255 Poetics and Rhetoric by Aristotle

KawFee Haus

We take a look at Poetics and Rhetoric by Aristotle. In the Poetics, his near-contemporary account of classical Greek tragedy, Aristotle examine the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the Poetics introduced into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis ('imitation'), hamartia ('error') and katharsis, which have informed serious thinking about drama ever since. Aristotle explains how the most effective tragedies rely on complication and resolution, recognition and reversals, while centring on chaaracerts of heroic stature, idealised yet true to life. One of the most perceptive and influential works of criticism in Western literary history, the Poetics has informed serious thinking about drama ever since. "It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences." ARISTOTLE'S RHETORIC is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BC. Aristotle is generally credited with developing the basics of the system of rhetoric that "thereafter served as its touchstone", influencing the development of rhetorical theory from ancient through modern times. The Rhetoric is regarded by most rhetoricians as "the most important single work on persuasion ever written." Consider supporting the show on Patreon See what I'm reading on Goodreads Check out my book