Aristotle: The Poetics

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Chapters 1-5

Summary

Aristotle begins with a loose outline of what he will address in The Poetics:

a. the different kinds of poetry and the 'essential quality' of each

b. the structure necessary for a 'good poem'

c. the method in which a poem is divided into parts

d. anything else that might tangentially comes up in his address of the above topics.

But before he begins tackling these topics, Aristotle first seeks to define poetry. Poetry, as Aristotle defines it, is first and foremost a 'medium of imitation,' meaning a form of art that seeks to duplicate or represent life. Poetry can imitate life in a number of ways, by representing character, emotion, action, or even everyday objects.

Poetry, as Aristotle defines it, includes epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and music (specifically of flute, and lyre). What differentiates these kinds of poetry is the nature of their 'imitation.' He notes three differences.

1. Medium of Imitation

In general, poetry imitates life through rhythm, language, and harmony. This is more pronounced in music or dance, but even verse poetry can accomplish imitation through language alone

2. Object of Imitation

Art seeks to imitate men in action - hence the term 'drama' (dramitas, in Greek). In order to imitate men, art must either present man as 'better' than they are in life (i.e. of higher morals), as true to life, or as 'worse' than they are in life (i.e. of lower morals).

Each author has his own tendencies - Homer 'makes men better than they are,' Cleophon 'as they are', Nichochares 'worse than they are.' But more important is a general distinction that Aristotle makes between forms of drama: comedy represents men as worse then they are, tragedy as better than they are in actual life.

3. Mode of Imitation

A poet can imitate either through:

a. narration, in which he takes another personality (an omniscient 'I' watching the events 'like an observer')

b. speak in his own person, unchanged (the first-person 'I')

c. presents all his characters as living and moving before us (third-person narrator)

Continuing on from imitation, Aristotle turns to the anthropology and history of poetry. As Aristotle sees it, poetry emerged for two reasons -- 1) man's instinct to imitate things and 2) the instinct for 'harmony' and rhythm.

Once poetry emerged, it evolved in two directions. One group of poems imitated 'noble actions,' or the actions of good men. A second group of poets imitated 'the actions of meaner persons' in the form of satire. The former evolved into tragedy, the latter into epic poetry, then tragic drama.

Tragedy began as improvisation and evolved over time, through the contribution of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others into its natural form of dramatic plot, dialogue, and iambic verse.

Comedy began as an imitation of characters 'of a lower type', meaning a representation of a defect or ugliness in character, which is not painful or destructive. Comedy was at first not taken seriously, but once plot was introduced in Sicily comedic theater, it soon grew into a respected form.

Epic poetry, finally, imitates men of noble action, like tragedy. But epic poetry only allows one kind of meter and is narrative in form. Moreover, tragedy usually confines itself to a single day, whereas epic poetry has no limits of time. Ultimately, all the elements of an epic poem are found in tragedy, but not all the elements of tragedy are found in an epic poem.

Analysis

The Poetics begins quickly and efficiently, unlike a number of Aristotle's other works. Instead of laying out an argument for why the subjects merits such a discussion or an overall thesis for his investigation, he immediately lays out an outline for his work - types of poetry, structure, and division - and begins his systematic analysis.

As one critic notes, "The preliminaries are over in ten lines... Nothing is said about the purpose of the discussion, what Aristotle hopes to accomplish by it; next to nothing about method, or the views of others on poetry. But above all we miss something that stands as preface to every major work of Aristotle's [best work], namely some general statement by way of orientation..." (Else, 2). In other words, Aristotle usually presents a 'notion of the forest,' before he begins to look at the trees. But not in the Poetics.

The first three chapters of the Poetics are action-packed - nearly every line needs to be carefully dealt with, since Aristotle presents a myriad of definitions, concepts, and categories. But the first major issue is to understand involves the term 'Poetics' - what does Aristotle mean by it? Simply put, 'poetry' to Aristotle is not the final product, but the art of creating poetry. To understand this art, we must first grasp a number of important concepts.

The first is 'imitation,' which is a word used often in the Poetics. 'Imitation,' as a concept, refers to an artist's primary motivation to duplicate or capture life in some form. Imitation, furthermore, is an innate instinct, says Aristotle, that is 'implanted in man from childhood.' We use imitation not only for entertainment, but also for learning - by seeing the fortunes or misfortunes of another, they can internalize experience through vicarious living.

