ARISTOTLE'S POETICS: SUMMARY NOTES
         
    Aristotle's Poetics would seem to be the least controversial of our overviews, since many of his texts seemed to have survived or been reconstructed to the point that they may be taken as evidence. Nevertheless, the framework for understanding Aristotle, the subject of our other overviews, is fragmented and reliant on indirect evidence of many kinds. Thus, as with our other 'fast and dirty' overviews, this very concise summary of terms is intended as a provisory introduction, something to provide a starting point for a bit more investigation in week one. There is much more to discover about Aristotle than indicated below and the purpose of this exercise is to fill out this information, in terms of both elaboration and, where evident, controversy!

Therefore, I suggest that you read all of the four overviews in our activity, browse the activity tasks, and then begin the activity described at the bottom of this page, which will ask you to select, request, and then explore an article or website relating a specific point in one of our overviews and then come back to the classroom to summarize your findings in a brief text, noting any discrepancies or elaboration on the information below that seems significant.

    
         
    Summary of selected points from the Poetics.    
         
Aristotle's Dramatic Genre   Epic, Tragedy and Comedy are all modes of imitation but differ in their medium, objects and manner of imitation.

Medium (or means): Rhythm, language, harmony.

Objects: Actions of agents who are good men or bad men, men above our own level of moral goodness or below it (Tragedy and Comedy respectively).

Manner: The poet may speak as narrator in one moment and as character in the next or may remain the same throughout; or the poet may represent the story dramatically, as if the persons were actually doing the things described. (Poetics, 1.I-III)

    
         
Origin of Poetry   Origin of Poetry: The natural inclination to imitation (e.g., learning); the fact that learning and recognition are pleasurable; the idea that imitation is therefore natural to us as are harmony and rhythm. (Poetics, 1.IV)    
         
Tragedy & Comedy   Poetry is divided into that representing graver, nobler actions, the stuff of Tragedy, and meaner, ignoble actions, the stuff of Comedy. (Poetics, 1.V)    
         
Qualities
of Tragedy		  

Tragedy is the imitation of serious action and is complete in itself. Presented in dramatic form, it is expressed in language with pleasurable accessories (rhythm and harmony) and is made up of incidents arousing pity and fear which will achieve catharsis.

Unlike history, tragedy describes that which might be rather than what is or has been. It is universal. It may be surprising, but not improbable. (Poetics, 1.VI)

    
         
Six Elements of Tragedy  

Tragedy has six parts, which he viewed in this order of importance:

Plot (combination of incidents) is most important because drama is action.

Characters (moral qualities of the agents) are second in importance, reveal the moral purpose.

Diction (composition of verses) is the expression of thought in words.

Thought (theme) consists of saying what can be said and what is appropriate (philosophy).

Melody (song) is an element of pleasure.

Spectacle (stage appearance) is the last consideration. (Poetics, 1.VI)

    
         
Plot   Plot consists of action, the series of events making up a play. According to Aristotle, a plot must have a discernable beginning, middle and end, an idea which may become clearer if we look at some of his other concepts, such as unity of action, simple and complex plot, complication and unraveling, and reversal (peripiteia).

Unity of Plot  requires a selection of incidents so integrated that the "transposal or withdrawal" of any one would disjoin the whole. In other contexts, this quality of plot may be discussed with regard to causal plots.

Aristotle also maintained that a play must be of a definite magnitude. We may think of magnitude as referring to the relationship between scope and duration or, in Aristotle's words, the idea that a play should be of "a length which allows the hero to pass by a series of probable and necessary stages from happiness to misery."

Plots may be simple (without peripeteia or discovery) or complex (with peripeteia or discovery).

Tragedy should have complication and unraveling.

Types of discovery (listed in terms of dramatic quality): arising from probable incident; arising from reasoning or memory; arising from signs or tokens; arising directly from poet.  (Poetics, 1.VII-XI)

    
         
   

The hero must not be portrayed as a totally good man who passes from happiness to misery, or a bad man who passes from misery to happiness. The first is not piteous, the second is odious. The hero's story must represent the misfortune of an essentially good man brought down by error rather than vice.

The tragic deed may be done or contemplated, the deed done knowingly or unknowingly.

Character should show goodness, appropriateness (e.g., not clever if women), realism and consistency.  (Poetics, 1.XIV-XV)

    
         
         
    Note for students: For our purposes, all italicized words are required vocabulary. Make sure that you can actively use all these terms.    
         
Activity   Before beginning the activity described here, be sure to read all of the pages belonging to this activity:

Athenian Society 5th Century B.C.
Greek Stage History
Aristotle's Poetics (this page)
 Greek Tragedy Overview

 

After reviewing the tasks listed at the end of each of the above pages, select the task you'd like to complete by requesting it in the appropriate conference area of the classroom. (These will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.) 

When I've confirmed your request, explore the site(s) indicated in the task description.

After completing your investigation, write a 350-500 word response which answers the questions, providing concrete examples or descriptions as useful. Then upload your response to the presentation area created in the classroom for this purpose.

    
         
    Task 9: Is Aristotle really so important to the understanding of Greek Drama? Read John Hooker's entry entitled Greek Drama on the WSU World Civilizations website, the tell us what you think.

Resource:

There is not direct link to this entry. To find it you must go to the main page for Ancient Greece. When you get the page, click the Contents link to the left. You will get a list of topics. Scroll down to the link entitled Greek Drama and CLICK!

    
         
    Task 10: Are Aristotle's texts really authoritative? What where his other areas of research? When you look at the pallet of his scientific and intellectual interests does this activity shed any new light on our study of Athenian politics, culture and belief in order to understand Greek Drama?

Resource:

Aristotle by John Phillips of the National University of Singapore.

    
         
    Task 11: Although Aristotle mentions discussions of both tragedy and comedy, only the fragments of tragedy evidently survived. So that we will not ignore comedy in our introductory work, I'm sending you to the following article, which briefly discusses the history of comedy. After you've read the article, formulate a brief essay pointing out what you consider the most important points made by the article on the question: What is the nature of Greek Comedy?

Resource:

Sense of the Comic by Edward Ballard in the Dictionary of the History of Ideas at Virginia State University.