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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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