Aristotle, trans. S.H. Butcher. The Poetics of Aristotle. n.a.: n.a., n.a..

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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• Biography of Aristotle
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• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 13-16
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 17-20
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 21-24
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 25-26
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