Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept.

/
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon

Aristotle's Poetics

Introduction
Though the precise origins of Aristotle's Poetics are not known, researchers believe that
the work was composed around 330 BCE and was preserved primarily through Aristotle's
students' notes. Despite its vague beginning, the Poetics has been a central document in the study
of aesthetics and literature for centuries, proving especially influential during the Renaissance; it
continues to have relevance in scholarly circles today.
Over the years the Poetics has been both praised and disparaged. Some critics object to
Aristotle's theory of poetics and regret that the work has held such sway in the history of Western
literature. One contemporary critic argues that Aristotle "reduces drama to its language," and the
"language itself to its least poetic element, the story, and then encourages insensitive readers...to
subject stories to crudely moralistic readings that reduce tragedies to the childish proportions of
Aesop-fables" (Sachs 1). Other critics have argued against such views and reclaimed
the Poetics for their own times; often these critics emphasize the importance of reading
the Poetics in its historical context - it was, after all, written an awfully long time ago - and stress
that despite this historical barrier the insights contained in the work still hold true. Whichever
side of the debate you end up on, it is important when studying the Poetics to take time to decode
its dense text. The Poetics is widely considered one of Aristotle's most demanding but rewarding
texts, requiring commitment in its study, but offering profound returns to the diligent reader.
The Poetics is Aristotle's attempt to explain the basic problems of art. He both defines art
and offers criteria for determining the quality of a given artwork. The Poetics stands in
opposition to the theory of art propounded by Aristotle's teacher, Plato. In his Republic, Plato
argues that "poetry is a representation of mere appearances and is thus misleading and morally
suspect" (Critical, 1). In the poetics, Aristotle, Plato's student, attempts to refute his teacher by
exploring what unites all poetry: its imitative nature and its ability to bring an audience into its
specific plot while preserving a unity of purpose and theme. The tone of the Poetics reflects its
argumentative spirit as Aristotle attempts both to explain the "anatomy" of poetry and to justify
its value to human society.
Despite its broad goals, however, Aristotle's arguments are quite concrete. He is less
interested in the abstract "existence" of art than he is in looking at specific artworks by specific
playwrights. Aristotle wants to explain why effective poetry has stayed with audiences for so
long. He tends to look for "empirical evidence" - i.e. sensory proof through past observation -
that art is both good and useful, no matter how philosophers like Plato try to dismiss it.

Aristotle's Poetics Character List

Aeschylus
Aeschylus is the author of the frequently-cited Oresteia, a play trilogy which includes
Agamemnon. Aristotle attributes Aeschylus with a number of important innovations in the
theater, including introducing a second actor, diminishing the importance of the chorus, and
focusing on dialogue rather than music or dance (both of which were important elements in
Ancient Greek theater). But Aristotle also faults Aeschylus, arguing that the playwright did not
create a distinct poetic language.
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
Euripides
Aristotle refers to the tragedian Euripides - the author of Medea, The Bacchae, and over seventy
other plays of which only nineteen have survived - as a master of plot. Aristotle comes to
Euripides' defense often in the Poetics, saying that though critics censured his work as morose,
his plays were often the best because they were the 'most tragic.' Aristotle conceives of the tragic
effectin Euripedes' plays as flowing from the inner logic of their plots, which always included a
fall from good fortune to bad.

Sophocles
Sophocles is the author of Oedipus, and considered by Aristotle the master of the tragedy. He
draws men 'as they ought to be,' and creates a higher view of humans. Aristotle compares
Sophocles to Homer for his tendency to idealize humanity. The playwright is also credited with
raising the number of actors on the stage to three, and with adding scene-painting as a part of
spectacle.

Aristotle's Poetics Summary

Aristotle's Poetics seeks to address the different kinds of poetry, the structure of a good
poem, and the division of a poem into its component parts. He defines poetry as a 'medium of
imitation' that seeks to represent or duplicate life through character, emotion, or action. Aristotle
defines poetry very broadly, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and
even some kinds of music.

According to Aristotle, tragedy came from the efforts of poets to present men as 'nobler,'
or 'better' than they are in real life. Comedy, on the other hand, shows a 'lower type' of person,
and reveals humans to be worse than they are in average. Epic poetry, on the other hand, imitates
'noble' men like tragedy, but only has one type of meter - unlike tragedy, which can have several
- and is narrative in form.

