The Lost Second Book of Aristotle's Poetics

Aristotle's lost wisdom on comedy and catharsis come to life in this philosopher's interpretation of recovered ancient writings.

Aristotle's Poetics was the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of literature. But we know that what remains of this important text is incomplete. In the existing material, Aristotle tells us that he will speak of comedy, address catharsis, and give an analysis of what is funny-but these promised chapters are missing. Now, philosopher Walter Watson of...