Aristotle also uses imitation to differentiate between tragedy and comedy. In the former, poets reveal men as better than they are - hence the tragic 'hero.' It is in this representation of man as 'better' or of 'higher morality' that we ultimately find catharsis, the release at the end of a tragedy. In comedy, however, a poet presents man as worse than he is - plagued by some defect or ugliness which ultimately takes the reader into a satiric worldview. Comedy ultimately works in a similar way to tragedy, but with opposite effect: in a tragedy, we grieve over the fate of a man who must suffer for his flaw, perhaps touched by the possibility that we too might possess this flaw. But in a comedy, we laugh at the hero's flaw, comforted by the fact that it is not ours.

Indeed, comedy and tragedy both have a moralizing effect on the audience. This is less evident in comedy, perhaps, since "comedies tend to be about bad behavior and people doing ugly, immoral, or ridiculous things." The critic Goucher explains how Aristotle solves this problem: "[Aristotle] accepted that the primary object of comedy as imitation: imitation of low characters - not morally bad, but ludicrous, ugly but not painful or destructive. He defended comedies' mimetic representation of ludicrous behavior because it would incite audiences to avoid its imitation" (Goucher 1).

Aristotle's definition of epic poetry may confuse the reader, so it is worth illuminating precisely what he means. Epic poetry is like tragedy in that it reveals man to be better than he is - but it is narrative in form, depending either on an omniscient first-person narrator, a third-person narrator, or a first-person narrating hero. A tragedy, meanwhile, involves the dialogue of two or more characters. Additionally, tragedy and epic poetry differ in length -- tragedy is confined usually to a single day, in the efforts to reveal a quick devolution of the hero. Epic poetry, meanwhile, often continues for a man's full lifetime. Ultimately it seems that tragedy grew from epic poetry, so we find all the qualities of the latter in the former, but an epic poem need not contain all the elements of a tragedy. 

 

 

Chapters 6-9

Summary

Tragedy is an imitation of action with the following characteristics: it is serious, complete, of significant magnitude, depicted with rhythmic language and/or song, in the form of action (not narrative), and produces a 'purgation' of pity and fear in the audience (also known as catharsis)

Since tragedy is the imitation of action, it is chiefly concerned with the lives of men, and thus presents a stage for character and thought. Character - the qualities ascribed to a certain man - and thought, according to Aristotle, are the two causes from which actions spring. These elements also determine the success of a given action. Plot, then, is arrangements of incidents (successes or failures) that result from character and thought giving way to action.

With the above in mind, Aristotle lays out the six parts that define a tragedy:

a. plot
b. character
c. diction (rhythmic language)
d. thought
e. spectacle
f. song

Plot is the most important part of a tragedy for a number of reasons. First, the result of a man's actions determines his success or failure, and hence his happiness, so it is action which is paramount - not character, which doesn't necessarily affect every action. Second, without action, there cannot be a tragedy - but there can be a tragedy without character. Thirdly, diction, song, and thought - even elegantly combined - cannot replicate the action of life without plot.

Plot, then, is the 'soul of a tragedy,' and character comes second. Rounding out his rankings: thought, meaning what a character says in a given circumstance, followed by diction, song, and spectacle.

Aristotle goes on to describe the elements of plot, which include completeness, magnitude, unity, determinate structure, and universality. Completeness refers to the necessity of a tragedy to have a beginning, middle, and end. A 'beginning' is defined as an origin, by which something naturally comes to be. An 'end,' meanwhile, follows another incident by necessity, but has nothing necessarily following it. The 'middle' follows something just as something must follow it.

'Magnitude' refers simply to length -- the tragedy must be of a 'length which can be easily embraced by the memory.' That said, Aristotle believes that the longer a tragedy, the more beautiful it can be, provided it maintains its beginning, middle, and end. And in the sequence of these three acts, the tragedy will present a change 'from bad fortune to good, or from good fortune to bad.''Unity' refers to the centering of all the plot's action around a common theme or idea.

'Determinate structure' refers to the fact that the plot all hinges on a sequence of causal, imitative events, so if one were to remove even one part of the plot, the entire tragedy 'will be disjointed and disturbed.' More simply, every part of a good plot is necessary.

'Universality' refers to the necessity of a given character to speak or act according to how all or most humans would react in a given situation, 'according to the law of probability or necessity.'

Aristotle ends this discussion of plot elements by pointing his out his particular disdain for 'episodic' plots - plots in which episodes succeed one another 'without probably or necessary sequence' (like a weekly sitcom, for instance). These episodic dramas stretch plot 'beyond their capacity,' and hence are inorganic.