Aristotle lays out six elements of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and
song. Plot is 'the soul' of tragedy, because action is paramount to the significance of a drama, and
all other elements are subsidiary. A plot must have a beginning, middle, and end; it must also be
universal in significance, have a determinate structure, and maintain a unity of theme and
purpose.

Plot also must contain elements of astonishment, reversal (peripeteia), recognition, and
suffering. Reversal is an ironic twist or change by which the main action of the story comes full-
circle. Recognition, meanwhile, is the change from ignorance to knowledge, usually involving
people coming to understand one another's true identities. Suffering is a destructive or painful
action, which is often the result of a reversal or recognition. All three elements coalesce to create
"catharsis," which is the engenderment of fear and pity in the audience: pity for the tragic hero's
plight, and fear that his fate might befall us.
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
When it comes to character, a poet should aim for four things. First, the hero must be
'good,' and thus manifest moral purpose in his speech. Second, the hero must have propriety, or
'manly valor.' Thirdly, the hero must be 'true to life.' And finally, the hero must be consistent.

Tragedy and Epic poetry fall into the same categories: simple, complex (driven by
reversal and recognition), ethical (moral) or pathetic (passion). There are a few differences
between tragedy and epic, however. First, an epic poem does not use song or spectacle to achieve
its cathartic effect. Second, epics often cannot be presented at a single sitting, whereas tragedies
are usually able to be seen in a single viewing. Finally, the 'heroic measure' of epic poetry is
hexameter, where tragedy often uses other forms of meter to achieve the rhythms of different
characters' speech.

Aristotle also lays out the elements of successful imitation. The poet must imitate either
things as they are, things as they are thought to be, or things as they ought to be. The poet must
also imitate in action and language (preferably metaphors or contemporary words). Errors come
when the poet imitates incorrectly - and thus destroys the essence of the poem - or when the poet
accidentally makes an error (a factual error, for instance). Aristotle does not believe that factual
errors sabotage the entire work; errors that limit or compromise the unity of a given work,
however, are much more consequential.

Aristotle concludes by tackling the question of whether the epic or tragic form is 'higher.'
Most critics of his time argued that tragedy was for an inferior audience that required the gesture
of performers, while epic poetry was for a 'cultivated audience' which could filter a narrative
form through their own imaginations. In reply, Aristotle notes that epic recitation can be marred
by overdone gesticulation in the same way as a tragedy; moreover, tragedy, like poetry, can
produce its effect without action - its power is in the mere reading. Aristotle argues that tragedy
is, in fact, superior to epic, because it has all the epic elements as well as spectacle and music to
provide an indulgent pleasure for the audience. Tragedy, then, despite the arguments of other
critics, is the higher art for Aristotle.
Aristotle's Poetics Themes
Cathartic Reversal
Aristotle argues that the best tragedies - and thus the best plays, since Aristotle considers
tragedy to be the highest dramatic form - use reversal and recognition to achieve catharsis. He
writes that reversal works with a story's spine or center to ensure that the hero comes full circle.
Oedipus is his exemplar of a hero who undergoes such a reversal and thus has cathartic self-
recognition. Aristotle considers catharsis to be a form of redemption. For instance, even though
Oedipus' recognition is tragic it still redeems him: he is no longer living in ignorance of his
tragedy but instead has accepted fate. And redemption is not the only result of catharsis; the
audience too undergoes a catharsis of sorts in a good drama. The hero's catharsis induces both
pity and fear in the audience: pity for the hero, and fear that his fate could happen to us.
Complication and Denouement
There are only two parts to a good drama, says Aristotle - the rising action leading to the
climax, which is known as the complication, and the denouement, or the 'unraveling' that follows
the climax. This twofold movement follows Aristotle's theory of poetic unity. The complication
leads up to the revelation of the unity at the heart of the work. After this revelation, a play
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
naturally turns to the denouement, in which the significance and ramifications of the unity are
explored and resolved.

The Imitative Nature of Art

There are two common ways to think of art: some consider it to be an expression of what
is original and unusual in human thinking; Aristotle, on the other hand, argues that that art is
'imitative,' that is to say, representative of life. This imitative quality fascinates Aristotle. He
devotes much of the Poetics to exploring the methods, significance, and consequences of this
imitation of life. Aristotle concludes that art's imitative tendencies are expressed in one of three
ways: a poet attempts to portray our world as it is, as we think it is, or as it ought to be.

