Curran Angela - Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle and the Poetics

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to

Aristotle and thePoetics

Aristotles Poetics is the first philosophical account of an art form, and the foundational text in the history of aesthetics. It is one of the most widely read of Aristotles works. The meaning of its key ideas especially the concept of catharsis has been hotly disputed, having had enormous influence and lasting significance.

The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle and the Poetics is an accessible guide to this often dense and cryptic work. Angela Curran introduces and assesses:

Aristotles life and writings

grounding principles and concepts

the definition of tragedy

philosophy, poetry and knowledge

comedy and epic

the Poetics and contemporary aesthetics.

Through the use of examples from ancient Greek drama, modern literature and contemporary films, this guidebook explores key concepts in Aristotles theory such as mimesis, catharsis, hamartia, preferred plot patterns, and the pleasure in tragedy.

Providing a clear and engaging overview of the philosophical arguments in the Poetics, as well as a chapter-by-chapter analysis, this is an essential introduction for all students of philosophy, literature, art theory, classics and media studies approaching Aristotles work for the first time.

Angela Curran is a Faculty Fellow in Philosophy at Colby College, USA.

ROUTLEDGE PHILOSOPHY GUIDEBOOKS

Edited by Tim Crane and Jonathan Wolff

University of Cambridge and University College London

Plato and the Trial of Socrates Thomas C. Brickhouse and Nicholas D. Smith
Aristotle and the Metaphysics Vasilis Politis
Rousseau and the Social Contract Christopher Bertram
Plato and the Republic, Second edition Nickolas Pappas
Husserl and the Cartesian Meditations A.D. Smith
Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling John Lippitt
Descartes and the Meditations Gary Hatfield
Hegel and the Philosophy of Right Dudley Knowles
Hegel and the Phenomenology of Spirit Robert Stern
Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge Robert Fogelin
Aristotle on Ethics Gerard Hughes
Hume on Religion David OConnor
Leibniz and the Monadology Anthony Savile
The Later Heidegger George Pattison
Hegel on History Joseph McCarney
Hume on Morality James Baillie
Hume on Knowledge Harold Noonan
Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason Sebastian Gardner
Mill on Liberty Jonathan Riley
Mill on Utilitarianism Roger Crisp
Spinoza and the Ethics Genevieve Lloyd
Heidegger on Being and Time, Second Edition Stephen Mulhall
Locke on Government D.A. Lloyd Thomas
Locke on Human Understanding E.J. Lowe
Derrida on Deconstruction Barry Stocker
Kant on Judgement Robert Wicks
Nietzsche on Art Aaron Ridley
Rorty and the Mirror of Nature James Tartaglia
Hobbes and Leviathan Glen Newey
Wittgenstein and the Tractatus Michael Morris
Aristotle and the Politics Jean Roberts
Merleau-Ponty and Phenomenology of Perception Komarine Romdenh-Romluc
Frege on Sense and Reference Mark Textor
Kripke and Naming and Necessity Harold Noonan
Kant on Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason Lawrence Pasternack
Wittgenstein and On Certainty Andy Hamilton

First published 2016
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Angela Curran

The right of Angela Curran to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Curran, Angela, author.
Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle and the Poetics / Angela Curran.
pages cm. (Routledge philosophy guidebooks)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Aristotle. Poetics. 2. PoeticsHistoryTo 1500. I. Title. II. Title: Aristotle and the Poetics.
PN1040.A53C87 2016
808.2dc23
2015012124

ISBN: 9780415780087 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780415780094 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781315771991 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

For my parents, Lucille and John

It is my pleasure to thank friends, family, colleagues, teachers, and students for the special role they have played in supporting my work on the book.

I am grateful to have had wonderful and inspiring professors, both as an undergraduate and graduate student. I especially would like to thank three graduate school professors, Cynthia Freeland, Gareth Matthews, and Fred Feldman. It was in Cynthias classes that I found myself becoming increasingly fascinated with ancient philosophy. Her work on aesthetics and philosophy of film has also been a great inspiration to me. Gary was a wonderful dissertation director and mentor, and his classes and work inspired in me a deep and enduring interest in Aristotles philosophy. I miss him greatly. Fred Feldman was instrumental in helping me to improve in the craft of philosophical writing and argumentation and his work continues to be a model of clarity to which I continue to aspire.

) for music that inspired, energized or relaxed me after a long stretch of writing.

Some of the material in the book was presented in lectures and discussions in my classes, and I am grateful to my students for valuable input. Above all, my students intelligent and apt responses showed me that it is essential not to dumb down material, but instead aim things so that students can engage fully with the text as well as the debates around the meaning of the Poetics. In particular, I thank Marika Christofides, Pat Doty, Lina Feuerstein, Danny Forman, Max Henkel, Rebekah Frumkin, Martha Perez, and Dan Schillinger for their outstanding contributions in classes on Aristotle and aesthetics.

The expert team at Swales and Willis did an excellent job of preparing the manuscript for production. I especially thank my copy-editor, Kate Reeves, and I thank Colin Morgan, Elizabeth Kent and Caroline Watson for their great work proofreading and organizing the typesetting. I save my greatest debts for last. I thank the commissioning editor at Routledge, Tony Bruce, for sharing my sense that there is a need for this introduction to the Poetics. My greatest debt is to my editor, Adam Johnson, at Routledge. This book took longer than planned, and Adam was always the epitome of kindness and professionalism as he encouraged me to press on. Thank you, Adam!

Adam also had the wisdom to select two reviewers for the manuscript who were the best that any author could hope for. The draft they read had some factual and scribal errors (Empedocles wrote in verse not prose!), and their comments helped me to correct them. I thank the first reviewer, who remains anonymous, for his or her very helpful insights, suggestions, and corrections. This reviewers ideas for additions to the comedy chapter were especially valuable. I am very grateful to the second reviewer, Malcolm Heath, in so many ways. He provided detailed comments on each chapter and he also followed up in email correspondence with many helpful suggestions. His comments, and those of the first referee, have made the book much better and I am grateful for their time, dedication, and expertise. Of course the only person who is responsible for remaining errors is myself.