Chapter 2 of 6

The Definition of Tragedy

~11 min read · 2,241 words

Of the poetry which imitates in hexameter verse, and of Comedy, we will speak hereafter. Let us now discuss Tragedy, resuming its formal definition, as resulting from what has been already said.

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The Art of Imitation

The Structure of Plot

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About This Book

Poetics

Aristotle

335 BC

AuthorAristotle

Published335 BC

BranchesAesthetics, Ethics

Chapters6

TranslatorS. H. Butcher

Edition1895

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Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and literary criticism in Western philosophy. Written around 335 BC, it examines the nature of poetry—particularly tragedy and epic—through the lens of imitation, asking what makes a literary work excellent and why it moves us. Aristotle identifies the six elements of tragedy (plot, character, thought, diction, song, and spectacle), argues that plot is the soul of drama, and develops the concepts of catharsis, hamartia, anagnorisis, and peripeteia that have shaped literary criticism ever since. Despite covering only part of its announced scope—the section on comedy is lost—the Poetics remains the foundational text for thinking about narrative, form, and the emotional power of art.

Chapters

The Art of Imitation

The Definition of Tragedy

The Structure of Plot

Recognition and Construction

Diction, Style, and Language

Epic Poetry and the Final Judgment

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