The Poetics: WTF? Aristotle’s Poetics, Greek Tragedy and Catharsis

The Poetics by Aristotle is one of the earliest works of literary theory or dramatic theory. Composed between 330 and 350BC, Aristotle's Poetics is a treatise on Greek Tragedy and theatre which examines how the narrative structure of Greek plays such as the Oresteia by Aeschylus or Oedipus Rex by Sophocles brings about catharsis (or katharsis) in an audience.

In The Poetics, Aristotle introduces us to terms such as peripeteia (reversal), anagnorisis (recognition), pathos (suffering) and catharsis (purgation) each of which continue to have a huge impact on how we discuss narrative structure to the present day.

In this episode of What the Theory?, we consider Aristotle's argument as to the social function of storytelling before diving into discussing his suggestions as to how to compose a compelling plot.

Further Reading
The Poetics by Aristotle
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The Republic by Plato
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Story: Substance, Structure, Style,
and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
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