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Aristotle: Poetics - I 95 heightened when, at the same time, they follow as cause and effect. The tragic wonder will thee be greater than if they happened of themselves or by accident; for even coincidences are most striking when they have an air of design. We may instance the statue of Mitys at Argos, which fell upon his murderer while he was a spectator at a festival, and killed him. Such events seem not to be due to mere chance. Plots, therefore, constructed on these principles are necessarily the best. X. (Plot continued) Definitions of Simple and Complex Plots Plots are either Simple or Complex, for the actions in real life, of which the plots are an imitation, obviously show a similar distinction. An action which is one and continuous in the sense above defined, I call Simple, when the change of fortune takes place without Reversal of the Situation and without Recognition. A Complex action is one in which the change is accompanied by such Reversal, or by Recognition, or by both. These last should arise from the internal structure of the plot, so that what follows should be the necessary or probable result of the preceding action. It makes all the difference whether any given event is a case of propter hoc or post hoc. XI. (Plot continued) Reversal of the Situation, Recognition, and Tragic or disastrous Incident defined and explained Reversal of the Situation is a change by which the action veers round to its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity. Thus in the Oedipus, the messenger comes to cheer Oedipus and free him from his alarms about his mother, but by revealing who he is, he produces the opposite effect. Again in the Lynceus, Lynceus is being led away to his death, and Danaus goes with him, meaning, to slay him; but the outcome of the preceding incidents is that Danaus is killed and Lynceus saved. Recognition, as the name indicates, is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune. The best form of recognition is coincident with a Reversal of the Situation, as in the Oedipus. There are indeed other forms. Even inanimate things of the most trivial kind may in a sense be objects of recognition. Again, we may recognise or discover whether a person has done a thing or not. But the recognition which is most intimately connected with the plot and action is, as we have said, the recognition of persons. This recognition, combined, with Reversal, will produce either pity or fear; and actions producing these effects are those which, by our definition, Tragedy CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

96 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I represents. Moreover, it is upon such situations that the issues of good or bad fortune will depend. Recognition, then, being between persons, it may happen that one person only is recognised by the other-when the latter is already known―or it may be necessary that the recognition should be on both sides. Thus Iphigenia is revealed to Orestes by the sending of the letter; but another act of recognition is required to make Orestes known to Iphigenia. Two parts, then, of the Plot―Reversal of the Situation and Recognition―turn upon surprises. A third part is the Scene of Suffering. The Scene of Suffering is a destructive or painful action, such as death on the stage, bodily agony, wounds and the like. XII. The ‘quantitative parts’ of Tragedy defined [The parts of Tragedy which must be treated as elements of the whole have been already mentioned. We now come to the quantitative parts, and the separate parts into which Tragedy is divided, namely, Prologue, Episode, Exode, Choric song; this last being divided into Parode and Stasimon. These are common to all plays: peculiar to some are the songs of actors from the stage and the Commoi. The Prologue is that entire part of a tragedy which precedes the Parode of the Chorus. The Episode is that entire part of a tragedy which is between complete choric songs. The Exode is that entire part of a tragedy which has no choric song after it. Of the Choric part the Parode is the first undivided utterance of the Chorus: the Stasimon is a Choric ode without anapaests or trochaic tetrameters: the Commos is a joint lamentation of Chorus and actors. The parts of Tragedy which must be treated as elements of the whole have been already mentioned. The quantitative parts the separate parts into which it is divided―are here enumerated.] XIII. (Plot continued) What constitutes Tragic Action As the sequel to what has already been said, we must proceed to consider what the poet should aim at, and what he should avoid, in constructing his plots; and by what means the specific effect of Tragedy will be produced. A perfect tragedy should, as we have seen, be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plan. It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation. It follows plainly, in the first place, that the change, of fortune presented CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 97 must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity: for this moves neither pity nor fear; it merely shocks us. Nor, again, that of a bad man passing from adversity to prosperity: for nothing can be more alien to the spirit of Tragedy; it possesses no single tragic quality; it neither satisfies the moral sense nor calls forth pity or fear. Nor, again, should the downfall of the utter villain be exhibited. A plot of this kind would, doubtless, satisfy the moral sense, but it would inspire neither pity nor fear; for pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves. Such an event, therefore, will be neither pitiful nor terrible. There remains, then, the character between these two extremes,―that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous,―a personage like Oedipus, Thyestes, or other illustrious men of such families. A well constructed plot should, therefore, be single in its issue, rather than double as some maintain. The change of fortune should be not from bad to good, but, reversely, from good to bad. It should come about as the result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty, in a character either such as we have described, or better rather than worse. The practice of the stage bears out our view. At first the poets recounted any legend that came in their way. Now, the best tragedies are founded on the story of a few houses, on the fortunes of Alcmaeon, Oedipus, Orestes, Meleager, Thyestes, Telephus, and those others who have done or suffered something terrible. A tragedy, then, to be perfect according to the rules of art should be of this construction. Hence they are in error who censure Euripides just because he follows this principle in his plays, many of which end unhappily. It is, as we have said, the right ending. The best proof is that on the stage and in dramatic competition, such plays, if well worked out, are the most tragic in effect; and Euripides, faulty though he may be in the general management of his subject, yet is felt to be the most tragic of the poets. In the second rank comes the kind of tragedy which some place first. Like the Odyssey, it has a double thread of plot, and also an opposite catastrophe for the good and for the bad. It is accounted the best because of the weakness of the spectators; for the poet is guided in what he writes by the wishes of his audience. The pleasure, however, thence derived is not the true tragic CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

98 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I pleasure. It is proper rather to Comedy, where those who, in the piece, are the deadliest enemies ―like Orestes and Aegisthus―quit the stage as friends at the close, and no one slays or is slain. XIV. (Plot continued) The tragic emotions of pity and fear should spring out of the Plot itself Fear and pity may be aroused by spectacular means; but they may also result from the inner structure of the piece, which is the better way, and indicates a superior poet. For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes place. This is the impression we should receive from hearing the story of the Oedipus. But to produce this effect by the mere spectacle is a less artistic method, and dependent on extraneous aids. Those who employ spectacular means to create a sense not of the terrible but only of the monstrous, are strangers to the purpose of Tragedy; for we must not demand of Tragedy any and every kind of pleasure, but only that which is proper to it. And since the pleasure which the poet should afford is that which comes from pity and fear through imitation, it is evident that this quality must be impressed upon the incidents. Let us then determine what are the circumstances which strike us as terrible or pitiful. Actions capable of this effect must happen between persons who are either friends or enemies or indifferent to one another. If an enemy kills an enemy, there is nothing to excite pity either in the act or the intention,―except so far as the suffering in itself is pitiful. So again with indifferent persons. But when the tragic incident occurs between those who are near or dear to one another―if, for example, a brother kills, or intends to kill, a brother, a son his father, a mother her son, a son his mother, or any other deed of the kind is done―these are the situations to be looked for by the poet. He may not indeed destroy the framework of the received legends―the fact, for instance, that Clytemnestra was slain by Orestes and Eriphyle by Alcmaeon but he ought to show invention of his own, and skilfully handle the traditional material. Let us explain more clearly what is meant by skilful handling. The action may be done consciously and with knowledge of the persons, in the manner of the older poets. It is thus too that Euripides makes Medea slay her children. Or, again, the deed of horror may be done, but done in ignorance, and the tie of kinship or friendship be discovered CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 99 afterwards. The Oedipus of Sophocles is an example. Here, indeed, the incident is outside the drama proper; but cases occur where it falls within the action of the play: one may cite the Alcmaeon of Astydamas, or Telegonus in the Wounded Odysseus. Again, there is a third case,―to be about to act with knowledge of the persons and then not to act. The fourth case is― when some one is about to do an irreparable deed through ignorance, and makes the discovery before it is done. These are the only possible ways. For the deed must either be done or not done―and that wittingly or unwittingly. But of all these ways, to be about to act knowing the persons, and then not to act, is the worst. It is shocking without being tragic, for no disaster follows. It is, therefore, never, or very rarely, found in poetry. One instance, however, is in the Antigone, where Haemon threatens to kill Creon. The next and better way is that the deed should be perpetrated. Still better, that it should be perpetrated in ignorance, and the discovery made afterwards. There is then nothing to shock us, while the discovery produces a startling effect. The last case is the best, as when in the Cresphontes Merope is about to slay her son, but, recognising who he is, spares his life. So in the Iphigenia, the sister recognises the brother just in time. Again in the Helle, the son recognises the mother when on the point of giving her up. This, then, is why a few families only, as has been already observed, furnish the subjects of tragedy. It was not art, but happy chance, that led the poets in search of subjects to impress the tragic quality upon their plots. They are compelled, therefore, to have recourse to those houses whose history contains moving incidents like these. Enough has now been said concerning the structure of the incidents, and the right kind of plot. XV. The Element of Character in Tragedy In respect of Character there are four things to be aimed at. First, and most important, it must be good. Now any speech or action that manifests moral purpose of any kind will be expressive of character: the character will be good if the purpose is good. This rule is relative to each class. Even a woman may be good, and also a slave; though the woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless. The second thing to aim at is propriety. There is a type of manly valour; but valour in a woman, or unscrupulous cleverness, is inappropriate. Thirdly, character must be true to life: for this is a distinct thing from goodness and propriety, as here CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