The Standard of Poetic Judgment

Aristotle thinks that this tendency to criticize a work of art for factual errors - such as
lack of historical accuracy - is misguided. He believes that instead we should a judge work
according to its success at imitating the world. If the imitation is carried out with integrity and if
the artwork's 'unity' is intact at its conclusion, a simple error in accuracy will do little to blemish
this greater success. Art, in other words, should be judged aesthetically, not scientifically.

Tragedy vs. Epic Poetry

In Aristotle's time, the critics considered epic poetry to be the supreme art form, but to
Aristotle, tragedy is the better of the two forms. Aristotle believes that tragedy, like the epic, can
entertain and edify in its written form, but also has the added dimension of being able to translate
onstage into a drama of spectacle and music, capable of being digested in one sitting.

Tragic Hero
The tragic hero, in Aristotle's view of drama, is not an eminently 'good' man; nor is he
necessarily a paragon of virtue that is felled by adversity. Instead, the hero has some 'frailty' or
flaw that is evident from the outset of a play that eventually ensures his doom. The audience,
moreover, must be able to identify with this tragic flaw.

The Unity of Poetry

Aristotle often speaks of the unity of poetry in the Poetics; what he means by "unity,"
however, is sometimes misunderstood. Unity refers to the ability of the best dramatic plots to
revolve around a central axis that 'unites' all the action. Aristotle believes that a unified drama
will have a 'spine': a central idea which motivates all the action, character, thoughts, diction and
spectacle in the play.
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
Literary Criticism of Aristotle
Aristotle (384-322 BC)

Disciple of Plato
Teacher of Alexander the Great.
Major Works: Poetics, Rhetoric
Poetics, incomplete, 26 chapters
Mainly concerned with tragedy, which was in his day, the most development form of poetry.
Disagreeing with much else that Plato said, Aristotle agreed that art was essentially Mimesis
But, he maintained, (good) art was neither useless nor dangerous, but rather natural and
beneficial.
Crucial to Aristotle’s defense of art is his

Rejection of Plato’s Dualism

Man is not an ―embodied‖ intellect, longing for the spiritual release of death, but rather an
animal with, among all the other faculties, the ability to use reason and to create

Rejection of Plato’s Rationalism

We must study humans as we would study other animals to discover what their ―nature‖ is. Look
among the species; see who are the thriving and successful and in what activities do they
engage? For Aristotle, this is how to determine what is and is not appropriate for a human and
human societies
Rejection that Mimesis= Mirroring Nature
Aristotle: Art is not useless

It is Natural:
It is natural for human beings to imitate
Any human society which is healthy will be a society where there is imitative art
Nothing is more natural that for children to pretend
Art production and training is a necessary part of any education since it uses and encourages the
imaginative manipulation of ideas
Nothing is more natural than for human beings to create using their imagination
Since art is imitation, it is an imaginative use of concepts; at its heart art is ―conceptual,‖
―intellectual‖
maxresdefault (1)Aristotle: good art is not dangerous

A) Art is not deceptive:

Artists must accurately portray psychological reality in order for characters to be
believable and their actions understandable
It teaches effectively and it teaches the truth
Convincing and powerful drama is convincing and powerful because it reveals some truth of
human nature
Introduces the concept of ―Organic Unity‖ – the idea that in any good work of art each of
the parts must contribute to the overall success of the whole
Just as in biological organisms each part contributes to the overall health and wellbeing of the
creature, so too in good works of art reflects or imitates reality
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
Unified action, ―with its several incidents so closely connected that the transposal or withdrawal
of any one of them will disjoin and dislocate the whole‖

B) Sensuous art is not a bad thing:

Aristotle did not believe that the mind was one thing and body was something else and
therefore Aristotle did not have the bias against physical pleasure that Plato had
The only way of acquiring knowledge at all, according to Aristotle, was through the senses and
so developing, exercising and sharpening those senses through art was a healthy thing to do
Art was not solely concerned with the sensual pleasures, but rather was/should be an intellectual,
conceptual affair.

