books
Poetics
by Aristotle, 350 B.C.
Contents...
I.
'Imitation' the common principle of the Arts of Poetry.
II.
III.
IV.
The Origin and Development of Poetry.
V.
Definition of the Ludicrous, and a brief sketch of the rise of Comedy.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
(Plot continued.) Dramatic Unity.
X.
(Plot continued.) Definitions of Simple and Complex Plots.
XI.
(Plot continued.) Reversal of the Situation,
XII. The 'quantitative parts' of Tragedy defined. XIII. (Plot continued.) What constitutes Tragic
Action. XIV. (Plot continued.) The tragic emotions
of pity and fear should spring out of the Plot itself. XV. The element of Character in Tragedy. XVI. (Plot continued.) 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. XXII. (Poetic Diction continued.) How Poetry
combines elevation of language with perspicuity. XXIII. XXIV. (Epic Poetry continued.) 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. ———
