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Aristotle: Poetics: (Forgotten Books)
 
 
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Aristotle: Poetics: (Forgotten Books) [Paperback]

Aristotle (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Book Description

December 18, 2007
Book Description:

"Aristotle's Poetics (c.335 BC) aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him, the term includes the lyric, the epos, and the drama). Aristotle attempts to explain 'poetry' through 'first principles' and by discerning its different genres and component elements. His analysis of tragedy constitutes the core of his discussion. Although Aristotle's Poetics is universally acknowledged in Western critical tradition, Marvin Carlson explains, almost every detail about his seminal work has aroused divergent opinions." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; 'imitation' The Common Principle Of The Arts Of Poetry; The Objects Of Imitation; The Manner Of Imitation; The Origin And Development Of Poetry; Definition Of The Ludicrous, And A Brief Sketch Of The Rise Of Comedy; Definition Of Tragedy; The Plot Must Be A Whole; The Plot Must Be A Unity; Dramatic Unity; Definitions Of Simple And Complex Plots; Reversal Of The Situation, Recognition, And Tragic Or Disastrous Incident Defined And Explained; The 'quantitative Parts' Of Tragedy Defined; What Constitutes Tragic Action; The Tragic Emotions Of Pity And Fear Should Spring Out Of The Plot Itself; The Element Of Character In Tragedy; Recognition: Its Various Kinds, With Examples; Practical Rules For The Tragic Poet; Further Rules For The Tragic Poet; Thought, Or The Intellectual Element, And Diction In Tragedy; Diction, Or Language In General; Poetic Diction; How Poetry Combines Elevation Of Language With Perspicuity; Epic Poetry; Further Points Of Agreement With Tragedy; Critical Objections Brought Against Poetry, And The Principles On Which They Are To Be Answered; A General Estimate Of The Comparative Worth Of Epic Poetry And Tragedy

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author:

"Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many different subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology.

Aristotle (together with Socrates and Plato) is one of the most important figures in Western thought. He was one of the first to systematize philosophy and science. His thinking on physics and science had a profound impact on medieval thought, which lasted until the Renaissance, and the accuracy of some of his biological observations was only confirmed in the last century. His logical works contain the earliest formal study of logic that we have and was not superseded until the late nineteenth century. In the Middle Ages, Aristotelian metaphysics had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions, and on Christian thought, where its legacy is still felt in Christian theology, for example in Orthodox theology, and especially within the Catholic tradition shaped by scholasticism. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today.

Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues (Cicero described his literary style as a river of gold), it is thought that the majority of his writings are now lost. They were lost and rediscovered several times, and it is believed that about one fifth of the original works have survived." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Product Details

  • Paperback: 71 pages
  • Publisher: Forgotten Books (December 18, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1605063363
  • ISBN-13: 978-1605063362
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,600,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tragedy teaches us something about life, September 19, 2009
I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
Poetry appeals to human passions and emotions. Powerful beautiful language and metaphor really appeal to emotion. This idea really disturbed Plato, who takes on Homer in the Republic. Plato thought that early Greek poetry portrays a dark world; humans are checked by negative limits like death. Tragedy has in it a character of high status brought down through no fault of his own. Plato says this is unjust. Republic is about ethical life and justice. It starts with the premises that might makes right and then moves onto the idea much like modern religions that justice comes in the afterlife. Plato hates the idea that in tragedy bad things can happen to good people. He wanted to ban tragedy because he found it demoralizing.

Aristotle's Poetics is a defense against Plato's appeal to ban tragedy. Tragedy was very popular in Greek world so Aristotle asks can it be wrong to ban it? Yes, it is wrong thus he decides to study it. Plato says Poetry is not a technç because the poets are divinely inspired. Aristotle disagrees Poetics is a handbook for playwrights. Mimçsis= "representation or imitation." Plato uses it in speaking of painting, thus art is imitation. Another meaning is to mimic, like actors mimicking another person. Plato and Aristotle use it to mean psychological identification like how we get absorbed in a movie as if the action were real, eliciting emotions from us. We suspend reality for a while. Aristotle says this is natural in humans; we do this as children, we mimic. If imitation is important for humans then tragic poetry is worthwhile for Aristotle to study.

Definition of tragedy- "Through pity and fear it achieves purification from such feelings. This is a famous controversial line. Katharsis= "pity and fear" thus the purpose of tragedy is to purge katharsis. Katharsis can also mean purification or clean. There is a debate if it means clarification, through which we can come to understand katharsis. Aristotle thinks tragedy teaches us something about life. Tragedy is an elaboration on Aristotle's idea that good or virtuous people sometimes get unlucky and in the end, they get screwed. Tragedy shows this so we can learn to get by when life screws us. The whole point of tragedy is action over character. Action is the full story of the poem like the Iliad. Character is only part of the action.
Aristotle distinguishes between poetry and history. Poetry is concerned with universals, history is concerned with particulars.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.
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