Aristotle On Art
Aristotle On ArtThe subject of the Poetics is poetry, including epic poetry, tragedy and comedy. Unlike Plato, Aristotle regards poetry as a techne. The practice of poetry is governed by rules; these rules can be formulated and taught. Poetry is rationally comprehensible.
The rules for a genre of poetry can be derived from examination of individual examples of that genre, eg, tragedy. The aim is to see what, eg, tragedies, have in common.
Aristotle agrees with Plato that epic poetry, tragedy and comedy are essentially mimetic. But he decisively rejects Plato's view that mimesis in art consists in copying from life.
According to Aristotle, mimetic poetry seeks to offer a convincing semblance of life. It seeks to be true to life without copying from it. Moreover, the literary work of art possesses certain formal or structural features which differentiate it from a mere mirror image of life.
The most important of these formal requirements is unity. Taking tragedy as an example, the representation of the action of the play is the plot, and the plot is the ordered arrangement of the incidents. A well-constructed play must have a beginning, middle...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.