Aristotle's Poetics c. 335 BCE is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory

1. POETICS
- Aristotle
Prepared by Beula Merlin

2.  Aristotle is the great disciple of Plato.
 Dante called him “ the master of those who
know”.
 It was he took up the challenge of Plato at the
end of Republic .
 Poetry was not only pleasant , but also useful for
man and society.
 The poetics is a systematic exposition of the
theory and practice of poetry.
 The poetics is an epoch-making work.
 Poetic was published in about 335 B.C
INTRODUCTION

3. Introductory remarks on poetry
and its classification.
Tragedy.
Poetic diction.
Narrative poetry and Tragedy .
Epic is compared with Tragedy.
Objections are answered.
Poetics is divided into six parts

4. There are three ways of imitation:-
Means or medium of imitation –
sound, form, color.
Objects of imitation – men in action.
Manner of imitation –narrative and
dramatic.
ARISTOTLE AND THEORY OF
IMITATION

5.  According to Aristotle, “Tragedy is the imitation of
an action that is serious, complete and of a certain
magnitude, in a language embellished with each kind
of artistic ornament, each kind brought separately in
separate parts of the work, in the form of action and
not in the narrative form, with incidents arousing
fear and pity and wherewith to accomplish the
Catharsis of such emotions”.
TRAGEDY: DEFINITION

6. Character
Plot
Thought
Diction and style
Song or melody
Spectacle or stage effect
FORMATIVE PARTS OF TRAGEDY

7. Characters should be good.
Characters should be
appropriate.
Characters should be true
to life.
Characters should be
consistent.
CHARACTER

8. Plot should be whole.
It should have a magnitude.
Organic unity.
Probability and Necessity.
Willing suspension of
disbelief.
PLOT

9. Peripetia (Reversal).
Anagnorisis (Discovery).
Suffering .
FORMATIVE ELEMENTS OF PLOT

10. The ways with which thought can
employed are ;
Proof and refutation.
Production of emotional effects.
Introduction of the importance or
signification of anything.
THOUGHT

11. Diction is the choice and arrangement of
words and image in a literary composition.
According to Aristotle a poet may use six
type of words ;
1. Current ordinary terms.
2. Foreign terms borrowed or dialects.
3. Metaphors
4. Ornamental Periphrasis
5. Invented words.
6. Not invented, but made new lengthening
or shortening.
DICTION AND STYLE

12. Songs is the pleasurable addition to a
play. In a tragedy, song is provided by
the Chorus. The quantitative sections of
tragedy are ;
Prologue
Choric song
Episode
Exode
SONGS OR MELODY

13. Spectacle is the mode of imitation
by which the story is presented on
a stage before an audience. It is
the sight of disaster and Aristotle
calls this spectacle. Spectacle can
raise fear and pity in the spectator.
SPECTACLE OR STAGE EFFECT

14.  Unity of plot in epic.
 Contrast between epic and tragedy.
 Superiority of tragedy over epic.
 Tragedy is possible without character but not
without plot.
 Epic is of four types : simple and complex, epic
of character, epic of suffering.
 Tragedy is of four types : The complex tragedy,
the tragedy of suffering, the tragedy of
character, the tragedy of spectacle.
EPIC AND TRAGEDY

15. THANK YOU
PREPARED BY,
BEULA MERLIN K.N