100 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I described. The fourth point is consistency: for though the subject of the imitation, who suggested the type, be inconsistent, still he must be consistently inconsistent. As an example of motiveless degradation of character, we have Menelaus in the Orestes: of character indecorous and inappropriate, the lament of Odysseus in the Scylla, and the speech of Melanippe: of inconsistency, the Iphigenia at Aulis,―for Iphigenia the suppliant in no way resembles her later self. As in the structure of the plot, so too in the portraiture of character, the poet should always aim either at the necessary or the probable. Thus a person of a given character should speak or act in a given way, by the rule either of necessity or of probability; just as this event should follow that by necessary or probable sequence. It is therefore evident that the unravelling of the plot, no less than the complication, must arise out of the plot itself, it must not be brought about by the ‘Deus ex Machina’―as in the Medea, or in the Return of the Greeks in the Iliad. The ‘Deus ex Machina’ should be employed only for events external to the drama―for antecedent or subsequent events, which lie beyond the range of human knowledge, and which require to be reported or foretold; for to the gods we ascribe the power of seeing all things. Within the action there must be nothing irrational. If the irrational cannot be excluded, it should be outside the scope of the tragedy. Such is the irrational element in the Oedipus of Sophocles. Again, since Tragedy is an imitation of persons who are above the common level, the example of good portrait-painters should be followed. They, while reproducing the distinctive form of the original, make a likeness which is true to life and yet more beautiful. So too the poet, in representing men who are irascible or indolent, or have other defects of character, should preserve the type and yet ennoble it. In this way Achilles is portrayed by Agathon and Homer. These then are rules the poet should observe. Nor should he neglect those appeals to the senses, which, though not among the essentials, are the concomitants of poetry; for here too there is much room for error. But of this enough has been said in our published treatises. XVI. (Plot continued) Recognition: its various kinds, with examples What Recognition is has been already explained. We will now enumerate its kinds. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 101 First, the least artistic form, which, from poverty of wit, is most commonly employed recognition by signs. Of these some are congenital,―such as ‘the spear which the earth-born race bear on their bodies,’ or the stars introduced by Carcinus in his Thyestes. Others are acquired after birth; and of these some are bodily marks, as scars; some external tokens, as necklaces, or the little ark in the Tyro by which the discovery is effected. Even these admit of more or less skilful treatment. Thus in the recognition of Odysseus by his scar, the discovery is made in one way by the nurse, in another by the swineherds. The use of tokens for the express purpose of proof―and, indeed, any formal proof with or without tokens―is a less artistic mode of recognition. A better kind is that which comes about by a turn of incident, as in the Bath Scene in the Odyssey. Next come the recognitions invented at will by the poet, and on that account wanting in art. For example, Orestes in the Iphigenia reveals the fact that he is Orestes. She, indeed, makes herself known by the letter; but he, by speaking himself, and saying what the poet, not what the plot requires. This, therefore, is nearly allied to the fault above mentioned: for Orestes might as well have brought tokens with him. Another similar instance is the ‘voice of the shuttle’ in the Tereus of Sophocles. The third kind depends on memory when the sight of some object awakens a feeling: as in the Cyprians of Dicaeogenes, where the hero breaks into tears on seeing the picture; or again in the ‘Lay of Alcinous,’ where Odysseus, hearing the minstrel play the lyre, recalls the past and weeps; and hence the recognition. The fourth kind is by process of reasoning. Thus in the Choephori: ‘Some one resembling me has come: no one resembles me but Orestes: therefore Orestes has come.’ Such too is the discovery made by Iphigenia in the play of Polyidus the Sophist. It was a natural reflection for Orestes to make, ‘So I too must die at the altar like my sister.’ So, again, in the Tydeus of Theodectes, the father says, ‘I came to find my son, and I lose my own life.’ So too in the Phineidae: the women, on seeing the place, inferred their fate: ‘Here we are doomed to die, for here we were cast forth.’ Again, there is a composite kind of recognition involving false inference on the part of one of the characters, as in the Odysseus Disguised as a Messenger. A said ―that no one else was able to bend the bow; hence B (the disguised Odysseus) imagined that A would― CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

102 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I recognise the bow which, in fact, he had not seen; and to bring about a recognition by this means that the expectation A would recognise the bow is false inference. But, of all recognitions, the best is that which arises from the incidents themselves, where the startling discovery is made by natural means. Such is that in the Oedipus of Sophocles, and in the Iphigenia; for it was natural that Iphigenia should wish to dispatch a letter. These recognitions alone dispense with the artificial aid of tokens or amulets. Next come the recognitions by process of reasoning. XVII. Practical rules for the Tragic Poet In constructing the plot and working it out with the proper diction, the poet should place the scene, as far as possible, before his eyes. In this way, seeing everything with the utmost vividness, as if he were a spectator of the action, he will discover what is in keeping with it, and be most unlikely to overlook inconsistencies. The need of such a rule is shown by the fault found in Carcinus. Amphiaraus was on his way from the temple. This fact escaped the observation of one who did not see the situation. On the stage, however, the piece failed, the audience being offended at the oversight. Again, the poet should work out his play, to the best of his power, with appropriate gestures; for those who feel emotion are most convincing through natural sympathy with the characters they represent; and one who is agitated storms, one who is angry rages, with the most life-like reality. Hence poetry implies either a happy gift of nature or a strain of madness. In the one case a man can take the mould of any character; in the other, he is lifted out of his proper self. As for the story, whether the poet takes it ready made or constructs it for himself, he should first sketch its general outline, and then fill in the episodes and amplify in detail. The general plan may be illustrated by the Iphigenia. A young girl is sacrificed; she disappears mysteriously from the eyes of those who sacrificed her; She is transported to another country, where the custom is to offer up all strangers to the goddess. To this ministry she is appointed. Some time later her own brother chances to arrive. The fact that the oracle for some reason ordered him to go there, is outside the general plan of the play. The purpose, again, of his coming is outside the action proper. However, he comes, he is seized, and, when on the point of being sacrificed, reveals who he is. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 103 The mode of recognition may be either that of Euripides or of Polyidus, in whose play he exclaims very naturally:―‘So it was not my sister only, but I too, who was doomed to be sacrificed’; and by that remark he is saved. After this, the names being once given, it remains to fill in the episodes. We must see that they are relevant to the action. In the case of Orestes, for example, there is the madness which led to his capture, and his deliverance by means of the purificatory rite. In the drama, the episodes are short, but it is these that give extension to Epic poetry. Thus the story of the Odyssey can be stated briefly. A certain man is absent from home for many years; he is jealously watched by Poseidon, and left desolate. Meanwhile his home is in a wretched plight―suitors are wasting his substance and plotting against his son. At length, tempest tost, he himself arrives; he makes certain persons acquainted with him; he attacks the suitors with his own hand, and is himself preserved while he destroys them. This is the essence of the plot; the rest is episode. XVIII. Further rules for the Tragic Poet Every tragedy falls into two parts,―Complication and Unravelling or Denouement. Incidents extraneous to the action are frequently combined with a portion of the action proper, to form the Complication; the rest is the Unravelling. By the Complication I mean all that extends from the beginning of the action to the part which marks the turning-point to good or bad fortune. The Unravelling is that which extends from the beginning of the change to the end. Thus, in the Lynceus of Theodectes, the Complication consists of the incidents presupposed in the drama, the seizure of the child, and then again ―The Unravelling ― extends from the accusation of murder to the end. There are four kinds of Tragedy, the Complex, depending entirely on Reversal of the Situation and Recognition; the Pathetic (where the motive is passion),―such as the tragedies on Ajax and Ixion; the Ethical (where the motives are ethical),―such as the Phthiotides and the Peleus. The fourth kind is the Simple ―we here exclude the purely spectacular element― exemplified by the Phorcides, the Prometheus, and scenes laid in Hades. The poet should endeavour, if possible, to combine all poetic elements; or failing that, the greatest number and those the most important; the more so, in face of the cavilling criticism of the day. For whereas CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

104 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I there have hitherto been good poets, each in his own branch, the critics now expect one man to surpass all others in their several lines of excellence. In speaking of a tragedy as the same or different, the best test to take is the plot. Identity exists where the Complication and Unravelling are the same. Many poets tie the knot well, but unravel it ill. Both arts, however, should always be mastered. Again, the poet should remember what has been often said, and not make an Epic structure into a Tragedy―by an Epic structure I mean one with a multiplicity of plots―as if, for instance, you were to make a tragedy out of the entire story of the Iliad. In the Epic poem, owing to its length, each part assumes its proper magnitude. In the drama the result is far from answering to the poet’s expectation. The proof is that the poets who have dramatised the whole story of the Fall of Troy, instead of selecting portions, like Euripides; or who have taken the whole tale of Niobe, and not a part of her story, like Aeschylus, either fail utterly or meet with poor success on the stage. Even Agathon has been known to fail from this one defect. In his Reversals of the Situation, however, he shows a marvellous skill in the effort to hit the popular taste―to produce a tragic effect that satisfies the moral sense. This effect is produced when the clever rogue, like Sisyphus, is outwitted, or the brave villain defeated. Such an event is probable in Agathon’s sense of the word: ‘it is probable,’ he says, ‘that many things should happen contrary to probability.’ The Chorus too should be regarded as one of the actors; it should be an integral part of the whole, and share in the action, in the manner not of Euripides but of Sophocles. As for the later poets, their choral songs pertain as little to the subject of the piece as to that of any other tragedy. They are, therefore, sung as mere interludes, a practice first begun by Agathon. Yet what difference is there between introducing such choral interludes, and transferring a speech, or even a whole act, from one play to another? XIX. Thought, or the Intellectual element, and Diction in Tragedy It remains to speak of Diction and Thought, the other parts of Tragedy having been already discussed. Concerning Thought, we may assume what is said in the Rhetoric, to which inquiry the subject more strictly belongs. Under Thought is included every effect which has to be produced by speech, the subdivisions being: proof and refutation; the excitation of the feelings, such as pity, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 105 fear, anger, and the like; the suggestion of importance or its opposite. Now, it is evident that the dramatic incidents must be treated from the same points of view as the dramatic speeches, when the object is to evoke the sense of pity, fear, importance, or probability. The only difference is, that the incidents should speak for themselves without verbal exposition; while the effects aimed at in speech should be produced by the speaker, and as a result of the speech. For what were the business of a speaker, if the Thought were revealed quite apart from what he says? Next, as regards Diction. One branch of the inquiry treats of the Modes of Utterance. But this province of knowledge belongs to the art of Delivery and to the masters of that science. It includes, for instance what is a command, a prayer, a statement, a threat, a question, an answer, and so forth. To know or not to know these things involves no serious censure upon the poet’s art. For who can admit the fault imputed to Homer by Protagoras―that in the words, ‘Sing, goddess, of the wrath,’ he gives a command under the idea that he utters a prayer? For to tell some one to do a thing or not to do it is, he says, a command. We may, therefore, pass this over as an inquiry that belongs to another art, not to poetry. XX. Diction, or Language in general [Language in general includes the following parts:- Letter, Syllable, Connecting word, Noun, Verb, Inflexion or Case, Sentence or Phrase.] A Letter is an indivisible sound, yet not every such sound, but only one which can form part of a group of sounds. For even brutes utter indivisible sounds, none of which I call a letter. The sound I mean may be either a vowel, a semi-vowel, or a mute. A vowel is that which without impact of tongue or lip has an audible sound. A semi-vowel, that which with such impact has an audible sound, as S and R. A mute, that which with such impact has by itself no sound, but joined to a vowel sound becomes audible, as G and D. These are distinguished according to the form assumed by the mouth and the place where they are produced; according as they are aspirated or smooth, long or short; as they are acute, grave, or of an intermediate tone; which inquiry belongs in detail to the writers on metre. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