C) (Good) Art is tied to Morality and Truth

(Successful Tragic) Drama always teaches morality. When trying to understand how
tragedies achieve their peculiar effect (Pathos), he notes the psychology and morality on which
they must be based Aristotle believe that drama imitated not only ―evens‖ but actions. As such
they imitated intended behaviours, psychological forces and the unseen ―inner life‖ of persons
He unwittingly set up two functions for a work of art to fulfil; to imitate nature’s perceptual
detail and to imitate nature’s ―organic unity.‖
Aristotle agreed that art did stir up negative emotions but, he claims it then purged these in
harmless, healthy way. This led to the principle of Catharsis

Doctrine of Catharsis
Art is neither psychologically destabilizing nor politically destructive
Art is a therapeutic part of the healthy life of not only the individual, but of the nation
Aristotle: Mimesis is not equal to imitation

Mimesis is more like

Rendering
Depicting
Construing
Idealizing
Representing
Aristotle’s Critical Responses

Poetry is more Philosophical than History

―Poetry is sometimes more philosophic and of graver importance than history (He means a mere
chronicle of events here), since its statements are of the nature rather of universals, whereas
those of history are singulars‖
Poetry describes ―not the thing that has happened‖ as Aristotle imagines history does ―but
a kind of thing that might happen, (i.e, what is possible) as being probable or necessary‖
Thus history mere ―mirrors,‖ but not art. Art is necessarily conceptual /cognitive.
Aristotle-Park-1000x500-c-centerAristotle on Tragedy
In the Poetics, Aristotle compares tragedy to such other metrical forms as comedy and
epic. He determines that tragedy, like all poetry, is a kind of imitation (mimesis), but adds that it
has a serious purpose and uses direct action rather than narrative to achieve its ends. He says that
poetic mimesis is imitation of things as they could be, not as they are — for example, of
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
universals and ideals — thus poetry is a more philosophical and exalted medium than history,
which merely records what has actually happened.
The aim of tragedy, Aristotle writes, is to bring about a ―catharsis‖ of the spectators — to
arouse in them sensations of pity and fear, and to purge them of these emotions so that they leave
the theater feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods
and men. This catharsis is brought about by witnessing some disastrous and moving change in
the fortunes of the drama’s protagonist (Aristotle recognized that the change might not be
disastrous, but felt this was the kind shown in the best tragedies — Oedipus at Colonus, for
example, was considered a tragedy by the Greeks but does not have an unhappy ending).
According to Aristotle, tragedy has six main elements: plot, character, diction, thought,
spectacle (scenic effect), and song (music), of which the first two are primary. Most of the
Poetics is devoted to analysis of the scope and proper use of these elements, with illustrative
examples selected from many tragic dramas, especially those of Sophocles, although Aeschylus,
Euripides, and some playwrights whose works no longer survive are also cited.
Several of Aristotle’s main points are of great value for an understanding of Greek tragic
drama. Particularly significant is his statement that the plot is the most important element of
tragedy:
Tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and misery. And
life consists of action, and its end is a mode of activity, not a quality. Now character determines
men’s qualities, but it is their action that makes them happy or wretched. The purpose of action
in the tragedy, therefore, is not the representation of character: character comes in as contributing
to the action. Hence the incidents and the plot are the end of the tragedy; and the end is the chief
thing of all. Without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be one without character. . . .
The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy: character holds the
second place.
Aristotle goes on to discuss the structure of the ideal tragic plot and spends several
chapters on its requirements. He says that the plot must be a complete whole — with a definite
beginning, middle, and end — and its length should be such that the spectators can comprehend
without difficulty both its separate parts and its overall unity. Moreover, the plot requires a single
central theme in which all the elements are logically related to demonstrate the change in the
protagonist’s fortunes, with emphasis on the dramatic causation and probability of the events.

