Poetics

by Aristotle

There are, however, various reasons why it may also be worth taking an interest in what Aristotle meant. One reason is that it may help us to a better understanding of Greek tragedy. We have in the Poetics an analysis of tragedy by an intelligent and well-informed observer who was much closer, chronologically and culturally, to the plays than we are; it would be irresponsible for the student of Greek tragedy to ignore his testimony.

tragedy in the fourth century was not the same as tragedy in the fifth – as Aristotle himself was aware.

Another reason why the Poetics is worth studying closely is the quality of its thought. Aristotle had an exceptionally penetrating and subtle intellect. Concepts and arguments which at first seem impenetrable often prove to make illuminating sense when further reflection brings to light their underlying rationale. For me, the challenge of trying to understand Aristotle’s thought is the main reason why the Poetics continues to be such a rewarding text to study.

Poetics 1. INTRODUCTION Let us discuss the art of poetry in general and its species – the effect [1] which each species of poetry has and the correct way to construct [47a] plots if the composition is to be of high quality, as well as the number and nature of its component parts, and any other questions that arise within the same field of enquiry.

The very same difference distinguishes tragedy and comedy from each other; the latter aims to imitate people worse than our contemporaries, the former better.

indeed, the reason it is now called ‘iambic’ is that they wrote lampoons or iamboi against each other in that verse-form.

Comedy is (as we have said) an imitation of inferior people – not, [5] however, with respect to every kind of defect: the laughable is a species of what is disgraceful. The laughable is an error or disgrace that does not involve pain or destruction; for example, a comic mask is ugly and distorted, but does not involve pain.19

Epic poetry corresponds to tragedy in so far as it is an imitation in verse of admirable people.

Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is admirable, complete and possesses magnitude; in language made pleasurable, each of its species separated in different parts; performed by actors, not through narration; effecting through pity and fear the purification23 of such emotions.

So plot is the imitation of the action (by ‘plot’ here I mean the organization of events); character is that in respect of which we say that the agent is of a certain kind; and reasoning is the speech which the agents use to argue a case or put forward an opinion.

tragedy as a whole necessarily has six component parts, which determine the tragedy’s quality: i.e. plot, character, diction, reasoning, spectacle and lyric poetry.

The medium of imitation comprises two parts, the mode one, and the object three; and there i...

for in fact every drama alike has spectacle, character, plot, diction, song and reasoning.24 But the most important of them is the structure of the events:

Tragedy is not an imitation of persons, but of actions and of life.

qualities in accordance with their character, but they achieve well-being or its opposite on the basis of how they fare. So the imitation of character is not the purpose of what the agents do; character is included along with and on account of the actions. So the events, i.e. the plot, are what tragedy is there for, and that is the most important thing of all.

Furthermore, there could not be a tragedy without action, but there could be one without character.

tragedies of most modern poets la...

(iv) Additionally, the most important devices by which tragedy sways emotion are parts of the plot, i.e. reversals and recognitions.26

4.4 The ranking completed So the plot is the source and (as it were) the soul of tragedy; character [50b] is second. (It is much the same in the case of painting: if someone were to apply exquisitely beautiful colours at random he would give less pleasure than if he had outlined an image in black and white.) Tragedy is an imitation of an action, and on account above all of the action it is an imitation of agents.

Older poets used to make people speak like statesmen; contemporary poets make them speak rhetorically.

By ‘diction’ I mean, as was said before, verbal expression;

A beginning is that which itself does not follow necessarily from anything else, but some second thing naturally exists or occurs after it. Conversely, an end is that which does itself naturally follow from something else, either necessarily or in general, but there is nothing else after it. A middle is that which itself comes after something else, and some other thing comes after it.

they should possess a certain magnitude, and this should be such as can readily be taken in at one view, so in the case of plots: they should have a certain length, and this should be such as can readily be held in memory.

‘the magnitude in which a series of events occurring sequentially in accordance with probability or necessity gives rise to a change from good fortune to bad fortune, or from bad fortune to good fortune’, is an adequate definition of magnitude.

It is also clear from what has been said that the function of the poet is not to say what has happened, but to say the kind of thing that would happen,

The distinction is this: the one says what has happened, the other the kind of thing that would happen.30

Poetry tends to express universals, and history particulars.

These effects occur above all when things come about contrary to expectation but because of one another. This will be more astonishing than if they come about spontaneously or by chance, since even chance events are found most astonishing when they appear to have happened as if for a purpose –

By a simple action I mean one which is, in the sense defined, continuous and unified, and in which the change of fortune comes about without reversal or recognition.

By complex, I mean one in which the change of fortune involves reversal or recognition or both.

Recognition, as in fact the term indicates, is a change from ignorance to knowledge, disclosing either a close relationship38 or enmity, on the part of people marked out for good or bad fortune. Recognition is best when it occurs simultaneously with a reversal, like the one in the Oedipus.

Of these, reversal and recognition have already been discussed; suffering is an action that involves destruction or pain

It is also possible for the action to be performed, but for the agents to do the terrible deed in ignorance and only then to recognize the close connection, as in Sophocles’ Oedipus.

Since tragedy is an imitation of people better than we are, one should imitate good portrait-painters. In rendering the individual form, they paint people as they are, but make them better-looking.

Many poets are good at complication but handle the resolution badly;85 but both should be treated with equal care.

Diction as a whole has the following elements: phoneme, syllable, connective, noun, verb, conjunction, inflection, utterance.