106 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I A Syllable is a non-significant sound, composed of a mute and a vowel: for GR without A is a syllable, as also with A,―GRA. But the investigation of these differences belongs also to metrical science. A Connecting word is a non-significant sound, which neither causes nor hinders the union of many sounds into one significant sound; it may be placed at either end or in the middle of a sentence. Or, a non-significant sound, which out of several sounds, each of them significant, is capable of forming one significant sound―as {alpha mu theta iota}, {pi epsilon rho iota}, and the like. Or, a non-significant sound, which marks the beginning, end, or division of a sentence; such, however, that it cannot correctly stand by itself at the beginning of a sentence, as {mu epsilon nu}, {eta tau omicron iota}, {delta epsilon}. A Noun is a composite significant sound, not marking time, of which no part is in itself significant: for in double or compound words we do not employ the separate parts as if each were in itself significant. Thus in Theodorus, ‘god-given,’ the {delta omega rho omicron nu} or ‘gift’ is not in itself significant. A Verb is a composite significant sound, marking time, in which, as in the noun, no part is in itself significant. For ‘man,’ or ‘white’ does not express the idea of ‘when’; but ‘he walks,’ or ‘he has walked’ does connote time, present or past. Inflexion belongs both to the noun and verb, and expresses either the relation ‘of,’ ‘to,’ or the like; or that of number, whether one or many, as ‘man’ or ‘men ’; or the modes or tones in actual delivery, e.g., a question or a command. ‘Did he go?’ and ‘go’ are verbal inflexions of this kind. A Sentence or Phrase is a composite significant sound, some at least of whose parts are in themselves significant; for not every such group of words consists of verbs and nouns―‘the definition of man,’ for example―but it may dispense even with the verb. Still it will always have some significant part, as ‘in walking,’ or ‘Cleon son of Cleon.’ A sentence or phrase may form a unity in two ways―either as signifying one thing, or as consisting of several parts linked together. Thus the Iliad is one by the linking together of parts, the definition of man by the unity of the thing signified. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 107 XXI. Poetic Diction Words are of two kinds, simple and double. By simple I mean those composed of non- significant elements, such as {gamma eta}. By double or compound, those composed either of a significant and non-significant element (though within the whole word no element is significant), or of elements that are both significant. A word may likewise be triple, quadruple, or multiple in form, like so many Massilian expressions, e.g., ‘Hermo-caico-xanthus who prayed to Father Zeus>.’ Every word is either current, or strange, or metaphorical, or ornamental, or newly-coined, or lengthened, or contracted, or altered. By a current or proper word I mean one which is in general use among a people; by a strange word, one which is in use in another country. Plainly, therefore, the same word may be at once strange and current, but not in relation to the same people. The word {sigma iota gamma upsilon nu omicron nu}, ‘lance,’ is to the Cyprians a current term but to us a strange one. Metaphor is the application of an alien name by transference either from genus to species, or from species to genus, or from species to species, or by analogy, that is, proportion. Thus from genus to species, as: ‘There lies my ship’; for lying at anchor is a species of lying. From species to genus, as: ‘Verily ten thousand noble deeds hath Odysseus wrought’; for ten thousand is a species of large number, and is here used for a large number generally. From species to species, as: ‘With blade of bronze drew away the life,’ and ‘Cleft the water with the vessel of unyielding bronze.’ Here {alpha rho upsilon rho alpha iota}, ‘to draw away,’ is used for {tau alpha mu epsilon iota nu}, ‘to cleave,’ and {tau alpha mu epsilon iota nu} again for {alpha rho upsilon alpha iota}, each being a species of taking away. Analogy or proportion is when the second term is to the first as the fourth to the third. We may then use the fourth for the second, or the second for the fourth. Sometimes too we qualify the metaphor by adding the term to which the proper word is relative. Thus the cup is to Dionysus as the shield to Ares. The cup may, therefore, be called ‘the shield of Dionysus,’ and the shield ‘the cup of Ares.’ Or, again, as old age is to life, so is evening to day. Evening may therefore be called ‘the old age of the day,’ and old age, ‘the evening of life,’ or, in the phrase of Empedocles, ‘life’s setting sun.’ For some of the terms of the proportion there is at times no word in existence; still the metaphor may be used. For instance, to CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

108 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I scatter seed is called sowing: but the action of the sun in scattering his rays is nameless. Still this process bears to the sun the same relation as sowing to the seed. Hence the expression of the poet ‘sowing the god-created light.’ There is another way in which this kind of metaphor may be employed. We may apply an alien term, and then deny of that term one of its proper attributes; as if we were to call the shield, not ‘the cup of Ares,’ but ‘the wineless cup.’ An ornamental word . . . A newly-coined word is one which has never been even in local use, but is adopted by the poet himself. Some such words there appear to be: as {epsilon rho nu upsilon gamma epsilon sigma}, ‘sprouters,’ for {kappa epsilon rho alpha tau alpha}, ‘horns,’ and {alpha rho eta tau eta rho}, ‘supplicator,’ for {iota epsilon rho epsilon upsilon sigma}, ‘priest.’ A word is lengthened when its own vowel is exchanged for a longer one, or when a syllable is inserted. A word is contracted when some part of it is removed. Instances of lengthening are,―{pi omicron lambda eta omicron sigma} for {pi omicron lambda epsilon omega sigma}, and {Pi eta lambda eta iota alpha delta epsilon omega} for {Pi eta lambda epsilon iota delta omicron upsilon}: of contraction,―{kappa rho iota}, {delta omega}, and {omicron psi}, as in {mu iota alpha/gamma iota nu epsilon tau alpha iota/alpha mu phi omicron tau episilon rho omega nu/omicron psi}. An altered word is one in which part of the ordinary form is left unchanged, and part is re- cast; as in {delta epsilon xi iota-tau epsilon rho omicron nu/kappa alpha tau alpha/mu alpha zeta omicron nu}, {delta epsilon xi iota tau epsilon rho omicron nu} is for {delta epsilon xi iota omicron nu}. [Nouns in themselves are either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Masculine are such as end in {nu}, {rho}, {sigma}, or in some letter compounded with {sigma}―these being two, and {xi}. Feminine, such as end in vowels that are always long, namely {eta} and {omega}, and―of vowels that admit of lengthening―those in {alpha}. Thus the number of letters in which nouns masculine and feminine end is the same; for {psi} and {xi} are equivalent to endings in {sigma}. No noun ends in a mute or a vowel short by nature. Three only end in {iota}―{mu eta lambda CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 109 iota}, {kappa omicron mu mu iota}, {pi epsilon pi epsilon rho iota}: five end in {upsilon}. Neuter nouns end in these two latter vowels; also in {nu} and {sigma}.] XXII. (Poetic Diction continued) How Poetry combines elevation of language with perspicuity The perfection of style is to be clear without being mean. The clearest style is that which uses only current or proper words; at the same time it is mean:―witness the poetry of Cleophon and of Sthenelus. That diction, on the other hand, is lofty and raised above the commonplace which employs unusual words. By unusual, I mean strange (or rare) words, metaphorical, lengthened,―anything, in short, that differs from the normal idiom. Yet a style wholly composed of such words is either a riddle or a jargon; a riddle, if it consists of metaphors; a jargon, if it consists of strange (or rare) words. For the essence of a riddle is to express true facts under impossible combinations. Now this cannot be done by any arrangement of ordinary words, but by the use of metaphor it can. Such is the riddle: ‘A man I saw who on another man had glued the bronze by aid of fire,’ and others of the same kind. A diction that is made up of strange (or rare) terms is a jargon. A certain infusion, therefore, of these elements is necessary to style; for the strange (or rare) word, the metaphorical, the ornamental, and the other kinds above mentioned, will raise it above the commonplace and mean, while the use of proper words will make it perspicuous. But nothing contributes more to produce a clearness of diction that is remote from commonness than the lengthening, contraction, and alteration of words. For by deviating in exceptional cases from the normal idiom, the language will gain distinction; while, at the same time, the partial conformity with usage will give perspicuity. The critics, therefore, are in error who censure these licenses of speech, and hold the author up to ridicule. Thus Eucleides, the elder, declared that it would be an easy matter to be a poet if you might lengthen syllables at will. He caricatured the practice in the very form of his diction, as in the verse: ‘{Epsilon pi iota chi alpha rho eta nu/epsilon iota delta omicron nu/Mu alpha rho alpha theta omega nu alpha delta epsilon/Beta alpha delta iota zeta omicron nu tau alpha}, or, {omicron upsilon kappa/alpha nu/gamma/epsilon rho alpha mu epsilon nu omicron sigma/tau omicron nu/epsilon kappa epsilon iota nu omicron upsilon/epsilon lambda lambda epsilon beta omicron rho omicron nu}. To employ such license at all obtrusively is, no doubt, grotesque; but in any mode of poetic diction there must be moderation. Even metaphors, strange (or rare) words, or any similar forms of CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

110 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I speech, would produce the like effect if used without propriety and with the express purpose of being ludicrous. How great a difference is made by the appropriate use of lengthening, may be seen in Epic poetry by the insertion of ordinary forms in the verse. So, again, if we take a strange (or rare) word, a metaphor, or any similar mode of expression, and replace it by the current or proper term, the truth of our observation will be manifest. For example, Aeschylus and Euripides each composed the same iambic line. But the alteration of a single word by Euripides, who employed the rarer term instead of the ordinary one, makes one verse appear beautiful and the other trivial. Aeschylus in his Philoctetes says: {Phi alpha gamma epsilon delta alpha iota nu alpha/<delta>/eta/mu omicron upsilon/sigma alpha rho kappa alpha sigma/epsilon rho theta iota epsilon iota/pi omicron delta omicron sigma}. Euripides substitutes {Theta omicron iota nu alpha tau alpha iota} ‘feasts on’ for {epsilon sigma theta iota epsilon iota} ‘feeds on.’ Again, in the line, {nu upsilon nu/delta epsilon/mu /epsilon omega nu/omicron lambda iota gamma iota gamma upsilon sigma/tau epsilon/kappa alpha iota/omicron upsilon tau iota delta alpha nu omicron sigma/kappa alpha iota/alpha epsilon iota kappa eta sigma, the difference will be felt if we substitute the common words, {nu upsilon nu/delta epsilon/mu/epsilon omega nu/mu iota kappa rho omicron sigma/tau epsilon/kappa alpha iota/alpha rho theta epsilon nu iota kappa omicron sigma/kappa alpha iota/alpha epsilon iota delta gamma sigma}. Or, if for the line, {delta iota phi rho omicron nu/alpha epsilon iota kappa epsilon lambda iota omicron nu/kappa alpha tau alpha theta epsilon iota sigma/omicron lambda iota gamma eta nu/tau epsilon/tau rho alpha pi epsilon iota sigma/omicron lambda iota gamma eta nu/tau epsilon/tau rho alpha pi epsilon zeta alpha nu),} We read, {delta iota phi rho omicron nu/mu omicron chi theta eta rho omicron nu/kappa alpha tau alpha theta epsilon iota sigma/mu iota kappa rho alpha nu/tau epsilon/tau rho alpha pi epsilon zeta alpha nu}. Or, for {eta iota omicron nu epsilon sigma/beta omicron omicron omega rho iota nu, eta iota omicron nu epsilon sigma kappa rho alpha zeta omicron upsilon rho iota nu} Again, Ariphrades ridiculed the tragedians for using phrases which no one would employ in ordinary speech: for example, {delta omega mu alpha tau omega nu/alpha pi omicron} instead of {alpha pi omicron/delta omega mu alpha tau omega nu}, {rho epsilon theta epsilon nu}, {epsilon gamma omega/delta epsilon/nu iota nu}, {Alpha chi iota lambda lambda epsilon omega sigma/pi CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 111 epsilon rho iota} instead of (pi epsilon rho iota/‘Alpha chi iota lambda lambda epsilon omega sigma}, and the like. It is precisely because such phrases are not part of the current idiom that they give distinction to the style. This, however, he failed to see. It is a great matter to observe propriety in these several modes of expression, as also in compound words, strange (or rare) words, and so forth. But the greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances. Of the various kinds of words, the compound are best adapted to Dithyrambs, rare words to heroic poetry, metaphors to iambic. In heroic poetry, indeed, all these varieties are serviceable. But in iambic verse, which reproduces, as far as may be, familiar speech, the most appropriate words are those which are found even in prose. These are―the current or proper, the metaphorical, the ornamental. Concerning Tragedy and imitation by means of action this may suffice. XXIII. Epic Poetry As to that poetic imitation which is narrative in form and employs a single metre, the plot manifestly ought, as in a tragedy, to be constructed on dramatic principles. It should have for its subject a single action, whole and complete, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It will thus resemble a living organism in all its unity, and produce the pleasure proper to it. It will differ in structure from historical compositions, which of necessity present not a single action, but a single period, and all that happened within that period to one person or to many, little connected together as the events may be. For as the sea-fight at Salamis and the battle with the Carthaginians in Sicily took place at the same time, but did not tend to any one result, so in the sequence of events, one thing sometimes follows another, and yet no single result is thereby produced. Such is the practice, we may say, of most poets. Here again, then, as has been already observed, the transcendent excellence of Homer is manifest. He never attempts to make the whole war of Troy the subject of his poem, though that war had a beginning and an end. It would have been too vast a theme, and not easily embraced in a single view. If, again, he had kept it within moderate limits, it must have been over-complicated by the variety of the incidents. As it is, he detaches a single CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