Aristotle has relatively less to say about the tragic hero because the incidents of tragedy
are often beyond the hero’s control or not closely related to his personality. The plot is intended
to illustrate matters of cosmic rather than individual significance, and the protagonist is viewed
primarily as the character who experiences the changes that take place. This stress placed by the
Greek tragedians on the development of plot and action at the expense of character, and their
general lack of interest in exploring psychological motivation, is one of the major differences
between ancient and modern drama.
Since the aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of
the central character, he must be a figure with whom the audience can identify and whose fate
can trigger these emotions. Aristotle says that ―pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by
the misfortune of a man like ourselves.‖
In addition, the hero should not offend the moral sensibilities of the spectators, and as a
character he must be true to type, true to life, and consistent.
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon
The hero’s error or frailty (harmartia) is often misleadingly explained as his ―tragic flaw,‖
in the sense of that personal quality which inevitably causes his downfall or subjects him to
retribution. However, overemphasis on a search for the decisive flaw in the protagonist as the
key factor for understanding the tragedy can lead to superficial or false interpretations. It gives
more attention to personality than the dramatists intended and ignores the broader philosophical
implications of the typical plot’s denouement. It is true that the hero frequently takes a step that
initiates the events of the tragedy and, owing to his own ignorance or poor judgment, acts in such
a way as to bring about his own downfall. In a more sophisticated philosophical sense though,
the hero’s fate, despite its immediate cause in his finite act, comes about because of the nature of
the cosmic moral order and the role played by chance or destiny in human affairs. Unless the
conclusions of most tragedies are interpreted on this level, the reader is forced to credit the
Greeks with the most primitive of moral systems.
It is worth noting that some scholars believe the ―flaw‖ was intended by Aristotle as a
necessary corollary of his requirement that the hero should not be a completely admirable man.
Harmartia would thus be the factor that delimits the protagonist’s imperfection and keeps him on
a human plane, making it possible for the audience to sympathize with him. This view tends to
give the ―flaw‖ an ethical definition but relates it only to the spectators’ reactions to the hero and
does not increase its importance for interpreting the tragedies.
The remainder of the Poetics is given over to examination of the other elements of
tragedy and to discussion of various techniques, devices, and stylistic principles. Aristotle
mentions two features of the plot, both of which are related to the concept of harmartia, as
crucial components of any well-made tragedy. These are ―reversal‖ (peripeteia), where the
opposite of what was planned or hoped for by the protagonist takes place, as when Oedipus’
investigation of the murder of Laius leads to a catastrophic and unexpected conclusion; and
―recognition‖ (anagnorisis), the point when the protagonist recognizes the truth of a situation,
discovers another character’s identity, or comes to a realization about himself. This sudden
acquisition of knowledge or insight by the hero arouses the desired intense emotional reaction in
the spectators, as when Oedipus finds out his true parentage and realizes what crimes he has been
responsible for.
Aristotle wrote the Poetics nearly a century after the greatest Greek tragedians had
already died, in a period when there had been radical transformations in nearly all aspects of
Athenian society and culture. The tragic drama of his day was not the same as that of the fifth
century, and to a certain extent his work must be construed as a historical study of a genre that no
longer existed rather than as a description of a living art form.
In the Poetics, Aristotle used the same analytical methods that he had successfully
applied in studies of politics, ethics, and the natural sciences in order to determine tragedy’s
fundamental principles of composition and content. This approach is not completely suited to a
literary study and is sometimes too artificial or formula-prone in its conclusions.
Nonetheless, the Poetics is the only critical study of Greek drama to have been made by a
near-contemporary. It contains much valuable information about the origins, methods, and
purposes of tragedy, and to a degree shows us how the Greeks themselves reacted to their
theater. In addition, Aristotle’s work had an overwhelming influence on the development of
drama long after it was compiled. The ideas and principles of the Poetics are reflected in the
drama of the Roman Empire and dominated the composition of tragedy in western Europe during
the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.
 Notes prepared By S.U.K Pathan / Eng. Dept./
B.P Arts,SMA Science & K.K.C Commerce College Chalisgaon Dist. Jalgaon

Que. no Multiple Choice Questions on Topic 1 Aristotle’s Poetics Answer

1 Poetics was written by………………………. (A)
(A) Aristotle (B) Plato (C) Mill (D) Sydney
2 Poetics is composed around 330 BCE (C)
(A)320 B. C. (B) 430 B. C. (C) 330 B. C. (D) 350 B. C.
3 Poetics is composed in… ................. chapters. (A)
(A) 05 (B) 02 (C) 06 (D) 07
4 Poetics deals with three types of imitation including (A)
medium, objects and…….
(A) Manner (B) Mind (C) Power (D) Love
5 ...................among the following speculate Mimesis theory. (A)
(A) Aristotle (B) Plato (C) Mill (D) Sydney
6 Mimesis theory indicates the act of............................ (A)
(A) Expression (B) Mind (C) Power (D) Love
7 Mimesis is a. .............term in literary criticism. (C)
(A) English (B) European (C) Greek (D) American
8 In The Republic, ……………. describes Socrates' dialogue with his (B)
pupils.
(A) Aristotle (B) Plato (C) Mill (D) Sydney
9 Aristotle also defined mimesis as the perfection, and imitation of (A)
...........
(A) Nature (B) Mind (C) Power (D) Love
10 ...............'s Poetics is often referred to as the counterpart to (A)
this Platonic conception of poetry.
(A) Aristotle (B) Plato (C) Mill (D) Sydney