pathetic, ethical, and spectacular. The best combine reversal and recognition.

  13 lines
• 21
  Book 21

  The chorus should be treated as one of the actors. Its songs should be integral to the plot, not mere interludes.

  26 lines
• 22
  Book 22

  Thought and diction. How characters argue, prove, and express emotion. The verbal element of tragedy.

  20 lines
• 23
  Book 23

  Diction continued. Parts of speech, metaphor, and poetic language. Metaphor is the mark of genius — it cannot be taught.

  7 lines
• 24
  Book 24

  Further analysis of diction. Standard, exotic, and ornamental language. The ideal style is clear but not commonplace.

  23 lines
• 25
  Book 25

  Epic poetry. Its similarities to and differences from tragedy. Epic uses narrative rather than dramatic form and has a different scale.

  32 lines
• 26
  Book 26

  Problems of criticism and their solutions. How to answer objections to Homer and the tragedians. Tragedy is superior to epic as an art form.

  16 lines