112 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I portion, and admits as episodes many events from the general story of the war―such as the Catalogue of the ships and others―thus diversifying the poem. All other poets take a single hero, a single period, or an action single indeed, but with a multiplicity of parts. Thus did the author of the Cypria and of the Little Iliad. For this reason the Iliad and the Odyssey each furnish the subject of one tragedy, or, at most, of two; while the Cypria supplies materials for many, and the Little Iliad for eight―the Award of the Arms, the Philoctetes, the Neoptolemus, the Eurypylus, the Mendicant Odysseus, the Laconian Women, the Fall of Ilium, the Departure of the Fleet. XXIV. (Epic Poetry continued) Further points of agreement with Tragedy Again, Epic poetry must have as many kinds as Tragedy: it must be simple, or complex, or ‘ethical,’ or ‘pathetic.’ The parts also, with the exception of song and spectacle, are the same; for it requires Reversals of the Situation, Recognitions, and Scenes of Suffering. Moreover, the thoughts and the diction must be artistic. In all these respects Homer is our earliest and sufficient model. Indeed each of his poems has a twofold character. The Iliad is at once simple and ‘pathetic,’ and the Odyssey complex (for Recognition scenes run through it), and at the same time ‘ethical.’ Moreover, in diction and thought they are supreme. Epic poetry differs from Tragedy in the scale on which it is constructed, and in its metre. As regards scale or length, we have already laid down an adequate limit: the beginning and the end must be capable of being brought within a single view. This condition will be satisfied by poems on a smaller scale than the old epics, and answering in length to the group of tragedies presented at a single sitting. Epic poetry has, however, a great―a special―capacity for enlarging its dimensions, and we can see the reason. In Tragedy we cannot imitate several lines of actions carried on at one and the same time; we must confine ourselves to the action on the stage and the part taken by the players. But in Epic poetry, owing to the narrative form, many events simultaneously transacted can be presented; and these, if relevant to the subject, add mass and dignity to the poem. The Epic has here an advantage, and one that conduces to grandeur of effect, to diverting the mind of the hearer, and relieving the story with varying episodes. For sameness of incident soon produces satiety, and makes tragedies fail on the stage. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 113 As for the metre, the heroic measure has proved its fitness by the test of experience. If a narrative poem in any other metre or in many metres were now composed, it would be found incongruous. For of all measures the heroic is the stateliest and the most massive; and hence it most readily admits rare words and metaphors, which is another point in which the narrative form of imitation stands alone. On the other hand, the iambic and the trochaic tetrameter are stirring measures, the latter being akin to dancing, the former expressive of action. Still more absurd would it be to mix together different metres, as was done by Chaeremon. Hence no one has ever composed a poem on a great scale in any other than heroic verse. Nature herself, as we have said, teaches the choice of the proper measure. Homer, admirable in all respects, has the special merit of being the only poet who rightly appreciates the part he should take himself. The poet should speak as little as possible in his own person, for it is not this that makes him an imitator. Other poets appear themselves upon the scene throughout, and imitate but little and rarely. Homer, after a few prefatory words, at once brings in a man, or woman, or other personage; none of them wanting in characteristic qualities, but each with a character of his own. The element of the wonderful is required in Tragedy. The irrational, on which the wonderful depends for its chief effects, has wider scope in Epic poetry, because there the person acting is not seen. Thus, the pursuit of Hector would be ludicrous if placed upon the stage―the Greeks standing still and not joining in the pursuit, and Achilles waving them back. But in the Epic poem the absurdity passes unnoticed. Now the wonderful is pleasing: as may be inferred from the fact that every one tells a story with some addition of his own, knowing that his hearers like it. It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skilfully. The secret of it lies in a fallacy, For, assuming that if one thing is or becomes, a second is or becomes, men imagine that, if the second is, the first likewise is or becomes. But this is a false inference. Hence, where the first thing is untrue, it is quite unnecessary, provided the second be true, to add that the first is or has become. For the mind, knowing the second to be true, falsely infers the truth of the first. There is an example of this in the Bath Scene of the Odyssey. Accordingly, the poet should prefer probable impossibilities to improbable possibilities. The tragic plot must not be composed of irrational parts. Everything irrational should, if possible, be CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

114 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I excluded; or, at all events, it should lie outside the action of the play (as, in the Oedipus, the hero’s ignorance as to the manner of Laius’ death); not within the drama,―as in the Electra, the messenger’s account of the Pythian games; or, as in the Mysians, the man who has come from Tegea to Mysia and is still speechless. The plea that otherwise the plot would have been ruined, is ridiculous; such a plot should not in the first instance be constructed. But once the irrational has been introduced and an air of likelihood imparted to it, we must accept it in spite of the absurdity. Take even the irrational incidents in the Odyssey, where Odysseus is left upon the shore of Ithaca. How intolerable even these might have been would be apparent if an inferior poet were to treat the subject. As it is, the absurdity is veiled by the poetic charm with which the poet invests it. The diction should be elaborated in the pauses of the action, where there is no expression of character or thought. For, conversely, character and thought are merely obscured by a diction that is over brilliant. XXV. Critical Objections brought against Poetry, and the principles on which they are to be answered With respect to critical difficulties and their solutions, the number and nature of the sources from which they may be drawn may be thus exhibited. The poet being an imitator, like a painter or any other artist, must of necessity imitate one of three objects―things as they were or are, things as they are said or thought to be, or things as they ought to be. The vehicle of expression is language―either current terms or, it may be, rare words or metaphors. There are also many modifications of language, which we concede to the poets. Add to this, that the standard of correctness is not the same in poetry and politics, any more than in poetry and any other art. Within the art of poetry itself there are two kinds of faults, those which touch its essence, and those which are accidental. If a poet has chosen to imitate something, ―but has imitated it incorrectly―through want of capacity, the error is inherent in the poetry. But if the failure is due to a wrong choice if he has represented a horse as throwing out both his off legs at once, or introduced technical inaccuracies in medicine, for example, or in any other art the error is not essential to the poetry. These are the points of view from which we should consider and answer the objections raised by the critics. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 115 First as to matters which concern the poet’s own art. If he describes the impossible, he is guilty of an error; but the error may be justified, if the end of the art be thereby attained (the end being that already mentioned), if, that is, the effect of this or any other part of the poem is thus rendered more striking. A case in point is the pursuit of Hector. If, however, the end might have been as well, or better, attained without violating the special rules of the poetic art, the error is not justified: for every kind of error should, if possible, be avoided. Again, does the error touch the essentials of the poetic art, or some accident of it? For example,―not to know that a hind has no horns is a less serious matter than to paint it inartistically. Further, if it be objected that the description is not true to fact, the poet may perhaps reply, ―‘But the objects are as they ought to be’: just as Sophocles said that he drew men as they ought to be; Euripides, as they are. In this way the objection may be met. If, however, the representation be of neither kind, the poet may answer,―This is how men say the thing is. This applies to tales about the gods. It may well be that these stories are not higher than fact nor yet true to fact: they are, very possibly, what Xenophanes says of them. But anyhow, ‘this is what is said.’ Again, a description may be no better than the fact: ‘still, it was the fact’; as in the passage about the arms: ‘Upright upon their butt-ends stood the spears.’ This was the custom then, as it now is among the Illyrians. Again, in examining whether what has been said or done by some one is poetically right or not, we must not look merely to the particular act or saying, and ask whether it is poetically good or bad. We must also consider by whom it is said or done, to whom, when, by what means, or for what end; whether, for instance, it be to secure a greater good, or avert a greater evil. Other difficulties may be resolved by due regard to the usage of language. We may note a rare word, as in {omicron upsilon rho eta alpha sigma/mu epsilon nu/pi rho omega tau omicron nu}, where the poet perhaps employs {omicron upsilon rho eta alpha sigma} not in the sense of mules, but of sentinels. So, again, of Dolon: ‘ill-favoured indeed he was to look upon.’ It is not meant that his body was ill-shaped, but that his face was ugly; for the Cretans use the word {epsilon upsilon epsilon iota delta epsilon sigma}, ‘well-favoured,’ to denote a fair face. Again, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

