[The parts of Tragedy which must be treated as elements of the whole have been already mentioned. We now come to the quantitative parts, and the separate parts into which Tragedy is divided, namely, Prologue, Episode, Exode, Choric song; this last being divided into Parode and Stasimon. These are common to all plays: peculiar to some are the songs of actors from the stage and the Commoi.

The Prologue is that entire part of a tragedy which precedes the Parode of the Chorus. The Episode is that entire part of a tragedy which is between complete choric songs. The Exode is that entire part of a tragedy which has no choric song after it. Of the Choric part the Parode is the first undivided utterance of the Chorus: the Stasimon is a Choric ode without anapaests or trochaic tetrameters: the Commos is a joint lamentation of Chorus and actors. The parts of Tragedy which must be treated as elements of the whole have been already mentioned. The quantitative parts the separate parts into which it is divided--are here enumerated.]

Aristotle's Poetics - Complete Text

Aristotle's Poetics E-Text contains the full text of Aristotle's Poetics

• I 'Imitation' the common principle of the Arts of Poetry
• II The Objects of Imitation
• III The Manner of Imitation
• IV The Origin and Development of Poetry
• V Definition of the Ludicrous, and a brief sketch of the rise of Comedy
• VI Definition of Tragedy
• VII The Plot must be a Whole
• VIII The Plot must be a Unity
• IX (Plot continued.) Dramatic Unity
• X (Plot continued.) Definitions of Simple and Complex Plots
• XI (Plot continued.) Reversal of the Situation, Recognition, and Tragic or disastrous Incident defined and explained
• XII The 'quantitative parts' of Tragedy defined
• XIII (Plot continued.) What constitutes Tragic Action
• XIV (Plot continued.) The tragic emotions of pity and fear should spring out of the Plot itself
• XV The element of Character in Tragedy
• XVI (Plot continued.) Recognition: its various kinds, with examples
• XVII Practical rules for the Tragic Poet
• XVIII Further rules for the Tragic Poet
• XIX Thought, or the Intellectual element, and Diction in Tragedy
• XX Diction, or Language in general
• XXI Poetic Diction
• XXII (Poetic Diction continued.) How Poetry combines elevation of language with perspicuity
• XXIII Epic Poetry
• XXIV (Epic Poetry continued.) Further points of agreement with Tragedy
• XXV Critical Objections brought against Poetry, and the principles on which they are to be answered
• XXVI A general estimate of the comparative worth of Epic Poetry and Tragedy
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