Free Download
The Poetics
The Poetics
On the Art of Poetry
In the tenth book of the Republic, when Plato has completed his final burning denunciation of Poetry, the false Siren, the imitator of things which themselves are shadows, the ally of all that is low and weak in the soul against that which is high and strong, who makes us feed the things we ought to starve and serve the things we ought to rule, he ends with a touch of compunction: 'We will give her champions, not poets themselves but poet-lovers, an opportunity to make her defence in plain prose and show that she is not only sweet--as we well know--but also helpful to society and the life of man, and we will listen in a kindly spirit. For we shall be gainers, I take it, if this can be proved.' Aristotle certainly knew the passage, and it looks as if his treatise on poetry was an answer to Plato's challenge.Translated by Ingram Bywater, with a preface by Gilbert Murray.
Book Excerpt
e of being an old word which is accepted and re-interpreted by Aristotle rather than a word freely chosen by him to denote the exact phenomenon he wishes to describe. At any rate the Dionysus ritual itself was a _katharmos_ or _katharsis_--a purification of the community from the taints and poisons of the past year, the old contagion of sin and death. And the words of Aristotle's definition of tragedy in Chapter VI might have been used in the days of Thespis in a much cruder and less metaphorical sense. According to primitive ideas, the mimic representation on the stage of 'incidents arousing pity and fear' did act as a _katharsis_ of such 'passions' or 'sufferings' in real life. (For the word _pathemata_ means 'sufferings' as well as 'passions'.) It is worth remembering that in the year 361 B.C., during Aristotle's lifetime, Greek tragedies were introduced into Rome, not on artistic but on superstitious grounds, as a _katharmos_ against a pestilence (Livy vii. 2). One cannot but suspect that in his account o
Editor's choice
(view all)
Popular books in Poetry, Classic, Non-fiction
More books by Aristotle
(view all)
Readers reviews
2.5
LoginSign up
An interesting piece of literary criticism surpassed, Aristotelian doctrines invariably restrict the boundaries of art and the expansion of character, poetry and action leading to boredom and the lack of variety suffering parts of Moliere and Racine. Interesting but outdated and archaic. Thanks to Shakespeare, whose genius Aristotle could not imagine.
- Upvote (0)
- Downvote (0)
my lovely book
06/27/2011