116 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I {zeta omega rho omicron tau epsilon rho omicron nu/delta epsilon/kappa epsilon rho alpha iota epsilon}, ‘mix the drink livelier,’ ‘does not mean mix it stronger’ as for hard drinkers, but ‘mix it quicker.’ Sometimes an expression is metaphorical, as ‘Now all gods and men were sleeping through the night,’―while at the same time the poet says: ‘Often indeed as he turned his gaze to the Trojan plain, he marvelled at the sound of flutes and pipes.’ ‘All’ is here used metaphorically for ‘many,’ all being a species of many. So in the verse,―‘alone she hath no part,’ {omicron iota eta}, ‘alone,’ is metaphorical; for the best known may be called the only one. Again, the solution may depend upon accent or breathing. Thus Hippias of Thasos solved the difficulties in the lines,―{delta iota delta omicron mu epsilon nu (delta iota delta omicron mu epsilon nu) delta epsilon/omicron iota,} and {tau omicron/mu epsilon nu/omicron upsilon (omicron upsilon) kappa alpha tau alpha pi upsilon theta epsilon tau alpha iota/omicron mu beta rho omega}. Or again, the question may be solved by punctuation, as in Empedocles,―‘Of a sudden things became mortal that before had learnt to be immortal, and things unmixed before mixed.’ Or again, by ambiguity of meaning, as {pi alpha rho omega chi eta kappa epsilon nu/delta epsilon/pi lambda epsilon omega/nu upsilon xi}, where the word {pi lambda epsilon omega} is ambiguous. Or by the usage of language. Thus any mixed drink is called {omicron iota nu omicron sigma}, ‘wine.’ Hence Ganymede is said ‘to pour the wine to Zeus,’ though the gods do not drink wine. So too workers in iron are called {chi alpha lambda kappa epsilon alpha sigma}, or workers in bronze. This, however, may also be taken as a metaphor. Again, when a word seems to involve some inconsistency of meaning, we should consider how many senses it may bear in the particular passage. For example: ‘there was stayed the spear of bronze’―we should ask in how many ways we may take ‘being checked there.’ The true mode of interpretation is the precise opposite of what Glaucon mentions. Critics, he says, jump at certain groundless conclusions; they pass adverse judgment and then proceed to reason on it; and, assuming that the poet has said whatever they happen to think, find fault if a thing is inconsistent CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 117 with their own fancy. The question about Icarius has been treated in this fashion. The critics imagine he was a Lacedaemonian. They think it strange, therefore, that Telemachus should not have met him when he went to Lacedaemon. But the Cephallenian story may perhaps be the true one. They allege that Odysseus took a wife from among themselves, and that her father was Icadius not Icarius. It is merely a mistake, then, that gives plausibility to the objection. In general, the impossible must be justified by reference to artistic requirements, or to the higher reality, or to received opinion. With respect to the requirements of art, a probable impossibility is to be preferred to a thing improbable and yet possible. Again, it may be impossible that there should be men such as Zeuxis painted. ‘Yes,’ we say, ‘but the impossible is the higher thing; for the ideal type must surpass the reality.’ To justify the irrational, we appeal to what is commonly said to be. In addition to which, we urge that the irrational sometimes does not violate reason; just as ‘it is probable that a thing may happen contrary to probability.’ Things that sound contradictory should be examined by the same rules as in dialectical refutation whether the same thing is meant, in the same relation, and in the same sense. We should therefore solve the question by reference to what the poet says himself, or to what is tacitly assumed by a person of intelligence. The element of the irrational, and, similarly, depravity of character, are justly censured when there is no inner necessity for introducing them. Such is the irrational element in the introduction of Aegeus by Euripides and the badness of Menelaus in the Orestes. Thus, there are five sources from which critical objections are drawn. Things are censured either as impossible, or irrational, or morally hurtful, or contradictory, or contrary to artistic correctness. The answers should be sought under the twelve heads above mentioned. XXVI. A general estimate of the comparative worth of Epic Poetry and Tragedy The question may be raised whether the Epic or Tragic mode of imitation is the higher. If the more refined art is the higher, and the more refined in every case is that which appeals to the better sort of audience, the art which imitates anything and everything is manifestly most unrefined. The audience is supposed to be too dull to comprehend unless something of their own is thrown in by the performers, who therefore indulge in restless movements. Bad flute-players CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

118 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I twist and twirl, if they have to represent ‘the quoit-throw,’ or hustle the coryphaeus when they perform the ‘Scylla.’ Tragedy, it is said, has this same defect. We may compare the opinion that the older actors entertained of their successors. Mynniscus used to call Callippides ‘ape’ on account of the extravagance of his action, and the same view was held of Pindarus. Tragic art, then, as a whole, stands to Epic in the same relation as the younger to the elder actors. So we are told that Epic poetry is addressed to a cultivated audience, who do not need gesture; Tragedy, to an inferior public. Being then unrefined, it is evidently the lower of the two. Now, in the first place, this censure attaches not to the poetic but to the histrionic art; for gesticulation may be equally overdone in epic recitation, as by Sosi-stratus, or in lyrical competition, as by Mnasitheus the Opuntian. Next, all action is not to be condemned any more than all dancing―but only that of bad performers. Such was the fault found in Callippides, as also in others of our own day, who are censured for representing degraded women. Again, Tragedy like Epic poetry produces its effect even without action; it reveals its power by mere reading. If, then, in all other respects it is superior, this fault, we say, is not inherent in it. And superior it is, because it has all the epic elements―it may even use the epic metre―with the music and spectacular effects as important accessories; and these produce the most vivid of pleasures. Further, it has vividness of impression in reading as well as in representation. Moreover, the art attains its end within narrower limits; for the concentrated effect is more pleasurable than one which is spread over a long time and so diluted. What, for example, would be the effect of the Oedipus of Sophocles, if it were cast into a form as long as the Iliad? Once more, the Epic imitation has less unity; as is shown by this, that any Epic poem will furnish subjects for several tragedies. Thus if the story adopted by the poet has a strict unity, it must either be concisely told and appear truncated; or, if it conform to the Epic canon of length, it must seem weak and watery. ‘Such length implies some loss of unity,’ if, I mean, the poem is constructed out of several actions, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, which have many such parts, each with a certain magnitude of its own. Yet these poems are as perfect as possible in structure; each is, in the highest degree attainable, an imitation of a single action. If, then, Tragedy is superior to Epic poetry in all these respects, and, moreover, fulfils its specific function better as an art for each art ought to produce, not any chance pleasure, but the CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 119 pleasure proper to it, as already stated it plainly follows that Tragedy is the higher art, as attaining its end more perfectly. Thus much may suffice concerning Tragic and Epic poetry in general; their several kinds and parts, with the number of each and their differences; the causes that make a poem good or bad; the objections of the critics and the answers to these objections. Chapter 1 3.5 Summary Aristotle proposes to approach poetry from a scientific viewpoint, examining the constituent parts of poetry and drawing conclusions from those observations. First, he lists the different kinds of poetry: epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and most flute-playing and lyre- playing. Next, he remarks that all of these kinds of poetry are mimetic, or imitative, but that there are significant differences between them. The first kind of distinction is the means they employ. Just as a painter employs paint and a sculptor employs stone, the poet employs language, rhythm, and harmony, either singly or in combinations. For instance, flute-playing and lyre-playing employ rhythm and harmony, while dance employs only rhythm. He also addresses the question of non-poetic language, arguing that poetry is essentially mimetic, whether it is in verse or in prose. Thus, Homer is a poet, while Empedocles, a philosopher who wrote in verse, is not. While Empedocles writes in verse, his writing is not mimetic, and so it is not poetry. In tragedy, comedy, and other kinds of poetry, rhythm, language, and harmony are all used. In some cases, as in lyric poetry, all three are used together, while in other cases, as in comedy or tragedy, the different parts come in to play at different times. The second distinction is the objects that are imitated. All poetry represents actions with agents who are either better than us, worse than us, or quite like us. For instance, tragedy and epic poetry deal with characters who are better than us, while comedy and parody deal with characters who are worse than us. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

120 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I The final distinction is with the manner of representation: the poet either speaks directly in narrative or assumes the characters of people in the narrative and speaks through them. For instance, many poets tell straight narratives while Homer alternates between narrative and accounts of speeches given by characters in his narrative. In tragedy and comedy, the poet speaks exclusively through assumed characters. 3.6 Analysis The very first paragraph of thePoeticsgives us a hint as to how we should approach the work: it is meant to be descriptive rather than prescriptive. That is, Aristotle is not so much interested in arguing that poetry or tragedyshouldbe one thing or another. Rather, he wants to look at past examples of poetry — tragedy in particular — and by dissecting them and examining their constituent parts to arrive at some general sense of what poetry is and how it works. This is the same scientific method that Aristotle employs so successfully in examining natural phenomena: careful observation followed by tentative theories to explain the observations. The immediate and pressing question, then, is whether Aristotle is right in applying his scientific method to poetry. Physical phenomena are subject to unchanging, natural laws, and presumably a careful study of the phenomena matched with a little insight might uncover what these natural laws are. Aristotle seems to be proceeding with the assumption that the same is true for poetry: its growth and development has been guided by unchanging, natural laws, and thePoeticsseeks to uncover these laws. The results are mixed. In some cases, what Aristotle says seems quite right, while in others his conclusions seem very limiting. We will examine this question further when Aristotle delves deeper into the elements of tragedy. Before going any further, we might do well to clarify some terms. When Aristotle talks about “art” or “poetry” he is not talking about what we might understand by these words. “Art” is the translation of the Greek wordtechneand is closely related to “artifice” and “artificial.” Art for Aristotle is anything that is made by human beings as opposed to being found in nature. Thus, poetry, painting, and sculpture count as “art,” but so do chairs, horseshoes, and sandals. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 121 Our conception of “art” is more closely (but not exactly) approximated by what Aristotle calls “mimetic art.” The Greek wordmimesisdefies exact translation, though “imitation” works quite well in the context of thePoetics. A chair is something you can sit in, but a painting of a chair is merely an imitation, or representation, of a real chair. Paintings use paint to imitate real life, and sculptures use stone. Poetry is distinguished as the mimetic art that uses language, rhythm, and harmony to imitate real life, language obviously being the most crucial component. This raises the question of in what way poetry imitates, or “mimics,” real life. The events in Oedipus Rexdid not actually happen in real life. In fact, it is important that tragedy be fictional and that there be an understanding that the events taking place on stage are not real: no one should call the police when Hamlet kills Polonius. Still, tragedy deals with humans who speak and act in a way that real humans conceivably could have spoken and acted. It is important that there be an understanding that the account is fictional, but it must also be close enough to reality that it is plausible. There are significant differences between the kind of poetry discussed here and our conception of poetry. In modern times, the definition of poetry is closely linked to its being written in verse. Aristotle directly contradicts that definition, pointing out that ‘Empedocles’ philosophical verses are not poetry; they present ideas rather than imitate life. 3.7 Keywords/Abbreviations  Mimesis:Mimesis is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings which includeimitatio, imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act of expression, the act of resembling, and the presentation of the self.  Hubris:Hubris describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with (or synonymous with)arrogance. In its ancient Greek context, it typically describes behaviour that defies the norms of behaviour CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

