Aristotle, "Poetics": a brief analysis

One of the most famous and great philosophers and thinkers of ancient Greece is Aristotle. "Poetics" - the largest, but not the only one of his work. The legacy of Aristotle is truly enormous, and his life is rich in events.

Biography

The overwhelming majority of schoolchildren and students, hearing the name of this famous Greek pedagogue, will be called two facts: he was a disciple of Socrates and himself, in turn, taught Alexander the Great. What else was Aristotle famous? "Poetics" is certainly a thing that has preserved its name in centuries, but this is not the only thing that can be said about the personality of the thinker. It is known that he was born in Stagira between 384 and 383 years BC. About twenty years Aristotle spent for study in the great Academy of Plato. The researchers argue that, most likely, he himself taught there for a while. After graduation, the philosopher became the mentor of the future Emperor Alexander. Perhaps, he received this post thanks to Hermias, an ally of the Macedonian king Philip II. He was the father of Alexander. After the successful ascent of the young hero to the throne, Aristotle returned to his homeland, and from there he moved to Athens. There he founded his own school - "Likey". It is this period in the life of the philosopher that is considered the most fruitful. A lot of dialogues, "Metaphysics", "Ethics", "Politics" - all this was created by Aristotle. "Poetics" is supposed to have been written by him about the same time. After that in 323 BC. Alexander died, the position of the philosopher in society has deteriorated significantly. In 322 BC. died.

Creation

Many people have a strong association in their minds: Aristotle is Poetics. However, he is the author of many works. They can be divided into two categories: exoteric works, created in the form of dialogues and, probably, for the public, and essays written exclusively for a narrow circle of students.

"Poetics": goals, objectives, content

"Poetics" of Aristotle in short Sums up all the literary theories of the time and establishes a number of aesthetic norms. It is a treatise entirely devoted to the drama. There are reasons to assume that initially it consisted of two parts, but the first one did not survive. At present, the most widespread theory is that, in the first half of the manuscript, a detailed analysis of the comedy was made. At the very beginning of the work Aristotle gives his interpretation of the term "poetics". Any art, he argues, is based on mimesis, that is, imitating nature. All kinds of poetry, according to Aristotle, differ from each other in three ways:

1. They reproduce different objects.

2. This is accomplished by different means.

3. Accordingly, various methods are used in the reproduction.

For example, avtetika and kifaristika rely on harmony and rhythm, whereas verbal creativity uses mainly prose and meter. Types of poetry can also differ depending on the types of imitation: the epic is an objective narrative of what was before, the lyrics are based on the subjective impressions of the narrator, the drama depicts events in dynamics. Further the philosopher offers his definitions of comedy and tragedy. The first is a work deriding human shortcomings. The second is any definite action that took place in the past. According to Aristotle, the tragedy originated from improvisations. It is distinguished by its "decorated speech", consists of six components: plot, thought, scenic situation, characters of the text and musical composition. Such widely used terms as "peripeteia", "catharsis", "catastrophe", "recognition", were first introduced by Aristotle. "Poetics", "Rhetoric" and other his works had a huge impact on modern philosophy.