Bibliography

Herrick, Marvin T. "A Supplement to Cooper and Gudeman's Bibliography of the Poetics of Aristotle." The American Journal of Philology LII, No. 2 (April, May, June 1931): 168-74.

Introduces new titles and includes titles that were omitted from Lane Cooper and Alfred Gudeman's 1928 A Bibliography of the Poetics of Aristotle.

Criticism

Adkins, Arthur W. H. "Aristotle and the Best Kind of Tragedy." The Classical Quarterly New Series, Vol. XVI, No. I (May 1966): 78-102.

Examines Aristotle's qualifications for the appropriate subject matter of tragedy and the relevancy of such requirements to extant Greek tragedy. Also considers why Aristotle considered some types of experience unsuitable for tragedy.

Belfiore, Elizabeth. "Aristotle's Concept of Praxis in the Poetics." The Classical Journal 79, No. 2 (Dec.-Jan. 1983-1984): 110-24.

Studies Aristotle's use of the term praxis, or "action" in the Poetics and argues that contrary to what critics often maintain, praxis as it is used in the Poetics does not refer to an action qualified as moral or ethical; rather, praxis refers simply to an event.

Boggess, William F. "Aristotle's Poetics in the Fourteenth Century." Studies in Philology LXVII, No. 3 (July 1970): 278-94.

Investigates the usage of one of the two Latin versions of the Poetics available in the fourteenth century in western Europe.

Bremer, J. M. "The History of the Interpretation of Hamartia." In Hamartia: Tragic Error in the Poetics of Aristotle and in Greek Tragedy, pp. 65-98. Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 1969.

Surveys the interpretation of the concept of "hamartia" as discussed in Aristotle's Poetics from the middle ages through the twentieth century. Bremer notes that by the twentieth century, two types of interpretations have evolved: hamartia is viewed either as a moral flaw or as an error. The majority of critics, Bremer states, reject the moralistic interpretation of hamartia and view it as an error.

Cooper, Lane. "Fundamental Demands of Aristotle." In an Introduction to An Aristotelian Theory of Comedy with an Adaptation of the Poetics and a Translation of the "Tractatus Coislinianus," pp. 45-53. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1924.

In this section of Cooper's introduction, he examines the Poetics in order to understand Aristotle's requirements for a comedy to be considered "a perfect work of art."

Davis, Michael. Aristotle's Poetics: The Poetry of Philosophy. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1992, 183p.

Analyzes the Poetics as both a discussion of poetry with the emphasis on tragedy and, on another level, a discussion of reason focusing on human action.

Hutton, James. Introduction to Aristotle's Poetics, pp. 1-41. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1982.

Offers an overview of the Poetics, discussing its content, method, and its influence.

Kitto, H. D. F. "Catharsis." In The Classical Tradition, edited by Luitpold Wallach, pp. 133-47. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1966.

Provides a detailed analysis of Aristotle's usage of the term catharsis in the Poetics as well as in the Politics, arguing that because Aristotle devotes only a few words to catharsis in the Poetics, one must gain an understanding of the doctrine from the paragraph regarding catharsis found in the Politics. Kitto suggests that catharsis may be understood as the purification "of painful incidents effected by the mimesis."

Lucas, F. L. Tragedy: Serious Drama in Relation to Aristotle's Poetics. London: The Hogarth Press, 1957, 188p.

Examines the elements of tragedy as discussed by Aristotle in the Poetics, including the definition of tragedy, its emotional effect, plot, character, diction and spectacle, and the three unities.

Rees, B. R. "Pathos in the Poetics of Aristotle." Greece and Rome, Second Series, Vol. XIX, No. 1 (April 1972): 1-11.

Reviews the deficiencies in critical analyses of pathos and examines passages in the Poetics in order to determine a more concrete understanding of the term as it applies to tragedy.

Sastri, P. S. "Aristotle's Theory of Imitation." In Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Drama, pp. 15-21. Delhi, India: Kitab Mahal (W. D.) Pvt. Ltd., 1963.

Analyzes Aristotle's theory of imitation as presented in the Poetics as a reply to Plato about the nature and purpose of literature. Sastri notes the influence of Plato on Aristotle's thinking.