 

Analysis

Aristotle highlights the primacy of action in this section as the key to an artist's imitation. Indeed, because action initiates a chain of causal events, it is the single most important driver of plot. Though an astute reader might ask 'But what causes action?', Aristotle quickly responds by arguing that ultimately the things that drive action - character and thought - aren't nearly as important as the action itself. For plot is the simple arrangement of incidents in causal chains, and in this plot alone we can find satisfaction, even if it is not clearly motivated with character or thought.

That said, the best of tragedies maintain the primacy of plot while also inlaying the drama with character, diction (rhythmic language), thought, spectacle, and song. Character here refers to the attributes either ascribed or clearly evident in a given man - virtues which ultimately define a tragic hero's flaw and the source of his redemption. Thought, meanwhile, refers to the ideas of a given character, conveyed by speech. Though thought illuminates character, it is not necessary for it - indeed, a silent hero still would have a clearly delineated character, and perhaps an even clearer one than a loquacious character. Again, Aristotle's thesis is proved - that it is action that is paramount, regardless of motivation or underlying cause.

'Unity' is another concept which may confuse the reader, since Aristotle does not spend much time explicating it. Unity refers to the ability of the best plots to revolve around an axis, a theme which 'unites' all the action. A unified drama will have a 'spine' - a central idea which motivates all the action, characters, thoughts, diction, and spectacle.

'Determinate structure' follows from unity -- if the action revolves around a central spine, it creates a full skeleton of plot. But remove one bone, and the entire body of action becomes unstable, since every bone radiates from the central spine and is thus fully necessary. The test, Aristotle says, is to see if there is any part of the plot which can be removed without missing it. If this is true, then it must be excised. A true drama never wanders from its central spine for fear of losing its unity.

'Universality', meanwhile, is slightly more vague, but appeals to our common sense. Aristotle simply states that a character must act in accordance with human nature - either through probability, i.e. what 'most of us' would do, or through necessity, i.e. what we are 'forced' to do. An action cannot seem arbitrary - otherwise not only will it violate the determinate structure and break unity, but it will also irritate an audience that sees no basis for the action in human behavior. 

                                                                                        Chapter 10-12

Summary

In order for plot to function, it not only needs the basic concepts from the previous chapters, but the following components as well: astonishment, reversal (or peripeteia), recognition, and suffering.

Astonishment refers to a tragedy's ability to inspire 'fear and pity.' Both fear and pity are elicited from an audience when the events come by surprise, but not by chance. The surprise that drives the tragedy must feel like it is part of a grander design.

Reversal is the change by which the main action of the story comes full-circle -- for example, In Oedipus, the messenger who comes to free Oedipus from his fears of his mother produces the opposite effect with his news. 

 Recognition is the change from ignorance to knowledge, usually involving people coming to understand the identities of one another or discovering whether a person 'has done a thing or not.' The best forms of recognition are linked with a reversal (as in Oedipus) and, in tandem, will produce pity and fear from the audience.

Suffering is a destructive or painful action, which is often the result of a reversal or recognition. Aristotle points out that a 'simple' plot omits a reversal or recognition, but a 'complex plot has one or the other - or both, if it is truly transcendent. All tragedies, however, depend on suffering as part of its attempt to elicit pity and fear from the audience.
Finally, Aristotle points out the structural parts of a tragedy (or 'quantitative' parts, as he calls them). These are the prologue, episode, exode, and choric song. 

The prologue is the part of the tragedy which precedes the first undivided utterance of the chorus. The episode is the part of the tragedy between choral songs, and the exode is the first part of a tragedy with no choric song after it.

 

Analysis

Three key concepts are introduced in this section - reversal, recognition, and catharsis (though Aristotle refers to the last as 'purgation.') A simple tragedy will have none of these elements (or a perfunctory catharsis), but a complex tragedy will use reversal and recognition to achieve catharsis. 

