tailieunhanh - Lecture Literary criticism - Lecture 5: Aristotle’s poetics

The contents of this chapter include all of the following: Aristotle’s purpose to approach poetry from a scientific viewpoint, first he lists different kinds of poetry poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic, flute-playing, lyre-playing, all kinds of poetry are mimetic but there are differences in them. | ARISTOTLE’S POETICS CHAPTER 1-3 Aristotle’s purpose to approach poetry from a scientific viewpoint. First he lists different kinds of poetry -Poetry, -tragedy. -Comedy. -Dithyrambic. -Flute-playing. -Lyre-playing. All kinds of poetry are mimetic but there are differences in them. FIRST DISTINCTION The mean they employ. Rhythm language & harmony. Poetry is essentially mimetic. SECOND DISTINCTION Objects that are imitated. Action is represented with agents. In tragedy and epic poetry these agents are better than us. In comedy they are worse than us. FINAL DISTINCTION Manner of representation. Direct narrative / through characters. CHAPTER 1-3 ANALYSIS The very first paragraph of Poetics give us a hint that this work is descriptive rather perspective. The same method he uses for describing natural phenomenon. CHAPTER 1-3 ANALYSIS The question arises whether this can be done or not. This can be true for natural laws and Aristotle approaches poetry with the assumption that the growth and . | ARISTOTLE’S POETICS CHAPTER 1-3 Aristotle’s purpose to approach poetry from a scientific viewpoint. First he lists different kinds of poetry -Poetry, -tragedy. -Comedy. -Dithyrambic. -Flute-playing. -Lyre-playing. All kinds of poetry are mimetic but there are differences in them. FIRST DISTINCTION The mean they employ. Rhythm language & harmony. Poetry is essentially mimetic. SECOND DISTINCTION Objects that are imitated. Action is represented with agents. In tragedy and epic poetry these agents are better than us. In comedy they are worse than us. FINAL DISTINCTION Manner of representation. Direct narrative / through characters. CHAPTER 1-3 ANALYSIS The very first paragraph of Poetics give us a hint that this work is descriptive rather perspective. The same method he uses for describing natural phenomenon. CHAPTER 1-3 ANALYSIS The question arises whether this can be done or not. This can be true for natural laws and Aristotle approaches poetry with the assumption that the growth and development of poetry has been graded by unchanging natural laws. The “Poetics” seeks to increase these laws. The results are mixed. ART When Aristotle talks about “art” & “poetry” it is not in the same way as we understand the terms. “Art” is translation of Greek word “Techne” which is closely related to “artifice” and “artificial”. Art for Aristotle is everything made by humans as opposed to being found in nature so painting,sculpture,poetry is art so is a horseshoe,sandals and chairs. What we consider”Art” is what Aristotle called “Mimetic” Painting use paint,sculptures uses stone,poetry uses language,rhythm and harmony to imitate real life language off course being the most crucial part. ART This raises the question that in what way poetry imitates life. “Oedipus Rex” does not imitate what happened in real is important in tragedy that people realize it to be fictional but it should be written in a way that human beings find plausible. POETRY Modern concept of poetry is .