Aristotle - Summary of Poetics

September 20, 2013

Summary of Aristotle’s - Poetics

            This is an analysis of poetry and the arts.  This examination will identify the types of poetry, determine the structures of good plot development, classify of poetry’s various parts, and it will examine anything else that might relate to poetry.  The intent of this examination is to increase knowledge of poetry, and to provide poets guidance, of the best sorts of things, that make for excellent poems and plays.

            Epic poetry, Tragedy, Comedy, Dithyrambic Poetry and Music are the most commonly found imitations.  These imitations differ from each other through their mediums, their objects, and the mannerisms in their presentation.  Mediums include color, form, rhythm and meter.  Rhythm can be language, or harmony, or a combination of both in conjunction with other mediums.  Objects are imitations of “men in action.”  Men are portrayed as either worse than they are, as found in Comedy; better than they are, as found in Tragedy; or as they are.  Manner determines the voice, or aspect, of the poetry.  The story can be told through the poet’s perspective, the perspective of someone else, or presented in real time.  Drama is the imitation of men in action.

            Imitations, and the enjoyment of imitations, are natural to the human state.  Imitation is found in youth as children learn by imitating things around them.  This form of learning gives children, and adults, the “liveliest pleasure.”  In addition, people can enjoy imitations, to the same degree as the originals, as imitations tickle and engage the mind.  People also have a natural inclination towards harmony and rhythm.  It is the natural tendency to enjoy imitation, and rhythm, that becomes the foundation of poetry.

            Comedy, Tragedy and Epic are discussed.  Comedy is the imitation of people presented as less than they are.  Comedy can also portray ugliness or defects, but without malice, destruction or pain.  Epic is like Tragedy but contains a singular kind meter. and it is narrated.  Epic can span more than a day’s period of time, whereas Tragedy is limited to one day.  Aristotle notes that Tragedy contains all of the traits of Epic, but not vice versa.  Tragedy is an imitation that is serious, complete, has a certain magnitude, and evokes fear and pity through action.  Tragedy has six parts including plot, character, thought, diction, song and spectacle.

            Plot is the soul, or the most important part of the poem.   The proper structure of plot is to contain a whole, or a beginning, middle, and an end.  Beauty in a poem is dependent on magnitude and order.   Magnitude and order means the scope of the poem “may be easily embraced in one view,” and “a length which can be easily embraced by the memory.”  The poem should not contain forms or concepts that are too small to see or too big to grasp.   Plot structure is essential to a good poem, but structure is not necessarily pertinent to the hero.   In other words, complete and full knowledge of the hero is not necessary to establish a full plot.

            Plot sequence should follow actions that are probable or necessary.  Actions that are probable or necessary, relative to the character, describe universal notions of human action and reaction.  He notes poems speak to universals while history speaks to particulars.  He notes episodic plots are the worst, as time contingencies break the natural flow of the plot. Tragedy is both the imitation of a complete action, and the generation of fear or pity.  The effects are heightened when they are surprising and unfold naturally through cause and effect.

            Plots are classified as simple or complex.  Simple plots contain an action resulting in a change of fortune without the benefit of reversal or recognition.  A complex plot contains the change of fortune while containing a reversal, a recognition or both.  A reversal is an action changing to its opposite, but only through the “rules of probability or necessity.”  Recognition is “a change from ignorance to knowledge.”  Pity or fear is generated when a recognition is combined with reversal.  Aristotle identifies suffering as a painful or destructive act.

            Tragedies should have complex plots and actions that generate fear and pity.  The characters should be well known and prosperous, and whose change of fortune are the results of their own human frailties.  In addition, the best tragedies contain betrayals between family members or close friends.  The emotions are heightened when a character executes an act despite recognizing its destructive aspects.

            The character of the hero must be good and manifest moral purpose.  The hero should display valor in his actions and be true to life.  In addition, the hero needs to be consistent in their actions.  Emphasis is placed on the sequence of events that unfold out of necessity or probability. 

             The examination of poetry is complete.  Its parts have been identified and good counsel has been given on the development of the most enjoyable sorts of plots.      

              

Works Cited

Aristotle. Poetics and Rhetoric. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics 2005. Print