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THE POETICS OF ARISTOTLE

A Translationby S. H. Butcher


CONTENTS.

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 Dramatic Unity.
X Definitions of Simple and Complex Plots.
XI Reversal of the Situation, Recognition, and Tragic or Disastrous Incident Defined and Explained.
XII The ‘Quantitative Parts’ of Tragedy Defined.
XIII What Constitutes Tragic Action.
XIV The Tragic Emotions of Pity and Fear Should Spring Out of the Plot Itself.
XV The Element of Character in Tragedy.
XVI 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 How Poetry Combines Elevation of Language with Perspicuity.
XXIII Epic Poetry.
XXIV 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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