Poetics

In 26 brief sections Aristotle defines tragedy as the imitation of a serious and complete action of a certain magnitude, identifies its six parts (plot, character, thought, diction, melody, spectacle), and develops the still-influential concepts of *mimesis*, *catharsis*, *hamartia*, *peripeteia*, and *anagnorisis*. Though the part of the *Poetics* dealing with comedy is lost, what survives has shaped every subsequent theory of narrative — from Renaissance defenses of poetry to contemporary screenwriting manuals. S. H. Butcher's 1895 translation remains the standard scholarly English version.