Reversal works in tandem with a story's spine or center to ensure that the hero comes full circle. Oedipus is the best example of a hero who encounters such a reversal -- he hears news that his fears have been allayed, the mystery solved, and then in the course of enjoying this relief and hearing the news, he realizes that it in fact implicates him.
Often, recognition is a tool to achieve this reversal or a byproduct of it -- in this case, Oedipus recognizes the true identity of his father and mother, the nature of his own crimes, and the accuracy of the prophecy. In one swift blow, Oedipus has come full circle and is now the victim of his own search for justice and truth.
The concept of suffering is slightly misleading in that it does not refer simply to a character's endurance of physical and emotional pain. In order to truly produce catharsis - the commingling of fear and pity in an audience - the suffering must be a consequence of reversal or recognition. And indeed, the more surprising the reversal or recognition - as in the case of Oedipus - the more the audience will themselves suffer empathetically, realizing that they too have been ambushed by the causal chain of the plot. Even as 'objective' observers, audience members too are flawed - and thus learn from the tragic hero's fate.
Catharsis, then, is pity for the hero, and fear that his fate could befall us. While pity is the result of any combination of reversal and recognition, fear can only be a product of reversal and recognition crafted into a surprising ending to the plot. And indeed, the absolute pinnacle of tragedy comes when surprise, reversal, recognition, and suffering are united around the core spine of the story in a swift blow to the audience at the end of the third act.

                                                                                      

                                                                                    Chapters 13-16

Summary

Aristotle next addresses what elements comprise the 'best' tragic plots. First, a perfect tragedy should have a complex plan - thus using reversal and recognition to imitate actions which elicit fear or pity in the audience. And yet, a good tragedy does not simply present the spectacle of a virtuous man suffering adversity, for that is merely 'shocking' and does not make us empathize with the hero.
If pity is aroused by 'unmerited misfortune,' and fear by 'the misfortune of a man like ourselves,' then a good tragedy presents a character whose downfall comes because of a flaw in him - 'an error or frailty.' Though he is renowned, prosperous, even seeming virtuous, there is a chink in his armor that will inevitably be found - and will be the source of his demise.
Fear and pity truly can only be elicited through this tragic flaw in the hero which in turn is motivated by the 'unity' or spine of the entire piece. Some poets, says Aristotle, use spectacle to motivate fear and pity, but this ultimately does not resonate for long, since spectacle produces a different type of 'pleasure' than the one requisite for tragedy. Only pity and fear can produce true 'purgation' or emotions, rather than a spectacle of false catharsis.
Aristotle next summarizes the circumstances that make for good tragedy. First, it must involve incidents between people who are 'dear to one another' - i.e. a son killing a mother, a brother killing a brother, etc. There are all kinds of permutations of such an incident:
a. the act can be done consciously and with knowledge of the people involved (i.e. Medea slaying her children)
b. the act can be done ignorantly, and the tie of family or friendship discovered afterwards (i.e. Oedipus)
c. the act is not done, because the hero can't go through with it
d. the act is about to be done, but then the discovery reveals the true identities of the characters, and the deed is stopped before it does irreparable harm.
Aristotle points out that case c) is the least dramatic (though it works in Antigone), and that d) is likely the most effective.
When it comes to character, a poet should aim for four things. First, the hero must be 'good,' and thus manifest moral purpose in his speech. Second, the hero must have propriety, or 'manly valor.' Thirdly, the hero must be 'true to life.' And finally, the hero must be consistent.
The concept of 'true to life' is addressed further, and Aristotle points out that a well-drawn character acts out of 'probability and necessity,' not because of some arbitrary traits bestowed upon him by the author. Moreover, the unraveling of the plot comes from the actions of the plot itself - the inner logic of the chain of events, rather than the character himself. Indeed, a well-drawn character is simply in service of the plot.
Aristotle next lists the types of recognition available to a poet. First, there is recognition by signs - bodily marks, external ornaments like jewelry, or some other marking that delineates the secret identity of a person. Aristotle calls this type of recognition the 'least artistic type.'
Second, there is recognition 'invented by will,' or the sudden revelation of an identity without forewarning or necessity. This too, says Aristotle, is a type of device 'wanting in art.'
A third type is recognition from memory, where a character sees an object and it 'awakens a feeling,' and recognition from 'reasoning' provides a fourth type, where the character determines a secret identity through a process of deduction. Fifth is recognition involving 'false interference,' where a messenger or outside character facilitates the revelation.
But the sixth and best type of recognition is one that 'arises from the incidents themselves' and the discovery is made naturally in the course of the plot. Again, Aristotle points to Oedipus Rex as the model, since nothing in the construction of the revelation is artificial. It is simply a process of the plot's unravelling from the center, an essential core of the drama's unity.

