Here follows preparatory notes for my research and reading of Aristotle’s Poetics.
Researching a topic or area of study in a chronological order has been important for me during my education and career. To return to the very beginning (for it is a very good place to start) is deeply useful in forming an understanding of both the context and roots of a subject.
To assist with my studies and tickle the fancy of my passions (if you pardon the expression) I purchased a copy of Aristotle’s Poetics, described as “the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory.” (Wikipedia, 2021)
The copy, purchased on eBay last month, is an Ann Arbor Paperbacks edition with a translation of Aristotle’s work by Gerald F. Else. (Who, to me, sounds like an abrupt exclamation: “Who the ‘Gerald F Else’ ate the last chocolate?!)
The work is noted as one of Aristotle’s “most confusing and unclear works”, having been formed from a range of his lecture notes. (Carneades.org, 2020) However, it provides us with an interesting look at the thought and philosophy of Aristotle’s time and a glimpse at an early theatrical world. Terms such as ‘mimesis’, ‘catharsis’ and ‘hamartia’ are explored; all critical elements of particularly early tragedy.
Carneades.org has released a free YouTube series which delves deeper into these topics. I think this will be thoroughly useful alongside reading the book itself; there is little better than complimentary courses to help form a deeper understanding of a text.
The website notes in its introduction that:
“Philosophy is often ridiculed as a dead or useless discipline. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Philosophy is the discipline which studies what is right and wrong, what is true and false.”
Right and wrong, true and false; the search for facts seems more essential today than ever. It is appropriate and satisfying, then, that the philosophy of Aristotle forms an early introduction to the art of theatre and writing. (One often turns to fiction to witness ‘truth’ in a form less diluted and twisted than is presented in real life!)
T. Norman
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