Aristotle poetics chapter 6 summary

Guided Inquiry Week Three: 1/25/18

Aristotle, Poetics

1447a, Chapter 1: Explain the relationship between poetry (14-15) and imitation. Why is it important that Aristotle considers poetry an imitative art? What are the potential philosophical considerations about poetry that result from this type of categorization?

1447a, Chapters 2-3: Aristotle lists types of poetry in lines 1.14-15 but explains that they can be differentiated from one another in three ways. What are they? To what aspects of the ‘poetic’ work do these three categories respectively apply?

1448b, Chapter 4: What is the origin of poetry? What does Aristotle’s supposition on this issue suggest more generally about the relationship between poetry and human life?

1448b, Chapter 4: According to Aristotle, can ‘imitation’ be viewed as a way of adjusting to new experiences? (i.e. learning). If you believe this to be true, explain why. If you reject it, explain your point of view.

1449b, Chapters 4-5: Explain the origin, development, and initial characteristics of Tragedy and Comedy as poetic types.

1449b, Chapter 5; 1459b, Chapters 23-24: How is epic poetry similar to tragedy? How is it different?

1449b-1450b, Chapter 6: Describe the 6 formative elements of tragedy defined by Aristotle.

1450b, Chapter 6: What are the causes of tragic action? Why are these important? How do these causes relate to the purpose or function of the tragic genre?

1450b, Chapter 6: What is the “life and soul” of tragedy? Why?

1450b; 1452a, Chapter 7: What is tragedy an imitation of?

1450b-1451a, Chapters 7-8: What is the relationship between Beauty, Plot, and Unity?

1451b, Chapter 9: What is the function of the poet? How is this function different than the historian’s?

1451b, Chapter 9: How is poetry a type of philosophy?

1452a-b, Chapters 10-11: What is the difference between simple and complex plots? How is this difference determined?

1452b, Chapters 13-14: How does the construction of the plot best influence tragic effect?

1454a, Chapter 15: What are the four desired elements of tragic Character?

1456b, Chapter 19-20: Describe the Thought and Diction of tragic characters. How do these types influence your interpretation of poetry as a type of philosophy?

1460b-1461b, Chapter 25: Describe the purpose of criticism of the poet’s art and it’s constituent elements.

1462a, Chapter 26-27: What is the highest form of imitation? Why?

Aristotle, The Art of Rhetoric

Describe the relationships between Plato’s treatise on rhetoric in Phaedrus and Aristotle’s in The Art of Rhetoric. What are the stated objectives of ‘rhetoric’ in each text? Do they both agree on the purpose and function of the art?

What makes a good speech? Why?

What is the relationship between poetry, philosophy, and rhetoric in Aristotle?

Bedford

Using what you have learned in our readings for this week, describe the stylistic differences between the subject of rhetoric as it is handled in the Bedford textbook and the works of Plato and Aristotle. Why are these differences important? What does that suggest to you about the institutional attitudes surrounding the quality of your education in a cookie-cutter ENC 2135 course (i.e. one that only teaches Bedford)?