Publisher's Synopsis
The core of the book is a fresh appraisal of Aristotle's view of tragic drama, in which Halliwell contends that at the heart of the Poetics lies a philosophical urge to instill a secularized understanding of Greek tragedy.
"Essential reading not only for all serious students of the Poetics . . . but also for those-the great majority-who have prudently fought shy of it altogether."-B. R. Rees, Classical Review
"A splendid work of scholarship and analysis . . . a brilliant interpretation."-Alexander Nehamas, Times Literary Supplement