Does Aristotle Poetics Still Hold Today? Term Paper

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Total Length: 1295 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 6

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Barstow, Marjorie. "Oedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Aristotle." The Classical

Weekly, vol. 6, no. 1, 2-4, 1912. Print.

Barstow observes one of Aristotle's fundamental points in her essay, which is that "Aristotle finds the end of human endeavor to be happiness…[which proceeds] from a steady and comprehensive intellectual vision which views life steadily and distinguishes in every action the result to be gained" (2). Poetry, like Oedipus Rex, helps illustrate Aristotle's point that human happiness is dependent upon one's grasp of reality.

Dodds, E.R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Greece and Rome, vol. 13, 37-

Print.

Dodds asks, "In what sense, if in any, does the Oedipus Rex attempt to justify the ways of God to man?" (37). The fact that Sophocles' work tackles the question is important evidence that drama is worthy of serious study and capable of teaching profound truths. Thus, Dodds' essay validates Aristotle's argument for the inclusion of poetry in society.

Halliwell, Stephen. Aristotle's Poetics. IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Print.

This source is valuable because Halliwell expands upon idea that the Poetics is a response to the central idea of Plato's Republic -- which is the erection of a good society. The Poetics does more than simply assert that poetry is a "legitimate pleasure" (2). It argues that poetry is essential for any society to be good. Poetry, Aristotle argues further, is mimetic: that is, it is first and foremost a representation of reality -- not just a lyrical statement of facts or ideas. Poetry must above all reflect reality: and it is by that reflection that the audience learns.

Halliwell, Stephen. "Pleasure, Understanding, and Emotion in Aristotle's Poetics."

Essays on Aristotle's Poetcs. Ed. By Amelie Rorty. NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992, pp. 241-260. Print.

This source helps support Halliwell's Aristotle's Poetics. In it, Halliwell argues for the importance of Aristotle's Poetics (and drama in general) less from the standpoint of catharsis and more from the fact that human nature enjoys, learns, and feels through exposure to poetry.

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Halliwell's main argument is that catharsis remains (despite varying contentious beliefs) an abstract and undefined principle, and that there is a much simpler reason, which Aristotle gives, that helps explain the need for story in human society.

Janko, Richard. "From Catharsis to the Aristotelian Mean." Essays on Aristotle's

Poetcs. Ed. By Amelie Rorty. NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992, pp. 341-358. Print.

This source is helpful because it shows how Aristotle's Poetics is a response to Plato's criticism of poetry as an attempt to arouse "a whole gamut of emotions, including pity, laughter, lust and indignation" (349). Aristotle argues for the mean…"the middle way between the extremes of boorishness and buffoonery" (351). This is obtainable through both tragic and comedic catharsis argues Janko.

Seamon, Roger. "The Price of the Plot in Aristotle's Poetics." The Journal of Aesthetics

and Art Criticism, vol. 64, no. 2 (Spring, 2006), pp. 251-258. Print.

This essay criticizes Aristotle's argument that plot is the most essential element of poetry. It is useful for providing a contrary view to the Poetics, which asserts that poetry represents reality primarily by representing an action with a beginning, middle, and end. Seamon would propose that lyrical style, character, etc. are just as essential for poetry -- but this is not the contention of the Poetics.

The Importance of the Poetics Today: A Proposal

Aristotle's Poetics is still useful today for exactly the same reason as it was useful in ancient Greece. As a response to Plato's Republic, a treatise on the ideal state, the Poetics sets forth the important role that drama (poetry) plays in society. Contrary to Plato's argument that mimetic poetry is inherently dangerous because it arouses a range of passions, Aristotle's Poetics asserts that poetry must be mimetic, because human nature responds to representations of actions (Janko 349). This paper proposes to show how Aristotle's Poetics still holds….....

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