Aristotle's Poetics

by Stephen Halliwell

Overview

In this, the fullest, sustained interpretation of Aristotle's Poetics available in English, Stephen Halliwell demonstrates that the Poetics, despite its laconic brevity, is a coherent statement of a challenging theory of poetic art, and it hints towards a theory of mimetic art in general. Assessing this theory against the background of earlier Greek views on poetry and art, particularly Plato's, Halliwell goes further than any previous author in setting Aristotle's ideas in the wider context of his philosophical system.

The core of the book is a fresh appraisal of Aristotle's view of tragic drama, in which Halliwell contends that at the heart of the Poetics lies a philosophical urge to instill a secularized understanding of Greek tragedy.

"Essential reading not only for all serious students of the Poetics . . . but also for those--the great majority--who have prudently fought shy of it altogether."--B. R. Rees, Classical Review

"A splendid work of scholarship and analysis . . . a brilliant interpretation."--Alexander Nehamas, Times Literary Supplement

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226313948
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	12/01/1998
Edition description:	1
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Stephen Halliwell is Professor of Greek at the University of St Andrews, UK. He is the author of The Poetics of Aristotle: Translation and Commentary (1987) also published by Bloomsbury, and Greek Laughter: A Study of Cultural Psychology from Homer to Early Christianity (2008).

Table of Contents

Introduction to 1988 edition
Abbreviations
I. The Setting of the Poetics
II. Aristotle's Aesthetics 1: Art and its Pleasure
III. Aristotle's Aesthetics 2: Craft, Nature and Unity in Art
IV. Mimesis
V. Action and Character
VI. Tragedy and the Emotions
VII. Fallibility & Misfortune: The Securlarisation of the Tragic
VIII. The Chorus of Tragedy
IX. Epic, Comedy and Other Genres
X. Influence & Status: the Nachleben of the Poetics
App. 1 The Date of the Poetics
App. 2 The Poetics and Plato
App. 3 Drama in the Theatre: Aristotle on Spectacle (opsis)
App. 4 Aristotle on Language (lexis)
App. 5 Interpretations of katharsis
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A splendid work of scholarship and analysis. . . . In Halliwell's book, the Poetics has acquired a brilliant new interpretation; its meaning will now be even more keenly disputed than before.—Times Literary Supplement

Editorial Reviews

A work which must become essential reading no only for all serious students of the Poetics, including those who, like [this] reviewer, have dabbled in it from time to time, but also for those (the great majority) who have prudenty fought shy of it altogether.
— Classical Review

B. R. Rees

Here is the essential guide for the student of the brief and puzzling Poetics, whether reading the Poetics on its own account as an Aristotelian treatise, or as the earliest work on those problems, about tragedy especially, that are still discussed in literary theory.'” —British Book News

“A splendid work of scholarship and analysis ... in Halliwell's book, the Poetics has acquired a brilliant new interpretation” —Times Literary Supplement

“Stephen Halliwell's Aristotle's Poetics is, quite simply, the best book available on that difficult work. With a rare combination of literary subtlety and philosophical insight, Halliwell demonstrates convincingly that the Poetics must be read in the context of Aristotle's ethical and social thought. Again and again, he shows how this approach enriches our understanding of the text. ... This is a work of fundamental importance for anyone pursuing the study of ancient literature and literary theory.” —Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago

From the Publisher