Poetics

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Poetics The Work

Aristotles Poetics, though short, has been widely influential outside philosophical circles. Yet it is doubtful that it can be fully appreciated outside Aristotles philosophical system as a whole. Central to all Aristotles philosophy is the claim that nothing can be understood apart from its end or purpose (telos). Not surprisingly, the Poetics seeks to discover the end or purpose of all the poetic arts, and especially of tragic drama. Understood generally, the goal of poetry is to provide pleasure of a particular kind. The Metaphysics begins, All men desire to know by nature, and the Nicomachean Ethics repeatedly says that the satisfaction of natural desires is the greatest source of lasting pleasure. The Poetics combines these two with the idea of imitation. All people by nature enjoy a good imitation (that is, a picture or drama) because they enjoy learning, and imitations help them to learn. Of particular interest to Aristotle is the pleasure derived from tragic drama, namely, the kind of pleasure that comes from the purging or cleansing (catharsis) of the emotions of fear and pity. Though the emotions of fear and pity are not to be completely eliminated, excessive amounts of these emotions are not characteristic of a flourishing individual. Vicariously experiencing fear and pity in a good tragedy cleanses the soul of ill humors. Though there are many elements of a good tragedy, the most important, according to Aristotle, is the plot. The centrality of plot once again follows from central doctrines of the Metaphysics and the Nichomachean Ethics. In the former, Aristotle argues that all knowledge is knowledge of universals; in the latter, he states that it is through their own proper activity that humans discover fulfillment. For a plot to work, it must be both complete and coherent. That means that it must constitute a whole with a beginning, middle, and end, and that the sequence of events must exhibit some sort of necessity. A good dramatic plot is unlike history. History has no beginning, middle, and end, and thus it lacks completeness. Furthermore, it lacks coherence because many events in history happen by accident. In a good dramatic plot, however, everything happens for a reason. This difference makes tragedy philosophically more interesting than history. Tragedy focuses on universal causes and effects and thus provides a kind of knowledge that history, which largely comprises accidental happenings, cannot.

Additional Reading
Ackrill, J. L. Essays on Plato and Aristotle. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. This work contains important and insightful reflections on two of the most influential thinkers in Western philosophy. Adler, Mortimer J. Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy. New York: Scribners 1997. A reliable interpreter provides an account that introduces Aristotles thought in accessible fashion.

Poetics

Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Richard Janko. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1987. Presents a first-rate translation of the Poetics. Thorough, extensive notes. Bar On, Bat-Ami, ed. Engendering Origins: Critical Feminist Readings in Plato and Aristotle. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994. Feminist perspectives are brought to bear on Aristotles philosophy in significant ways. Barnes, Jonathan. Aristotle. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. A reliable study designed for readers who want an introduction to Aristotles thought. Barnes, Jonathan, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. An excellent guide to Aristotles thought, which features significant essays on major aspects of his work. Broadie, Sarah. Ethics with Aristotle. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. This carefully done book concentrates on Aristotles ethical theory and its implications. Brumbaugh, Robert S. The Philosophers of Greece. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981. An introductory study that discusses Aristotles philosophy within the larger context of the Greek world. Cooper, John M. Reason and Human Good in Aristotle. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975. Coopers book is a study of the theoretical backbone of Aristotles moral philosophyhis theories of practical reasoning and of human happiness. Copleston, Frederick. A History of Philosophy: Greece and Rome. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1962. A leading scholar of Western philosophy discusses Aristotles life as well as his logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. Edel, Abraham. Aristotle and His Philosophy. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1996. A careful and helpful study by a veteran interpreter of Western thought. Else, Gerald F. Plato and Aristotle on Poetry. Edited by Peter Burian. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986. This posthumous edition of the work of an outstanding Aristotelian scholar and translator has eleven chapters devoted to a discussion of the Poetics. Ferguson, John. Aristotle. Boston: Twayne, 1972. Assisting the general reader in the study of Aristotles works, this book discusses Aristotles life and his views about nature and psychology and also offers perspectives on Aristotles lasting influence. Grube, G. M. A., trans. On Poetry and Style. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Provides an excellent translation of the Poetics. Directly relevant to the study of language and literature. Good introduction and notes. Halliwell, Stephen. Aristotles Poetics. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1986. Provides a thorough and extensive commentary on the Poetics. Includes Halliwells own translation and a helpful bibliography. Hughes, Gerard J. Aristotle on Ethics. New York: Routledge, 2001. A fresh introduction to the philosopher, refining the translation of Arstotles terms with a sensitivity to context. Husain, Martha. Ontology and the Art of Tragedy: An Approach to Aristotles Poetics. Albany: State University of New York, 2001. An examination of the Poetics using Metaphysics as a touchstone. Husain demonstrates the relationship between the works and how the latter illuminates the former. Additional Reading 2

Jones, W. T. A History of Western Philosophy: The Classical Mind. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1969. Combines historical interpretation of Aristotles far-reaching thought with relevant readings from Aristotles writings. Kenny, Anthony. Aristotle on the Perfect Life. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980. This work focuses on Aristotles views about human nature, ethics, and politics. Lear, Jonathan. Aristotle and Logical Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980. A detailed study of Aristotles views on logic and their continuing significance for understanding human reasoning. McLeisch, Kenneth. Aristotle. New York: Routledge, 1999. An excellent biographical introduction to the thoughts of the philosopher, clearly presented and requiring no special background. Bibliography. Mulgan, R. G. Aristotles Political Theory: An Introduction for Students of Political Theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977. Seeks to bring the major themes and arguments in Aristotles political theory into sharper focus than they appear in the Politics itself. Olson, Elder, ed. Aristotles Poetics and English Literature: A Collection of Critical Essays. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965. Discusses the Poetics and its history; also demonstrates the Aristotelian method of literary analysis. Olsons introduction is an excellent place to begin study of the Poetics. Randall, John Herman, Jr. Aristotle. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960. An older but reliable survey of Aristotles philosophy. Robinson, Timothy A. Aristotle in Outline. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1995. Accessible to beginning students, this clearly written survey covers Aristotles full range of thought. Rorty, Amlie Oksenberg, ed. Essays on Aristotles Ethics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981. An important collection of essays that concentrates on various facets of Aristotles influential moral philosophy. Smith, Thomas W. Revaluing Ethics: Aristotles Dialectical Pedagogy. Albany: State University of New York, 2001. Smith argues for a reading of Ethics, not as a moral guidebook, but as a pedagogycourse workfor developing a questioning mind. Strathern, Paul. Aristotle in Ninety Minutes. Chicago: Ivan Dee, 1996. A brief, easily accessible, introductory overview of Aristotles philosophy. Copyright Notice 2011 eNotes.com, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher. For complete copyright information, please see the online version of this work: http://www.enotes.com/poetics-salem

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