description: The original, Aristotle's short study of storytelling, written in the fourth century B.C., is the world's first critical book about the laws of literature. Sure, it's 2400 years old, but Aristotle's discussions--Unity of Plot, Reversal of the Situation, Character--though written in the context of ancient Greek Tragedy, Comedy and Epic Poetry, still apply to our modern literary forms. The book is quite short, and Aristotle illuminates his points with clear examples, making the Poetics perfectly readable, the better to impress people at parties when you say, "Of course, as Aristotle says..."
language: English
title: Poetics
titlecomplete: Poetics
characters: Aristotle (philosopher)
genres: Literature, Philosophy, Poetry, Art, Nonfiction, Theory, Ancient, Writing, Literary Criticism, Classics
ratings_count: 24483
places: Ancient Greece
publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr