Aristotel: Poetics. Reading Questions
All answers and definitions should refer to the excerpts from Aristotle's Poetics.
- What is a "tragedy"?
- What is "embellished language"?
- What are the six constituent elements of tragedy? Which one is the most important?
- What is a well-constructed plot, according to Aristotle?
- What is the difference between the historian and the poet?
- What is the difference between history and poetry?
- What is a definition of Reversal, or Peripety?
- What is a definition of Recognition?
- According to Aristotle, in a good tragedy a character should inspire pity and fear? What kind of men inspire and don't inspire pity and fear?
- What constitutes a good plot?
- What does Aristotle mean by this statement: "In the characters and plot construction alike, one must strive for that which is either necessary or probable,..."?
- What should the role of the chorus be?
- What objections does Aristotle have in the way that some authors use the chorus?