Publisher's Synopsis
The Poetics of Aristotle sets out the essential nature of drama and the performing arts.
Poetics is one half of Aristotle's philosophy upon the subject of aesthetics - the other being his Rhetoric. Both books have been influential upon dramatists and students of fine arts, literature and philosophy for over two thousand years.
Each chapter deals with a different element of drama and its composition, discussing the progress by which Greek society had come to define its written literature in the field of performance art in the period of Greek antiquity. As is typical for Aristotle, the work is detailed and thorough, discussing each element of dramatic performance and composition in turn.
This authoritative translation by Ingram Bywater was originally published in 1920 by The Clarendon Press, and contains a preface which explains the historical context in which Aristotle wrote this work. It explains that Poetry was written partly due to a challenge from Aristotle's tutor and mentor Plato, who wished to see a truly convincing and comprehensive text on the subject.