Analysis

Aristotle underscores the significance of recognition in this section, as a crucial element in producing tragic catharsis. As in other chapters of The Poetics, he creates a hierarchy of tools available to a poet in order to point out which type of recognition is 'best.'Recognition by 'signs', though mocked by Aristotle, is clearly the most familiar to modern audiences. Indeed, most contemporary thrillers involve the discovery of a sign in the climactic 'twist' - either a marking on a victim's body, a hidden piece of jewelry, etc. (The Silence of the Lambs, for instance, depends on Clarice's discovery of a sign in the killer's house.)Recognition by 'invention' might seem vague, but again it is a device that reappears often in contemporary work. In Seven, for instance, the villainous character, played by Kevin Spacey, has to announce the impending recognition so that the hero and audience can react - something that Aristotle, no doubt, would scorn, since it produces only fleeting pity and fear. The best type of recognition arises when the entire narrative revolves around the given revelation - when it is an inevitable result of the beginning incident, even though the audience does not know it as such. A good contemporary example might be Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, where the source of evil becomes clearer and clearer as the movie evolves - but never so clear enough that we can determine what it is until it is too late.
Remember that ultimately all these elements are leading towards catharsis - and it is the effectiveness of catharsis that demonstrates the power of the particular dramatic work. Catharsis may seem like a vague emotional construct, but it is a product of very deliberate plot choices (i.e. reversal and recognition.) As one critic notes, "If catharsis has anything to do with the emotional side of tragedy - and we cannot doubt that it has - then it, like the tragic emotions and the tragic pleasure, must be 'built into' the plot and thus made available to a reader in the same way, on the same terms, as it is to the spectator in the theater" (Else, 441).
It is also significant to note Aristotle's delineation of the tragic hero's character. The tragic hero is not an eminently 'good' man, or model of virtue swiftly brought down by adversity. In that, says Aristotle, there is only shock - since we can see none of ourselves in a perfectly virtuous man, and find it arbitrary that he would be selected for cosmic punishment. What is far more effective is if the hero possesses some 'frailty', or flaw (like Achilles' heel), which he compensates for, hides, runs away from - but eventually catches up with him. An 'error' of character should not be confused with an error in a character's 'action' - a tragedy must spin on a fundamental flaw in the hero's behavior and one that the audience can identify with or substitute in themselves. Only through the tragic climax can he - and the audience - find redemption.

Chapters 17-20

Summary

Aristotle points out that visualizing the action is crucial for a poet in order to avoid gaps in logic or inconsistencies. Rather than see the action in his head, Aristotle says the poet must work out the action 'before his eyes.'Aristotle also suggests that a poet construct a general outline and then fill in episodes and detail. Thus, a poet can work out a play's essence, and then focus on the episodes that will support this essence and in effect, create 'unity.'
Every tragedy contains two parts - complication and unraveling (denouement). The complication refers to everything from the beginning of the action to the turning point, or climax where bad fortune turns to good, or good fortune turns to bad. The unraveling, or denouement, extends from the climax to the end, and tracks the final transformation of a hero to good or bad fortune.

Aristotle presents four kinds of tragedy:

a) complex - depending entirely on reversal and recognition at the climax
b) pathetic - motivated by passion
c) ethical - motivated by moral purpose
d) simple - without reversal or recognition 

Aristotle concludes his discussion of reversal and recognition by suggesting that a tragedy should not assume an epic structure - involving many plots. One plot that creates unity of action is all that is required for tragic catharsis.Aristotle moves on to diction next, or the expression of thought through speech. Speech can be divided into a) proof and refutation, b) excitation of feelings (pity, fear, and anger), or c) the suggestion of importance. Indeed, action can be divided similarly - but the difference between action and speech is that action can stand alone without exposition, while speech depends on the effect of the speech in order to gain a result. The speech, in itself, is an action.

Analysis

Aristotle begins here with an important note on visualization. Whereas even many contemporary authors and instructors focus on the value of seeing the action 'in your head,' Aristotle points out that such methods inevitably lead to gaps in logic and inconsistencies, since the action is being conjured by an unreliable mind. Rather, the best way to determine whether the action of a given drama can sustain audience's interest and believability is by envisioning it 'before one's eyes' as if unfolding in a proscenium before the writer. As such, the writer becomes objective observer of the action and can immediately point out what does not follow from probable or necessary cause.There are only two parts to a drama, says Aristotle - the complication and the denouement. More simply, the complication begins with an 'inciting incident,' a trigger that puts a chain of events in motion. At some point the chain reaches a climax, where the hero's fortunes must irreversibly turn from good to bad (a tragedy) or bad to good (a comedy). The denouement (or unraveling) is simply the end of this transformation that begins at the climax. 

