By: Aristotle

PREFACE TO POETICS.

Aristotle .

• Ancient Greek Philosopher .

• Student of Greek Philosopher Pluto himself a student of Socrates .

• Estimated to have written 200 works

• Only 31 works of Aristotle are in circulation now .

His Major Works :-

• Categories .

• On Interpretation .

• Prior Analytics .

• Posterior Analytics .

• Poetics .

Preface to Poetics .

• Aristotle wrote this treatise as an answer to the argument made by Plato in his tenth book Republic.

• Plato , in his Republic says that Poets should be discarded from the society.

• Poetics is fragmentary . It originally consists of two books –former dealing with Tragedy and Epic and latter with Comedy and other subjects.

• But , we possess only the first one. The latter one seems to be unrevised and incomplete too.

• Poetics is a classic work.

Difficulties and Misconceptions in Poetics.

1. Translation .

• There is a immense difference in the history of ancient Greek and modern England .

• Greek language is much unconscious about grammar.• In the Greek language , one in ten of the nouns has an exact English

equivalent translation.• Thus , no translation written in normal English can reproduce the

style of Aristotle.

2. Poesis (making) and Poetes (maker)

• Although, the word poesis and poetes are translated as making and maker respectively, they are really not making but Imitation.

• Aristotle and Plato believed that art is imitation.• Epos, Tragedy are the imitation of rhythm, language, and tune.• Tragedy ‘imitates good man’ and comedy ‘imitates bad man.’• Tragedy is also an imitation of eudaimonia – a word often translated as

‘happiness’ but meaning something more like ‘high life’ or ‘blessedness.’

3. Prattein / Proxis (to act)

• The translation of prattein or proxis is ‘to act’ or ‘action.’• But , prattein has a intransitive meaning ‘to fare.’• Tragedy shows how men ‘fare’ than how they ‘act.’

4. Hamartia (bad shot or error)

• Aristotle says that the tragic hero is the one who falls from high state or frame, not through vice or depravity, but by some great hamartia.

• Hamartia translation goes as ‘bad shot’ or ‘error’ but used for ‘offence’ or ‘sin.’• But, Aristotle means that the tragic hero is great man with some flaws in his life

or character.

Other Difficulties.

• Greek language is unconscious of grammar.• Aristotle wrote Poetics at a time when the great age of Greek tragedy was

long past.• Literature is a thing that grows and has a history.

Some of the Aristotle’s concepts from Poetics.

• Aristotle uses the word mythos practically in the sense of ‘plot’• He says that Tragedy clings to the ‘historical names’ for an aesthetic reason.• Aristotle says that Chorus should be an integral part of the play and it ‘should

be regarded as one of the actors.’• Aristotle assumes that Anagnorisis and Peripeteia are two elements normally

present in any Tragedy that really has a plot except the simple ones.• Aristotle stresses on the need of Unity in his work of art.• He also demands that great art must have as it’s subject the great way of

living.

Translated by INGRAM BYWATERWith a Preface by GILBERT MURRAY.