122 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I or challenges the gods which, in turn, brings about the downfall of the perpetrator of hubris. The adjectival form of the nounhubrisis “hubristic”.  Nemesis:In ancient Greek religion,Nemesis, also calledRhamnousiaorRhamnusia (“the goddess of Rhamnous”), is the goddess who enacts retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods).  Hamartia:Hamartiaas it pertains to dramatic literature was first used by Aristotle in his Poetics. In tragedy,hamartiais commonly understood to refer to the protagonist’s error ortragic flawthat leads to a chain of plot actions culminating in a reversal from felicity to disaster.  Anagnorisis:Anagnorisis is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for. Anagnorisis was the hero’s sudden awareness of a real situation, the realisation of things as they stood, and finally, the hero’s insight into a relationship with an often antagonistic character in Aristotelian tragedy.  Peripeteia:Peripeteia is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point. The term is primarily used with reference to works of literature. The Anglicized form ofperipeteiais peripety. 3.8 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) A. Descriptive Type Questions 1. How does Aristotle define Poetry as imitation? 2. Why does Aristotle insist on the necessity of unity in the plot? 3. What does Aristotle say about the objects of imitation? 4. What are the three differences which distinguish artistic imitation? 5. Write a note on the origin and development of poetry. 6. Give a brief sketch of the rise of Comedy. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 123 7. How did Aristotle define Tragedy? 8. Write in brief about the different elements of Tragedy. 9. Comment on the structure of the Plot. 10. What constitutes tragic action? 11. What are the two parts of the Plot? 12. How should the tragic emotions of pity and fear be aroused? B. Multiple Choice/Objective Type Questions 1. Which is the only unity that Aristotle insists upon? (a) Unity of Action (b) Unity of Character (c) Unity of Place (d) Unity of Time 2. Which of the following is the most important? (a) Character (b) Diction (c) Plot (d) Harmony 3. Which of the following in not a part of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy? (a) It arouses pity and fear (b) It has an unhappy ending (c) It involves mimesis (d) It is performed rather than narrated 4. A complex plot must contain . (a) Peripeteia (b) Anagnorisis (c) Both (d) Either 5. Which of the following is not a requirement for a tragic hero? (a) The hero must be good (b) The hero must be male (c) The hero’s character must be consistent (d) The hero must be of high social order Answers: 1. (a), 2. (c), 3. (b), 4. (d), 5. (b). CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

124 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I 3.9 References 1. http://www.english.hawaii.edu/criticalink/aristotle/index.html 2. https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aristotle/themes/ 3. https://www.gradesaver.com/aristotles-poetics/e-text/sources 4. https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/poetics/section1/page/2/ 5. Belfiore, Elizabeth, S. (1992),Tragic Pleasures: Aristotle on Plot and Emotion, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, ISBN 0-691-06899-2. 6. Bremer, J.M. (1969),Hamartia: Tragic Error in the Poetics of Aristotle and the Greek Tragedy, Amsterdam. 7. Butcher, Samuel H. (1911),Aristotle’s Theory of Poetry and Fine Art, New York. 8. Carroll, M. (1895),Aristotle’s Poetics,c. xxv,Ιn the Light of the Homeric Scholia, Baltimore. 9. Cave, Terence (1988),Recognitions: A Study in Poetics, Oxford. 10. Carlson, Marvin (1993),Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present, Expanded ed. Ithaca and London: Cornell UP, ISBN 978-0- 8014-8154-3. 11. Dukore, Bernard F. (1974),Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Florence, KY: Heinle & Heinle, ISBN 0-03-091152-4 12. Downing, E. (1984), “oἷον ψυχή:ΑnΕssay on Aristotle’s muthos”,Classical Antiquity, 3: 164-78. 13. Else, Gerald F. (1986),Plato and Aristotle on Poetry, Chapel Hill/London. 14. Heath, Malcolm (1989), “Aristotelian Comedy”,Classical Quarterly, 39: 344-354, doi: 10.1017/S0009838800037411. 15. Heath, Malcolm (1991), “The Universality of Poetry in Aristotle's Poetics”,Classical Quarterly, 41: 389-402, doi: 10.1017/S0009838800004559. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - I 125 16. Heath, Malcolm (2009), “Cognition in Aristotle's Poetics”,Mnemosyne, 62: 51-75. doi: 10.1163/156852508X252876. 17. Halliwell, Stephen (1986),Aristotle’s Poetics, Chapel Hill. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT 4 ARISTOTLE:POETICS - II Structure: 4.0 Learning Objectives 4.1 Overview 4.2 Perspective and Narrator 4.3 Poetics|Context 4.4 Keywords/Abbreviations 4.5 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) 4.6 References 4.0 Learning Objectives In this unit, the students will study Aristotle’sPoetics:  This brief text composed around 330 BCE, preserved in the form of students’ lecture notes.  Through various interpretations and applications, understand the profound impact on Western aesthetic philosophy and artistic production. 4.1 Overview Historians and literary experts commonly believe that Aristotle wrotePoeticsas a response to Greek philosopher Plato’s negative framing of poets and poetry inThe Republic(c. 360 BCE). Poeticsis Aristotle’s treatise on dramatic performance poetry, in which he describes the different types of poetry and outlines their most important elements. This text was one of the first major CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 127 treatises about drama in the West. Much of Western thought and philosophy owe their roots to the writings and teachings of Aristotle. Although fragmentary,Poeticshas left its mark on the development of Western literature and theatre. 4.2 Perspective and Narrator Poeticsis written in the first person wherein Aristotle addresses his readers and invites them into dialogue, using the first person pluralus. About the Title Poetics is a treatise on poetry as it was conceptualized in ancient Greece. Aristotle uses the word poetics to include a range of artistic work that, in modern times, would be classified as poetry, drama, and theatre. Share Epic Poetry Epic poetry is a narrative or storytelling form that features a plot with a beginning, middle, and end and is built around a single action. This action is often broader and more far-reaching than that in tragedy, as epic poetry is not meant to be performed on the stage. Homer’sIliadand Odysseyare primary examples, often referenced by Aristotle, of epic poetry. These poems cover large amounts of time and many different episodes of the characters’ experiences. For instance, The Odyssey has multiple working parts: it covers the 10 years of hardship and adventures that Odysseus must undergo to return home, but it also tells the story of Penelope and her son, Telemachus, as they attempt to fend off suitors and keep faith that Odysseus is still alive. Aristotle explains epic poetry as poetry that uses heroic meter, which in classical Greek poetry is the same as dactylic hexameter, to convey its story.Hexameterrefers to the meter, or pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, of the poem.Dactylicdescribes a poetic foot, referring to the number and pattern of stressed syllables. Adactylis one long followed by two short syllables.Hexameterindicates that there will be six feet in each line of the poem: the first five feet are dactyls, and the last foot is a two-syllable foot called a spondee. The rhythm created is something likeDUM dah dah | DUM dah dah | DUM dah dah | DUM dah dah | DUM dah dah CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

128 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I | DUM DUM. This structure is much more natural in Greek and Latin poetry and has not been successfully used in English poetry very often. Greek Tragedy Tragedy is different from epic poetry in the scope of its plot. It is a type of dramatic poetry that can be broken down into six elements: plot, character, thought, diction, lyrical song, and spectacular presentment (the acting or stage element). Tragedy has several requirements: There must be a tragic action, a reversal of situation, a reveal or recognition, and a stirring of fear and pity. The audience should then purge these emotions when it experiences catharsis at the end of the tragedy. Aristotle also argues that tragedies should almost always end with a reversal from good to bad fortune. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were three great Greek tragedians whose work still exists today. Aristotle frequently uses their plays as examples when illustrating various points about the tragic form. Sophocles’s playOedipus Rex, also known asOedipus the King, tells the story of King Oedipus of Thebes who unknowingly fulfills a prophecy to kill his father and marry his mother. This play remains one of the most famous of the Greek tragedies and is still performed in modern times. Plot Plot is the key element in both tragedy and the epic poem. Aristotle illustrates how both these forms use imitation in order to create their characters and their plots. Plots must demonstrate unity in order to feel natural and believable and should evoke a feeling of catharsis in the audience. In Aristotle’s view, the characters are secondary to the plot, although he insists it is also vital to have characters perform believable actions that are consistent with their characters. Aristotle proposes that the plot in either type should be a unified whole based around the imitation of a central action. Plot always requires a beginning, middle, and end, and Aristotle emphasizes the importance of each of these parts naturally being the cause or the effect of the next part. It is essential that plot develops in an organic way and not as a result of the poet’s forcing events via unlikely character actions or motivations. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 129 Imitation InPoetics, imitation is the core idea behind the creation of any art. According to Aristotle, it is the primary motivation behind all poetry. Aristotle explains imitation in this context as the driving force behind humankind’s desire to create art. In the cases of drama and poetry, the thing being imitated is human action. Catharsis Catharsis is something that sets tragedy apart from epic poetry and other forms. Aristotle proposes that a tragedy should evoke an emotional response in the reader. More specifically, the tragedy should make the audience go through an emotional process that begins with their feeling a sense of horror or fear that in the climax and denouement of the play subsequently turns into a feeling of pity or sorrow. This allows the audience to purge their feelings and experience a feeling of wonder in the end of the story. Unity Unity of plot is crucial to both tragic and epic poetry, and it occurs when all parts of the plot work in harmony to create an organic whole. This means that the plot cannot jump around in space or time in confusing ways, and it should be based around a single main event. It is also important that the plot feels organic, meaning that the characters are not committing actions solely as tools of the plot. The characters should act and react in ways natural to them, and this should in turn play into the overall shape and movement of the plot. 4.3 Poetics|Context Share Tragedy in Ancient and Classical Greece Aristotle lived in the period of Greek history known as Classical Greece. The period covered most of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE and is usually recognized as ending with Macedonian king Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BCE. From this period, only the works of three major tragedians — Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides — survive. Aristotle frequently references the works of these three writers as examples for his arguments about poetry and tragedy. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

130 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I The earliest of the great Greek dramatists was Aeschylus, who lived between 525 and 455 BCE. He was a major participant in the dramatic competition held every year as a part of the Festival of Dionysus, where three tragedies would be presented followed by a lighthearted satire play. Although it is estimated that he wrote around 90 plays, only seven of his tragedies survive completely. Aeschylus significantly changed Greek tragedy by adding a second actor to the play — previously, only one actor played all of the parts, with a chorus narrating in the background. This allowed dialogue to develop between characters and consequently opened up more possibilities for the writing. Sophocles was born around 496 BCE in the village of Colonus, located just outside Athens, and died in 406 BCE in Athens around the age of 90. Not much is known about Sophocles’s life, and most of what remains are his works of tragedy. As with Aeschylus, only seven of Sophocles’s tragedies have survived in their entirety:Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes,andOedipus at Colonus. None of the exact dates are known for any of these plays, althoughAjaxis generally regarded as the earliest of the seven, and it is known that Philocteteswas first performed around 409 BCE. Sophocles’s tragedies usually focus on a few central characters with the protagonist exhibiting a major fault that leads tragically to his or her demise. His main character will usually make a crucial error of judgement, which affects each of the surrounding characters, moving the play and all its characters toward a tragic end. In contrast to Aeschylus, the action and tragedy of Sophocles’s plays usually take place within one generation of characters, instead of being spread over longer time periods. Euripides was a dramatist who lived and worked parallel to Sophocles. He was born around 484 BCE and lived until 406 BCE. Little is known of his personal life, but 19 of his plays survive today. Like Sophocles and Aeschylus, Euripides competed in the Festival of Dionysus, which he won four times over the course of his life. Euripides is notable for his rational attitude toward religion and for his realistic characters with normal human flaws. He commonly incorporates in his plays dialogue about contemporary philosophical or social issues. The tragedy of Euripides’s plays, unlike those of Sophocles and Aeschylus, often comes about from a combination of chance, chaos, and character flaws. The gods do not interfere or affect the tragedy in any way, but instead CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 131 watch the unfolding with disinterest. This realistic and true-to-life style is a signature of Euripides’s work. Each of these dramatists was influenced by a poet who lived hundreds of years before any of them. Homer, famous for the epic poemsThe IliadandThe Odyssey(c. 8 th century BCE), lived in either the 8th or 9th century BCE. Little is known about Homer, including whether or not he is responsible for the two epics. It has generally been agreed, however, that he likely did write, or at least contribute to, both poems. The Iliadis a tragic poem detailing the Trojan War. It is composed of various episodes, although Achilles is thought to be the main protagonist.The Odysseytells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who spends 10 years trying to reach home after the Trojan War. Meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, fend off suitors who insist that Odysseus is dead in their attempt to marry Penelope. These two poems are foundational works to all subsequent Greek poetry and drama and are frequently referenced by later writers, including Aristotle. Writing of Poetics Much is unknown about Aristotle’s workPoetics, including precisely when it was written. As a result, it is difficult to say exactly what influences surrounded him when he wrote it. However, it has been argued that Aristotle wrotePoeticsas a response to some of Plato’s criticisms of and challenges to the importance of poetry in Greek society. As a pupil, Aristotle frequently disagreed with his teacher, and this debate informed much of his later writing and theory. Plato saw poetry as of doubtful importance. In fact, he proposed that literature was a distraction or misdirection from the truth. Aristotle, however, suggests inPoeticsthat poetry and art arise from a human desire to imitate and that this desire is connected with the human experience of empathy. Aristotle categorized rhetoric and the arts as productive sciences as opposed to theoretical sciences. Art, he argued, was a product of the human imagination, giving insight into the human condition. The theoretical sciences, on the other hand, represented the study of knowledge for its own sake. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