For instance, in Oedipus Rex, the complication sees us all the way through Oedipus discovering his own crimes - and from there, the denouement takes us through his self-mutilation and redemption. Often, then, the climax takes place at the moment of key reversal or recognition in a tragedy. Without this reversal or recognition, the author must rely on some other form of invention in order to create a climax - either 'ethics' or 'passion' as Aristotle states in his summary of the types of tragedy, or a purposeful 'simplicity' to the drama.Aristotle's definition of 'diction' is revelatory even in contemporary academic circles, because it subjugates speech to action without condition. For Aristotle, action is always paramount - even without speech at all, one could create a perfectly sustainable, even masterful drama. Speech, then, must be seen as an action in itself and not a complement to action. Indeed, the best speech has the same purpose as action - to either prove or refute, incite fear or pity, or suggest significance. The last is where speech might prove more useful than physical action in most cases - since the highlighting of a particular object or character can be done more simply with words than with the limitations of staging. That said, one can also point to film as a genre where suggesting significance is nearly always done without words - the shot of the gun in the drawer, for instance, nearly always tells us that the gun will reappear at the climax of the film. Ultimately, then, speech must simply do what action can accomplish with less effort - which is to direct the audience's attention to a given purpose, emotion, or significance. 

Chapters 21-24

Summary

Aristotle classifies Greek words in an esoteric discussion of 'simple' and 'compound' terms, and the reader can sift through a majority of this analysis and focus instead on his definition of a few key literary terms.
First is 'metaphor,' or the use of 'transference' to link two unlike things. 'Life's setting sun,' for instance, does not hedge or qualify its comparison with 'like' or 'as' (that would be a simile), or create primacy around one term (as in an analogy). Instead, a metaphor simply links two objects with the understanding that the reader will find the unity of concept that connects them.
Aristotle points out that the best poetry uses only 'current and proper words,' meaning the contemporary lexicon. When an author resorts to 'lofty' or esoteric language, he alienates the reader. Indeed, a metaphor, says Aristotle, only truly works when it uses ordinary words; if one were to use 'strange' or 'raised' words for a metaphor or other literary device, it simply collapses into jargon.
And yet, Aristotle also permits the good poet to lengthen, contract, and alter words to fit his purpose. By playing with ordinary words, the poet creates 'distinct' language, but at the same time ensures that the reader will maintain clarity. By playing with accepted or ordinary words, the poet can engage the reader at the highest level. (One can think of Shakespeare here, and the way he so often uses recognizable words in extraordinary ways to achieve his rhythms and images.)
Aristotle next proceeds to a discussion of the epic form - which employs a single meter, a dramatic plot, unity, and all the other features of a tragedy. (As mentioned before, a proper epic maintains all the elements of a tragedy, since tragedy evolved from the epic form.) An epic does not portray a single action, but rather a single 'period,' thus often charting the course of many characters over the course of many events.
Epic poetry falls into the same categories as tragedy: simple, complex, ethical or pathetic. Also like tragedy, it requires reversals, recognitions, scenes of suffering, and artistic thought and diction. There are a few differences between tragedy and epic, however.
First, an epic poem, however, will not use song or spectacle to achieve its cathartic effect. Second, epics often cannot be presented at a single sitting, whereas tragedies are usually capable of being brought within a single view. Epic poetry, after all, is not confined to the stage - and thus, many events and characters can be presented simultaneously because of its narrative form. Finally, the 'heroic measure' of epic poetry is hexameter, where tragedy often uses other forms of meter to achieve the rhythms of different characters' speech.
Aristotle points out that the poet should take as little part as possible in the actual story of an epic - meaning limited first-person narration, and no personal appearances in scenes if possible. At the same time, 'wonderment,' created by absurdity or irrational events for the purposes of indulging the reader's pleasure, is allowed in an epic poem - even moreso than in a tragedy. An absurd event or moment can pass more unnoticed in an epic poem, simply because it is not being dramatized onstage.
That said, Aristotle notes that a tragic plot cannot have 'irrational parts.' There must be likelihood, no matter how seemingly impossible the circumstances - as long as we trust that given the initial incident, the plot follows logically and probably, then the poet is in the realm of good drama. But if we believe neither the inciting incident, nor the chain of events that follows, the poem is simply absurd, and thus summarily dismissed.

