Poetics by Aristotle Aristotle

Poetics by Aristotle Aristotle

Aristotle's Poetics (Greek: Περὶ ποιητικῆς; Latin: De Poetica; 1] c. 335 BC 2]) is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory. 3] In it, Aristotle offers an account of what he calls poetry (a term that derives from a classical Greek term, ποιητής, that means poet; author; maker and in this context includes verse drama - comedy, tragedy, and the satyr play - as well as lyric poetry and epic poetry). They are similar in the fact that they are all imitations but different in the three ways that Aristotle describes:

Differences in music rhythm, harmony, meter and melody.
Difference of goodness in the characters.
Difference in how the narrative is presented: telling a story or acting it out.

In examining its first principles, Aristotle finds two: 1) imitation and 2) genres and other concepts by which that of truth is applied/revealed in the poesis. His analysis of tragedy constitutes the core of the discussion. 4] Although Aristotle's Poetics is universally acknowledged in the Western critical tradition, almost every detail about his seminal work has aroused divergent opinions. 5] The work was lost to the Western world for a long time. It was available in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance only through a Latin translation of an Arabic version written by Averroes.

Aristotle's Poetics (Greek: Περὶ ποιητικῆς; Latin: De Poetica; 1] c. 335 BC 2]) is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory. 3] In it, Aristotle offers an account of what he calls poetry (a term that derives from a classical Greek term, ποιητής, that means poet; author; maker and in this context includes verse drama - comedy, tragedy, and the satyr play - as well as lyric poetry and epic poetry). They are similar in the fact that they are all imitations but different in the three ways that Aristotle describes:

Differences in music rhythm, harmony, meter and melody.
Difference of goodness in the characters.
Difference in how the narrative is presented: telling a story or acting it out.

In examining its first principles, Aristotle finds two: 1) imitation and 2) genres and other concepts by which that of truth is applied/revealed in the poesis. His analysis of tragedy constitutes the core of the discussion. 4] Although Aristotle's Poetics is universally acknowledged in the Western critical tradition, almost every detail about his seminal work has aroused divergent opinions. 5] The work was lost to the Western world for a long time. It was available in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance only through a Latin translation of an Arabic version written by Averroes.

ARISTOTLE was born in the northern Greek town of Stagira in 384 B.C.E., where his father was the personal physician to the great-grandfather of Alexander the Great. At the age of eighteen Aristotle entered Plato's Academy and soon became recognized as its most important student. He remained under Plato's tutelage for nearly twenty years.

After his teacher's death in 347 B.C.E., Aristotle cultivated associations with other Academy students throughout Greece and Asia Minor. Then in 342 B.C.E., Aristotle was asked by King Philip II of Macedonia to become the tutor for his young son Alexander, who was later to become the conqueror of much of the known world at that time. The young prince remained under Aristotle's supervision until 336 B.C.E., when he acceded to the throne after his father's death. Two years later Aristotle returned to Athens and founded his own school, which he called the Lyceum. This intellectual center flourished during the years when Alexander the Great ruled Greece as part of his large empire. But upon Alexander's death in 323 B.C.E., Aristotle was charged with impiety by Athenians who resented his associations with the Macedonian conqueror. Rather than risk the same fate as Plato's mentor, Socrates, Aristotle fled to the city of Chalcis, where he died in 322 B.C.E.

Aristotle's interests, like those of Plato, were diverse and his writing cast its shadow on many fields, including logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, and the sciences. Among his most well-known works are: The Categories, The Prior and Posterior Analytics, The Physics, The Meta-physics, De Anima, The Nicomachean Ethics, and The Politics.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780486295770
ISBN 10	048629577X
Title	Poetics
Author	Aristotle Aristotle
Series	Thrift Editions
Condition	Unavailable
Binding type	Paperback
Publisher	Dover Publications Inc.
Year published	2000-02-01
Number of pages	64
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable