This article is about the treatise by Aristotle. For the theory of literary forms and discourse, seePoetics. For other uses, seePoetics (disambiguation).
Aristotle'sPoetics (Ancient Greek:Περὶ ποιητικῆςPeri poietikês;Latin:De Poetica;[1]c. 335 BC[2]) is the earliest surviving work of Greekdramatic theory and the firstextant philosophical treatise to solely focus onliterary theory.[3]: ix In this text, Aristotle offers an account ofποιητική, which refers to poetry, and more literally, "the poetic art", deriving from the term for "poet; author; maker",ποιητής. Aristotle divides the art of poetry into versedrama (comedy,tragedy, and thesatyr play),lyric poetry, andepic. The genres all share the function ofmimesis, or imitation of life, but differ in three ways that Aristotle describes:
There are differences in music rhythm, harmony, meter, and melody.
There is a difference of goodness in the characters.
A difference exists in how the narrative is presented: telling a story or acting it out.
The surviving book ofPoetics is primarily concerned with drama; the analysis oftragedy constitutes the core of the discussion.[4][5]
Although the text is universally acknowledged in theWestern critical tradition, "every detail about this seminal work has aroused divergent opinions."[6] Of scholarly debates on thePoetics, four have been most prominent. These include the meanings ofcatharsis andhamartia, theClassical unities[7]
Aristotle's work onaesthetics consists of thePoetics,Politics (Bk VIII), andRhetoric.[8] ThePoetics was lost to the Western world for a long time. The text was restored to the West in theMiddle Ages and earlyRenaissance only through a Latin translation of anArabic version written byAverroes.[9] The accurateGreek-Latin translation made byWilliam of Moerbeke in 1278 was virtually ignored.[10] At some point during antiquity, the original text of thePoetics was divided in two, each "book" written on a separate roll ofpapyrus.[3]: xx Only the first part—that which focuses ontragedy and epic (as a quasi-dramatic art, given its definition in Ch. 23)—survives. The lost second part addressedcomedy.[3]: xx [11] Some scholars speculate that theTractatus coislinianus summarizes the contents of the lost second book.[3]: xxi
The table of contents page of thePoetics found in Modern Library'sBasic Works of Aristotle (2001) identifies five basic parts within it.[12]
Preliminary discourse on tragedy, epic poetry, and comedy, as the chief forms of imitative poetry.
Definition of a tragedy, and the rules for its construction. Definition and analysis into qualitative parts.
Rules for the construction of a tragedy: Tragic pleasure, orcatharsis experienced by fear and pity should be produced in the spectator. The characters must be four things: good, appropriate, realistic, and consistent.Discovery must occur within the plot. Narratives, stories, structures, and poetics overlap. It is important for the poet to visualize all of the scenes when creating the plot. The poet should incorporate complication anddénouement within the story, as well as combine all of the elements oftragedy. The poet must express thought through the characters' words and actions, while paying close attention todiction and how a character's spoken words express a specific idea. Aristotle believed that all of these different elements had to be present in order for the poetry to be well-done.
Possible criticisms of an epic or tragedy and the answers to them.
Tragedy is artistically superior to epic poetry: Tragedy has everything that the epic has, even the epic meter being admissible. The reality of presentation is felt in the play as read, as well as in the play as acted. The tragic imitation requires less time for the attainment of its end. If it has a more concentrated effect, it is more pleasurable than one with a large admixture of time to dilute it. There is less unity in the imitation of the epic poets (a plurality of actions), and this is proved by the fact that an epic poem can supply enough material for several tragedies.
Aristotle also draws a famous distinction between the tragic mode of poetry and the type of history-writing practiced among the Greeks. Whereas history deals with things that took place in the past, tragedy concerns itself with what might occur, or could be imagined to happen. History deals with particulars, whose relation to one another is marked by contingency, accident, or chance. Contrariwise, poetic narratives are determined objects, unified by a plot whose logic binds up the constituent elements by necessity and probability. In this sense, he concluded, such poetry was more philosophical than history was in so far as it approximates a knowledge ofuniversals.[13]
Aristotle distinguishes between thegenres of "poetry" in three ways:
Matter
Language,rhythm, andmelody, for Aristotle, make up the matter of poetic creation. Where theepic poem makes use of language alone, the playing of thelyre involves rhythm and melody. Some poetic forms include a blending of all materials; for example, Greek tragic drama included a singing chorus, and so music and language were all part of the performance. These points also conveythe standard view[clarification needed]. Recent[may be outdated as of April 2023] work, though, argues that translatingrhuthmos here as "rhythm" is absurd: melody already has its own inherent musical rhythm, and the Greek can mean whatPlato says it means inLaws II, 665a: "(the name of) ordered body movement," or dance. This correctly conveys what dramatic musical creation, the topic of thePoetics, in ancient Greece had: music, dance, and language. Also, the musical instrument cited in Ch. 1 is not the lyre but thekithara, which was played in the drama while the kithara-player was dancing (in the chorus), even if that meant just walking in an appropriate way. Moreover, epic might have had only literary exponents, but as Plato'sIon and Aristotle's Ch. 26 of thePoetics help prove, for Plato and Aristotle at least some epic rhapsodes used all three means of mimesis: language, dance (as a pantomimic gesture), and music (if only by chanting the words).[14]
Subjects
(Also "agents" in some translations.) Aristotle differentiates betweentragedy andcomedy throughout the work by distinguishing between the nature of thehuman characters that populate either form. Aristotle finds that tragedy deals with serious, important, and virtuous people. Comedy, on the other hand, treats of less virtuous people and focuses on human "weaknesses and foibles".[15] Aristotle introduces here the influentialtripartite division of characters: superior (βελτίονας) to the audience, inferior (χείρονας), or at the same level (τοιούτους).[16]
Method
One may imitate the agents through use of a narrator throughout, or only occasionally (using direct speech in parts and a narrator in parts, asHomer does), or only through direct speech (without a narrator), using actors to speak the lines directly. This latter is the method of tragedy (and comedy): without the use of any narrator.
Having examined briefly the field of "poetry" in general, Aristotle proceeds to his definition of tragedy:
Tragedy is arepresentation of a serious, complete action that has magnitude, in embellished speech, with each of its elements [used] separately in the [various] parts [of the play] and [represented] by people acting and not bynarration, accomplished using pity andterror thecatharsis of such emotions.
By "embellished speech", I mean that which has rhythm and melody, i.e. song. By "with its elements separately", I mean that some [parts of it] are accomplished only by using spoken verses, and others again by means of song.[3]: 7:1449b25-30 [a]
Refers to the "organization of incidents". It should imitate an action that evokes pity and fear. The plot involves a change from bad towards good, or good towards bad. Complex plots have reversals and recognitions. These and suffering (or violence) evoke the tragic emotions. The most tragic plot pushes a good character towards undeserved misfortune because of a mistake (hamartia). Plots revolving around such a mistake are more tragic than plots with two sides and an opposite outcome for the good and the bad. Violent situations are most tragic if they are between friends and family. Threats can be resolved by being done in knowledge, done in ignorance and then discovered, or almost done in ignorance but discovered at the last moment. Aristotle judges the last to be the best. This, however, seems tocontradict his statement regarding the most tragic plot.
Actions should follow logically from the situation created by what has happened before, and from the character of the agent. This goes for recognitions and reversals as well, as even surprises are more satisfying to the audience if they afterwards are seen as a plausible or necessary consequence.
Aristotle defines a tragedy as entertaining by satisfying the moral sense and imitating actions that "excite pity and fear". The success of a tragedy in calling forth these qualities is revealed through the moral character of the agents, which is revealed through the actions and choices of the agents. In a perfect tragedy, the character will support the plot, which means personal motivations and traits will somehow connect parts of the cause-and-effect chain of actions producing pity and fear.
The main character should be:
Good— a character must be between the two extremes of morality, they must simply be good. A character should not be on either of the moral extremities. To follow a character of virtue from prosperity to adversity merely serves to shock the audience; yet to follow them from adversity to prosperity is a story of triumph that satisfies the moral sense but ignores the excitement of fear and pity altogether. To follow a villain from prosperity to adversity will undoubtedly satisfy the moral sense, but it once again ignores the tragic qualities of fear and pity. On the other hand, a villain going from adversity to prosperity possesses no tragic qualities at all, neither satisfying the moral sense nor exciting fear and pity.
Appropriate—if a character is supposed to be wise, it is unlikely he is young (supposing wisdom is gained with age).
Consistent—as the actions of a character should follow the Law of Probability and Necessity, they must be written to be internally consistent. When applied, the Law of Probability and Necessity defines it as necessary for a character to react and as probable for them to react in a certain way. To be truly realistic, these reactions must be true and expected of the character. As such, they must be internally consistent.
"consistently inconsistent"—if a character always behaves foolishly it is strange if he suddenly becomes intelligent. In this case, it would be good to explain such the cause of such a change; otherwise, the audience may be confused. If a character changes their opinion a lot it should be made clear that this is a trait of the character.
thought (dianoia)—spoken (usually) reasoning of human characters can explain the characters or story background.
diction (lexis)—Lexis is better translated, according to some,[who?] as "speech" or "language". Otherwise, the relevant necessary condition stemming fromlogos in the definition (language) has no follow-up: mythos (plot) could be done by dancers or pantomime artists, given chapters 1, 2, and 4, if the actions are structured (on stage, as drama was usually done), just like plot for us can be given in film or in a story-ballet with no words.[clarification needed]
Refers to the quality of speech in tragedy. Speeches should reflect character: the moral qualities of those on the stage. The expression of the meaning of the words.[sentence fragment]
melody (melos)—"Melos" can also mean "music-dance", especially given that its primary meaning in ancient Greek is "limb" (an arm or a leg). This is arguably more sensible because then Aristotle is conveying what the chorus actually did.[17]
The Chorus should be written as one of the actors. As such, It should be an integral part of the whole: taking a share in the action and contributing to the unity of the plot. It is a factor in the pleasure of the drama.
Refers to the visual apparatus of the play, including set, costumes, and props (anything you can see). Aristotle calls spectacle the "least artistic" element of tragedy, and the"least connected with the work of the poet (playwright).[clarification needed] For example: if the play has "beautiful" costumes and "bad" acting and "bad" story, there is "something wrong" with it. Even though that "beauty" may save the play it is "not a nice thing".
He offers the earliest-surviving explanation for the origins of tragedy and comedy:
Anyway, arising from animprovisatory beginning (both tragedy and comedy—tragedy from the leaders of thedithyramb, and comedy from the leaders of thephallic processions which even now continue as a custom in many of our cities)...[3]: 6:1449a10–13 [b]
The Arabic version of Aristotle'sPoetics that influenced theMiddle Ages was translated from a Greek manuscript dated to some time prior to the year 700. This manuscript, translated from Greek to Syriac, is independent of the currently-accepted 11th-century source designatedParis 1741.[c] TheSyriac-language source used for the Arabic translations departed widely in vocabulary from the originalPoetics and it initiated a misinterpretation of Aristotelian thought that continued through the Middle Ages.[19]
The scholars who published significant commentaries on Aristotle'sPoetics includedAvicenna,Al-Farabi, andAverroes.[20]: 15–16 Many of these interpretations sought to use Aristotelian theory to impose morality on the Arabic poetic tradition.[20]: 15 In particular, Averroes added a moral dimension to thePoetics by interpreting tragedy as the art of praise and comedy as the art of blame.[10] Averroes' interpretation of thePoetics was accepted by theWest, where it reflected the "prevailing notions of poetry"into[clarification needed] the 16th century.[10]
Giorgio Valla's 1498 Latin translation of Aristotle's text (the first to be published) was included in a collection of various translations.[21][22] In 1508 theAldine Press published the Greek original as part of another anthology,Rhetores graeci.[23] By the early decades of the sixteenth century, vernacular versions of Aristotle'sPoetics appeared, culminating inLodovico Castelvetro's Italian editions of 1570 and 1576.[24] Italian culture produced the great Renaissance commentators on Aristotle'sPoetics, and in thebaroque periodEmanuele Tesauro, with hisCannocchiale aristotelico, re-presented to the world of post-Galileanphysics Aristotle's poetic theories as the sole key to approaching thehuman sciences.[25]
Recent scholarship has challenged whether Aristotle focuses on literary theory per se (given that not one poem exists in the treatise) or whether he focuses instead on dramatic musical theory that only has language as one of the elements.[26][14]
Melos, or "melody"; also "music-dance" (melos meaning primarily "limb")
Mimesis or "imitation", "representation", or "expression", given that, e.g., music is a form of mimesis, and often there is no music in the real world to be "imitated" or "represented".
Mythos or "plot", defined in Chapter 6 explicitly as the "structure of actions".
^In Butcher's translation, this passage reads: "Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play, in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the propercatharsis of these emotions."
^This text is available online[18] in an older translation, in which the same passage reads: "At any rate it originated in improvisation—both tragedy itself andcomedy. The one tragedy came from the prelude to the dithyramb and the other comedy from the prelude to thephallic songs which still survive as institutions in many cities."
^A digital reproduction ofParis 1741 is available on the website of Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France):gallica.bnf.fr. ThePoetics begins onpage 184r.
^Dukore, Bernard F. (1974).Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Florence, Ky.: Heinle & Heinle. p. 31.ISBN0-03-091152-4.
^abcdefAristotle (1987).Aristotle: Poetics, with Tractatus Coislinianus, Reconstruction of Poetics II, and the Fragments of the On the Poets. Translated by Janko, Richard. London: Hackett.
^Battin, M. Pabst (1974). "Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy in the Poetics".The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.33 (2):155–170.doi:10.2307/429084.ISSN0021-8529.JSTOR429084.
^Carlson, Marvin A. (1993).Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Cornell University Press. p. 16.ISBN978-0-8014-8154-3.
^Takeda, Arata (2025).Die verkannte Tragödie: Theoriebildung und Wissenswandel zwischen Antike und Neuzeit. Weilerswist: Velbrück, 2025. pp. 297–436.
^Aristotle (2001). "Poetics". In McKeon, Richard (ed.).The Basic Works of Aristotle. Translated by Bywater, Ingrid. Modern Library. pp. 1453–87.
^Carli, Silvia (December 2010). "Poetry is more philosophical than history: Aristotle on mimesis and form".The Review of Metaphysics.64 (2):303–336.JSTOR29765376. Esp. pp. 303–304, 312–313.
^abScott, Gregory L (10 October 2018).Aristotle on Dramatic Musical Composition. Existenceps Press.ISBN978-0-9997049-3-6.
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