Analysis

Chapters 21 and 22 of The Poetics offer a complex discussion of language types and tropes that a reader unversed in the scripts of ancient Greek can quickly sift through. He does, however, stop to offer a clear and concise discussion of the use of metaphor - a device of figurative language that is frequently misunderstood.
A metaphor is not simply a comparison of objects - but rather the use of two unlike things in proximity in order to illustrate a larger, unified concept. The second term in the metaphor, then, is subsumed by the first - in the case, for instance, of 'life's setting sun,' the sun becomes part of a fictional trope illustrating the ebb and flow of life. A good metaphor forces us to actually position the objects together in an imaginary, but completely probable relationship. And furthermore, a metaphor - unlike a simile or analogy, which establishes the primacy of the first term - can easily be reversed. After hearing the metaphor of 'life's setting sun,' we can then look at the sun and see in its rise and fall the course of life. Metaphors, then, are more fluid than the rest of figurative language, and hence Aristotle focuses on them as the primary device of the good poet.
Metaphor also replicates the human instinct to find connections through imitation. As one critic notes, "The metaphorical system of the myth imitates life with the organization of metaphors and the story line. Metaphors imitate it statically and the story dynamically" (Hermeneutics, 1). As Aristotle pointed out earlier in the Poetics, we cannot help but imitate as a device for learning. The metaphor offers the clearest device for imitation while also maintaining enough idiosyncrasy for the author to engage the reader in his own imaginative world.
The difference between epic poetry and tragedy may confuse some readers, but it can be boiled down simply to the fact that epic poetry unfolds in a narrative form, as in the Iliad, while a tragedy depends on staging for its cathartic effect (Oedipus). The brief distinction that Aristotle makes between the two forms on the basis of spectacle has wider implications, perhaps, then he gives it. Epic poetry has no need for spectacle because it gains its design from a large span of time. Tragedy, however, is limited in its time frame - usually to a single day - and thus the spectacle of suffering and horror is necessary for catharsis.
Finally, Aristotle points out that despite the invention required for tragedy and epic, both forms depend on likelihood and probability. A tragedy depends on probability even more than the epic, in that the events are dramatized, forcing us to filter all the events onstage through our own experience and classify it as either 'rational' or 'absurd.' An epic poem, however, has more room for maneuvering, since the oral tradition allows a balancing of the irrational with the pleasures of indulgence - as long as the reader can imagine some world where the fiction could be real, then he will continue to find the story engaging. If, however, he finds that the action is 'false,' then the causal chain of plot is broken, and often the work can never recover.

Chapters 25-26

Summary

Aristotle next tackles 'critical difficulties' that a poet may face and the solutions that will ensure his success. He names three major 'solutions' for poets in attempting to imitate action and life:

a. The poet must imitate either things as they are, things as they are thought to be, or things as they ought to be
b. The poet must imitate in action and language; the latter must be current terms, or metaphors (and occasionally rare words)
c. Errors come when the poet imitates incorrectly - and thus destroys the essence of the poem - or when the poet accidentally makes an error (a factual error, for instance), which does not ultimately sabotage the entire work. The only error that matters is one that touches the essential of the given work - for instance, 'not to know that a hind has no horns is a less serious matter than to paint it inartistically.'Critics often argue with a poet's work if it is seen as either impossible, irrational, morally hurtful, contradictory, or contrary to artistic correctness. Aristotle refutes all of these judgments by saying simply that it is the purpose - the essence - of the work that matters, and its goal in imitating reality as it is, as it is thought to be, or as it ought to be.Aristotle concludes by tackling the question of whether the epic or tragic form is 'the higher.' Most critics of his time argued that tragedy was for an inferior audience that required the gesture of performers, while epic poetry was for a 'cultivated audience' which could filter a narrative form through their own imagined characters.

Aristotle replies with the following:

a. Epic recitation can be marred with overdone gesticulation in the same way as a tragedy; there is no guarantee that the epic form is not one motivated by the oral gestures of the ones who recite it for audiences
b. Tragedy, like poetry, produces its effect without action - its power is in the mere reading; enacting it onstage should give the exact same effect as reading a good epic loud
c. The tragedy is, in fact, superior, because it has all the epic elements as well as spectacle and music to provide an indulgent pleasure for the audience. Moreover, it maintains a vividness of impression in reading as well as staging.
Tragedy, then, despite the argument of critics is the higher art. And with this quite controversial conclusion Aristotle ends his work.

Analysis

Aristotle concludes the Poetics by addressing two main criticisms that often plagued poetry in his time. First, there is the question of what makes for 'good' poetry or 'bad' poetry. Aristotle points out that every work of art can be distilled to its 'essence,' meaning its purpose of imitation. Either a work aims to reveal life exactly as it is, as people think it is, or as it ought to be. Thus, depending on which of these three imitative purposes a poet has, his work should be considered under a separate set of criteria.