132 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I Poeticsoften lacks organization. Aristotle jumps between ideas and frequently repeats himself. He adds extra information and interjections between longer sections of text. The lack of order indicates that the original text was likely taken from his teaching notes or from notes taken by his students on the subject. Contemporary Relevance Not only doesPoeticsgive modern readers a sense of the important elements of poetry and drama in ancient Greece, but it also provides some of the earliest available writing on the art of drama in Western culture. Both Plato’s writings on poetry and Aristotle’s response have been used in Western art criticism since they were written. In contemporary thought, a common criticism ofPoeticsis that it tries simply to provide a formula or recipe for art. Part of this criticism results from the way Aristotle elevates the technical and theoretical construction of drama and poetry above its expressive aspects. However, his opinion of certain aspects of poetry is at times inconsistent in the text and is still a matter of much debate. Another aspect ofPoeticsthat is central to the ongoing conversation about poetry and criticism is the concept that both Aristotle and Plato seemed to agree on—that poetry (and art generally) is a form of mimesis, or imitation. This claim is quite contentious. It has been at the forefront of many conversations about the relevance of art and creative works. Aristotle’s doctrine on poetry and drama has had a huge influence on Western thought about art, literature, and theater. Aristotle’s work has shaped both the development of art and the development of criticism. Italian poet Dante Alighieri, famous during the Middle Ages for The Divine Comedy(c. 1308–21), considered Aristotle a master of knowledge. British writer T.S. Eliot, a 20th century poet and critic, considered Aristotle a master writer and referenced lines from Poeticsin his own essays. Summary Aristotle’sPoeticsbegins with a statement of intention to discuss poetry in its various forms. Aristotle proposes to inquire into the workings of the “good” poem and outlines the various types CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 133 of poetry he will discuss in his treatise. Much of his writings on the form of comedy and a few other types of poetry seem to be lost from the text, however. In his first few chapters, Aristotle introduces the types of poetry he will examine and his overarching concept that poetry and art are forms of mimesis. He focuses primarily on the forms of tragedy, comedy, and epic poetry, which also shape his focus for the majority of the treatise. Aristotle proposes that the object of this imitation in poetry is human action. He explains that while this focus is common in comedy, drama, and epic poetry, each of these types of poetry deal with different types of human action. Epic poetry and tragedy, he argues, are higher forms of art than comedy, which deals with the ludicrous. The first five chapters ofPoeticsare initial observations and introductory explanations. Subsequent chapters delve into more detail about the forms of tragedy and epic poetry. Tragedy, according to Aristotle, is an imitation of an action in its entirety and requires a unified and organically developed plot. There are various types of tragedy and six main elements of the tragic form. Tragedy also relies on the plot devices of situational reversal, recognition, and the tragic incident. Tragedy uses fear and pity as tools to create catharsis in the audience. The audience should go through the experience of fear or horror that turns to pity, and by the closing of the tragedy, they should feel a purging of those emotions. This experience is central to the importance of the tragic form. Epic poetry is often longer than tragedy and more far-reaching. Plot in epic poetry covers a longer time span and has a broader focus but should still be unified and have a natural sense of cause and effect. Aristotle gives the example of theIliadas an epic poem that focuses on one part of the Trojan War. Poeticsends with a discussion on the role of critics and criticism and a final decisive comparison of epic poetry and tragedy. Aristotle delineates his argument for why, in the end, tragedy is actually a higher form of art than the epic poem. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

134 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I Summary Chapter 1 Aristotle introduces the question “What are the elements of a good poem?” He proposes to inquire into at least two of these elements: plot structure and the number and type of parts that make up a poem. He offers five general categories to be discussed: epic poetry, tragedy, dithyrambic poetry, comedy, and music. All five of these categories share the trait of imitation, and each uses different tools to mimic reality. There are three main ways that each category differs in regard to imitation: the medium of imitation, the things being imitated, and the way those things are imitated. Imitation is expressed through means of harmony, rhythm, language, and poetic meter. Dithyrambic poetry (a Greek hymn usually expressed through song and dance), tragedy, and comedy each incorporate these means of imitation. Chapter 2 The object that art aims to imitate is humans in action. There are three ways humans may be portrayed: as better than they are in reality, as worse, or as they actually are. Aristotle explains that Homer and Polygnotus both represent people as better than they really are, Hegemon and Pauson portray their characters as less good, and Dionysius and Cleophon draw their characters in the middle. He argues that this division illustrates the difference between tragedy and comedy: tragedy portrays people as better than in reality, and comedy portrays them as worse. Chapter 3 The third type of imitation is the manner in which things are imitated. For example, a poet may choose to narrate, using their own voice, or may take on a particular personality in their narration, or exist only as a neutral observer. The word drama is often associated with these types of poetry because their focus is on people in action. Chapter 4 Poetry springs from two deep human instincts: the instinct for imitation and the instinct for harmony and rhythm (including poetic meter). Then poetry splits in two different directions. These can be described as poetry written about noble and good characters and poetry written about more flawed characters. This is how the distinction between tragedy and comedy is created. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 135 According to Aristotle, Homer is the first poet to compose satirical poetry and create the basis for comedy. Aristotle describes tragedy as developing slowly and through many stages. Dialogue gains greater importance, the number of actors gradually increases, sets are introduced, meter changes from trochaic (syllabic pattern of stressed unstressed) to iambic (unstressed stressed), which is considered a more natural speaking pattern. He references Aeschylus as being responsible for incorporating a second actor and reducing the prominence of the chorus, and Sophocles he gives credit for adding yet a third actor and developing the stage scenery. Chapter 5 Comedy can be described as an imitation of something that is imperfect or ugly in a way that does not communicate or create pain. Unlike tragedy, comedy did not pass through the same extended period of development and originated in Sicily. Epic poetry and tragedy both deal with characters on a higher moral level. Epic poetry can be distinguished from tragedy by its restriction to a single kind of meter and its longer length. Analysis Aristotle introduces the main topics and concepts of his treatise by offering definitions and drawing distinctions between genres. Epic poetry and tragedy are presented as similar forms of art, whereas comedy has a distinct history and separate timeline of development. These art forms are all rooted in the human desire to imitate the surrounding world. There is a general attitude of disdain toward early comedy, and Aristotle draws a distinction between satirical works produced pre-Homer and the genre of comedy that began with Homer’s movement away from personal satire into the dramatization of the absurd. The topic of dithyrambic poetry is introduced but then fades into the background, shifting the discussion more fully to the forms of epic poetry, tragedy, and comedy. Dithyrambic poetry is a form of ecstatic hymn in honour of the god Dionysus. Aristotle brings up two writers, Sophron and Xenarchus. Sophron was a writer of mimes, as was his son Xenarchus. Xenarchus wrote during the reign of Dionysius I. Both spoke and wrote in CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

136 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I the Dorian dialect, which Aristotle also mentions in reference to the creation of the genres of tragedy and comedy. The reader should be careful not to confuse Dionysius, the 5th-century king, with the Greek god Dionysus. Aristophanes is another important name mentioned in Chapter 2. Aristophanes was a famous writer of comedy in the early 5th and late 4th centuries BCE. He was widely viewed as a merciless satirist, and Aristotle probably brings up his name here with Sophocles because he is discussing the development of both tragedy and comedy. When Aristotle says “Polygnotus depicted men as nobler than they are, Pauson as less noble, Dionysius drew them true to life,” the first two names are referring to famous Greek artistes of the 5th century BCE, but it is unclear which Dionysius he is referencing. Summary Chapter 6 Aristotle sets aside the subjects of comedy and epic poetry and introduces tragedy as the topic of the following chapter. He defines tragedy as poetry that concerns serious actions of a certain gravity, uses language that incorporates harmony, rhythm, and song, and is performed by actors. Tragedy consists of six main elements: character, plot, diction, thought, spectacle (acting), and song. Aristotle argues that plot is central to tragedy, while character development is secondary. “Thought” seems to indicate the intellectual aspects of the work, and diction the order and meaning of words. Spectacle, or the actors and acting, has the power to incite emotion, but Aristotle considers it the least important of the six elements of tragedy. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 focuses primarily on the structure of tragic plot. The plot must have a beginning, middle, and end, each part naturally causing or following the previous. Aristotle suggests that a plot gains adequate gravity through length. He argues that a small thing (or short plot) is not notable, but something that is too large to see the shape of is also problematic. The plot of a tragedy should be long but have a clear shape and a sense of wholeness. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 137 Chapter 8 The tragic plot must be built around a single main action. In regard to the protagonist of the story, only the character’s actions that are relevant to the main thread of the plot should be included. If actions or events do not make an impact by their inclusion or exclusion from the plot, then those actions are unnecessary. Chapter 9 The chapter opens with the argument that the poet’s job is to write about what may happen, as opposed to what has happened already. While comedy might invent characters as well as plot, tragedy usually uses the names of real people to give credibility and weight to the story. Aristotle emphasizes the creation of plot over the use of language, as the poet’s job is to imitate action. The poet and the historian have distinctly different jobs: the poet writes about the universal, and the historian’s focus is the specific. Aristotle also insists that plots should not be episodic, as episodes are not connected by organic cause and effect. Plots should evoke surprise and emotion in the reader, and those feelings are stronger when events have clear cause and effect instead of being the result of chance. Chapter 10 Plots can be organized into two types: simple and complex. A simple plot is defined as a plot in which “the change of fortune takes place without Reversal of the Situation and without Recognition.” A complex plot uses the situational tools of “reversal” and/or “recognition.” These situations should be natural and logical effects of the preceding situation. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 defines the previously mentioned concepts of “reversal of situation” and “recognition.” Reversal of situation is a device wherein the plot flips around to the opposite of its initial trajectory. Recognition occurs when the central characters experience a reversal in knowledge or emotion — for instance, when the protagonist experiences a shift from hate to love. Combined, reversal and recognition usually inspire pity or fear in the audience and are based on the idea of surprise. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

138 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I Aristotle briefly mentions a third part of the plot, which he calls “the Scene of Suffering.” This is a scene that portrays destruction or pain, such as a scene of physical violence or death. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 introduces the tangible parts a tragedy may be divided into. Aristotle outlines these parts as prologue, episode, exode, and choric song. Chapter 13 In this chapter Aristotle lays out the aims of a tragic poet and what the poet should avoid. A tragedy should follow the complex plot structure instead of the simple and should prompt pity and fear in the audience. It should avoid overly simplistic movement such as the complete downfall of the antagonist, because this type of plot does not evoke emotion in the audience. Aristotle proposes that a true tragedy involves a character who is brought from good to bad fortune not through evil or immorality in themselves, but through human error. He outlines a few of the major tragic characters, such as Oedipus and Telephus, and explains that most of the best tragedies are written about them. Chapter 14 While pity and fear can be created through the acting and production of a tragedy, Aristotle argues that a good poet can create those feelings through the construction of the plot. He then details the types of actions or situations that cause people to experience feelings of fear or pity. These feelings are created, he claims, when a tragic accident happens to people who have a close relationship—such as a family member killing another family member. When such a situation is set up with “skillful handling,” it should incite strong feelings of horror and sympathy in the audience. To handle the tragic situation skillfully, the action may be done with conscious understanding of the relationship between the characters (a mother knowingly murdering her children). There is also the option that the action may be committed without knowledge of the relationship, with understanding dawning after the deed is done (Oedipus unknowingly murdering his father). CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 139 Chapter 15 The topic of Chapter 15 is the tragic character. Aristotle argues that speech or action that can be qualified as “good” is relative to class and propriety. In order to be more true to real life, “good” actions should be assigned to characters in which they would be believable. Characters must be both believable and consistent. However, Aristotle follows this argument by insisting that the poet, in writing the character, should mimic a portrait artist by elevating the character somehow. For instance, if the poet is writing a character with flaws, the poet should preserve the type of character while still painting the individual as more than a common person. Chapter 16 This chapter details the types of recognition, which is a plot device briefly explained in previous chapters. Aristotle poses that “recognition through signs” is the least skillful of the various forms. He explains this form as a situation in which a sign or symbol, such as a particular weapon or birthmark, reveal information about a character and cause the recognition. Aristotle argues that recognition in the form of a character revealing information because the poet needs it revealed, and not as a natural progression of the plot, is also artless. A third kind of recognition occurs when an object or experience wakes a feeling in the character. The fourth type of recognition comes about through a process of reasoning. The best type of recognition, Aristotle insists, is the realization that occurs through the natural development of events within the plot. Chapter 17 Aristotle discusses the importance of working out the technical details of the acting and setting of any play very carefully. It is the job of the poet, he explains, to make sure that the whole setting is clear and can be seen in its entirety by the audience. The poet must also pay attention to the gestures of the characters and make sure that the emotions the actors portray are natural and realistic. The second part of the chapter describes how the poet should approach the creation of the plot. A general outline should be made first, and then the details filled in afterward. After the outline, what is filled in is called the “episodes,” or the actual detailed scenes of the play. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

140 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I Chapter 18 According to Aristotle, the overall structure of a tragedy can be classified as the complication and the unravelling. The complication is everything leading up to the climax, whereas the unravelling, or denouement, is the rest. He then goes on to delineate the four types of tragedy: the complex, the pathetic, the ethical, and the simple. The complex, as discussed in previous chapters, uses both the reversal and recognition plot devices. In the pathetic the motive is passion, and in the ethical the motive is correspondingly ethical. The simple type uses only one of the two plot devices. Aristotle tells the reader that the poet should not try to make an epic poem into a tragedy. An epic poem has multiple parts, whereas a tragedy focuses on one plot thread. Aristotle gives the example of how an unsuccessful tragedy might try to tell the entire story of the entireIliad, as opposed to just the Fall of Troy. Aristotle briefly touches on the subject of the chorus, mentioning that it should be thought of as an actor in the play, integral to the plot, and not as unrelated interludes. Chapter 19 Chapter 19 expounds on two of the six parts of tragedy: diction and thought. Thought encompasses the areas of proof and refutation, the inspiring of different emotions, and the suggestion of importance. Thought pertains mostly to speech and not the parts of the plot conveyed through action or other means. Diction is the breakdown of how speech is delivered. Aristotle gives examples such as command, prayer, statement, threat, and question to illustrate how diction is employed. Chapter 20 This chapter is likely an aside and focuses primarily on the basic elements of language. Aristotle begins with the concept of a letter, which he defines as a single sound grouped with other sounds to form syllables and words. He explains syllables as consonants, or mutes, grouped with a vowel to form a single sound. The chapter continues to describe connecting words, verbs, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 141 and nouns. Sentences and phrases are explained as groups of words that contain significant meaning. Chapter 21 Aristotle delves deeper into the significance of words. He postulates that all words can fall into the following categories: current, strange, metaphorical, ornamental, or newly coined or altered. Current words refer to terms in popular usage, whereas strange words are words used in other countries and languages. Metaphor seems to encompass the use of an “alien term” to describe something outside the term’s normal range of meaning, as well as the use of analogy and hyperbole. The description of ornamental words is missing from the chapter. Newly coined and altered words are words changed or put into use by the poet when they are not also in general usage. The chapter includes an aside at the end that details the masculine, feminine, and neuter gender of Greek nouns. Chapter 22 In Chapter 22, Aristotle describes the importance of using the correct amount of metaphorical language and strange/altered words in poetry. Use too much metaphor, and the meaning becomes an overly complex riddle. Use too many strange or altered terms, and the poem becomes indecipherable jargon. In both cases, the text will become ridiculous, and the interesting language will lose any effect. However, moderate use of these two types of language is necessary for elevating a poem above the mundane. Chapter 23 The topic shifts away from the tragic to epic poetry in this chapter. According to Aristotle, epic poetry should follow the same dramatic principles as tragedy. More specifically, it should be constructed of a beginning, middle, and end, and the plot must be unified. Epic poetry differs from historical writing in that the focus of epic poetry is the single action, whereas historical writing deals with one time period. Aristotle illustrates the structure of an epic poem through Homer’s handling of the war of Troy. Homer writes about the war within certain parameters, and he does not try to encompass the CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

142 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I entire war in his epic. Rather, he chooses a single part of the war and writes about multiple episodes that take place within that part. Chapter 24 Epic poetry is similar to tragedy in its requirements of situation reversal, recognitions, and a need for general unity of plot. It does not, however, incorporate song and acting or performance. Epic poetry is also set apart from tragedy in its length and scale, which is much longer and broader. It is possible for epic poems to take on events of a much larger scale over a longer timespan because they do not have to be conveyed by actors on a stage within a certain timeframe. Epic poetry also uses heroic meter, whereas tragedy can use a variety of meters and aims for a naturalness of speaking. Additionally, Aristotle introduces the idea that epic poetry employs the irrational with good effect. Tragedies, he argues, deal with the wonderful but should leave out the irrational. Chapter 25 Aristotle presents the issue of critical objection in poetry. As discussed earlier in the text, Aristotle returns to the idea that the poet’s job is to imitate either things as they are said to be, things as they should be, or things as they were or are. As such, he argues, poetry can express two main faults: faults in the very essence of poetry and accidental faults. If the problem is in the fact that the poet imitated something that lacked substance, then the error lies in the poetry itself. If the poet makes the wrong decision, this is the time for criticism and feedback. However, even if the poet makes a mistake or describes the impossible, Aristotle seems to argue that the quality of art is more important than correctness of the subject matter. This topic takes Aristotle back to the concepts of language and the poet’s use of metaphor to describe things in one of the three above-mentioned types of imitation. Pertinent usage of language, Aristotle seems to say, can help the writer avoid rudimentary errors in the poem. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aristotle: Poetics - II 143 Chapter 26 Aristotle opens this chapter with the question of whether the epic poem or tragedy is considered the higher art form. He compares the two forms in terms of level of refinement and the audience’s ability to discern. He posits that, if refinement makes one art form higher than the other, tragedy’s reliance on extra embellishment through acting makes it the less advanced of the two forms. Epic poetry, by contrast, uses more subtle techniques to engage an audience with a refined palate. However, Aristotle reminds the reader that tragedy should also have a strong enough plot to be conveyed through reading alone. Thus, the flaw that makes it a lower art form than epic poetry is not actually inherent in the tragic form at all. At this point in the chapter, Aristotle reverses stances on which art form is the higher. He argues that tragedy does everything that epic poetry is capable of, but within a narrow and more focused scope. In addition, because of its much wider scope, epic poetry cannot have the same unity of plot as the tragedy is capable of. Aristotle concludesPoeticswith the assertion that the tragic form is, in fact, superior to the epic poem and recaps a list of some of the main topics of the treatise. 4.4 Keywords/Abbreviations  Catharsis:It refers to the purification and purgation of emotions—particularly pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration. It is a metaphor originally used by Aristotle in thePoetics, comparing the effects of tragedy on the mind of a spectator to the effect of catharsis on the body.  Mythos:It is the term used by Aristotle in hisPoetics(c. 335 BCE) for the plot of an Athenian tragedy. It is the first of the six elements of tragedy that he gives.  Ethos:It is a Greek word meaning “character” that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence emotions, behaviours and even morals. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

144 Literary Criticism and Critical Approaches - I  Dianoia:It is a term used by Plato for a type of thinking, specifically about mathematical and technical subjects. It is the capacity for, process of, or result of discursive thinking.  Lexis:In philosophical discourse,lexisis a complete group of words in a language, vocabulary, the total set of all words in a language, and all words that have meaning or a function in grammar. 4.5 Unit End Questions (MCQ and Descriptive) A. Descriptive Type Questions 1. Discuss the element of Character in Tragedy? 2. What are the various kinds of Recognitions? 3. What are the practical rules for the tragic poet? 4. Write a note on the role of chorus. 5. Comment on Thought and Diction in Tragedy. 6. What is Poetic Diction? 7. Explain Epic Poetry. How does it differ from Tragedy? 8. What are the critical objections brought against Poetry? B. Multiple Choice/Objective Type Questions 1. What does Aristotle mean by imitation? (a) Mimicry of Language (b) Representation of Death (c) Representation of Life (d) Mimicry of Sound 2. Tragedy presents men . (a) As they ought to be (b) As they are (c) Better than they are (d) Worse than they are 3. What does poetry tend to imitate? (a) Dance and Music (b) Noble Men and ‘Bad’ Men (c) ‘Nature in all Forms’ (d) Epic Grief CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)