For instance, a poet who aims to show life as it 'ought to be' certainly has more relaxed standards for the accuracy of representation than a poet who is portraying life as it is. Aristotle uses the example of a poet who might not know that a hind does not have horns -- in the case of a poet trying to portray life realistically, this error would ultimately be more glaring that in the case of a poet presenting an accurate view of life, simply because his purpose leads the reader to expect verisimilitude of detail. 

That said, what is also significant for the reader to understand that in neither case does an error of detail necessarily affect the quality of the poem - unless it perverts the essence of the piece. Only if the author makes a fundamental error in the type of imitation he is pursuing is the final work ultimately compromised.
Aristotle ends by addressing what appears to be a long-standing debate between critics over the primacy of tragedy or epic poetry. Critics in his time vaunted epic poetry, but Aristotle takes the opposite view, noting that tragedy has all the same good qualities of an epic in its reading, but also has the added dimension of being able to translate onstage into a drama of spectacle and music, capable of being digested in one sitting.

Just as he began without much of an introduction, so too Aristotle finishes the Poetics with a perfunctory conclusion - no summary or final thought or discussion of significance. He wraps up his argument swiftly, content that he has addressed all the points laid out at the beginning, and confident that he has quashed his critics' preconceptions about the poetic art form.

 

Major Themes

Cathartic Reversal

Aristotle argues that the best tragedies - and thus the best plays, since Aristotle considers tragedy to be the highest dramatic form - use reversal and recognition to achieve catharsis. He writes that reversal works with a story's spine or center to ensure that the hero comes full circle. Oedipus is his exemplar of a hero who undergoes such a reversal and thus has cathartic self-recognition. Aristotle considers catharsis to be a form of redemption. For instance, even though Oedipus' recognition is tragic it still redeems him: he is no longer living in ignorance of his tragedy but instead has accepted fate.
And redemption is not the only result of catharsis; the audience too undergoes a catharsis of sorts in a good drama. The hero's catharsis induces both pity and fear in the audience: pity for the hero, and fear that his fate could happen to us.


Complication and Denouement

There are only two parts to a good drama, says Aristotle - the rising action leading to the climax, which is known as the complication, and the denouement, or the 'unraveling' that follows the climax. This twofold movement follows Aristotle's theory of poetic unity. The complication leads up to the revelation of the unity at the heart of the work. After this revelation, a play naturally turns to the denouement, in which the significance and ramifications of the unity are explored and resolved.

The Imitative Nature of Art

There are two common ways to think of art: some consider it to be an expression of what is original and unusual in human thinking; Aristotle, on the other hand, argues that that art is 'imitative,' that is to say, representative of life. This imitative quality fascinates Aristotle. He devotes much of the Poetics to exploring the methods, significance, and consequences of this imitation of life. Aristotle concludes that art's imitative tendencies are expressed in one of three ways: a poet attempts to portray our world as it is, as we think it is, or as it ought to be.

The Standard of Poetic Judgment

Aristotle thinks that this tendency to criticize a work of art for factual errors - such as lack of historical accuracy - is misguided. He believes that instead we should a judge work according to its success at imitating the world. If the imitation is carried out with integrity and if the artwork's 'unity' is intact at its conclusion, a simple error in accuracy will do little to blemish this greater success. Art, in other words, should be judged aesthetically, not scientifically. 

Tragedy vs. Epic Poetry

In Aristotle's time, the critics considered epic poetry to be the supreme art form, but to Aristotle, tragedy is the better of the two forms. Aristotle believes that tragedy, like the epic, can entertain and edify in its written form, but also has the added dimension of being able to translate onstage into a drama of spectacle and music, capable of being digested in one sitting. 

Tragic Hero

The tragic hero, in Aristotle's view of drama, is not an eminently 'good' man; nor is he necessarily a paragon of virtue that is felled by adversity. Instead, the hero has some 'frailty' or flaw that is evident from the outset of a play that eventually ensures his doom. The audience, moreover, must be able to identify with this tragic flaw.

The Unity of Poetry

Aristotle often speaks of the unity of poetry in the Poetics; what he means by "unity," however, is sometimes misunderstood. Unity refers to the ability of the best dramatic plots to revolve around a central axis that 'unites' all the action. Aristotle believes that a unified drama will have a 'spine': a central idea which motivates all the action, character, thoughts, diction and spectacle in the play.