The lost second book of aristotles poetics ebook, 2012. Aristotles work on aesthetics consists of the poetics and rhetoric. Only the first partthat which focuses on tragedysurvives. The lost second book of aristotles poetics mimesi stel. The lost second book of aristotles poetics bryn mawr. The lost second book of aristotle s poetics walter watson. Aristotles poetics and modern creative practice section. The lost second book serves as a reliable guide to readers unfamiliar with aristotle s thought.
Aristotles lost wisdom on comedy and catharsis come to life in this philosophers interpretation of recovered ancient writings. The lost second book of aristotles poetics university. Of all the writings on theory and aestheticsancient, medieval, or modernthe most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of literature. Full text of on the second book of aristotles poetics. But we know that what remains of this important text is incomplete. As mentioned above, there has long been speculation about the existence of a lost second book of the poetics dealing with aristotles theory of comedy.
Read download the lost second book of aristotles poetics. The lost second book of aristotle s poetics is a core plot element in umberto ecos bestseller novel, the name of the rose. Ancient physical theories from a contemporary perspective. In this, the fullest, sustained interpretation of aristotles poetics available in english, stephen halliwell demonstrates that the poetics, despite its laconic brevity, is a coherent statement of a challenging theory of poetic art, and it hints towards a theory of mimetic art in general. Buy the lost second book of aristotles poetics by watson, walter isbn. On the second book of aristotles poetics and the source of.
In the absence of that book, if it ever existed, scholars have had recourse to two sources as a basis for establishing aristotles views about the. The lost second book of aristotles poetics bryn mawr classical. The arabic version of aristotles poetics that influenced the middle ages was translated from a greek manuscript dated to. Aristotle supposedly wrote a second book on comedy, which is now lost. Because this book, as we shall see, is supposed to have contained a theory of comedy, its loss, measured by the value of the aristotelian theory of tragedy, is incalculable. In the existing material, aristotle tells us that he will speak of comedy, address catharsis, and. The tradition of a lost second book of the poetics 1 since the renaissance any treatment of aristotles poetics has discussed and lamented the loss of a second book. Here, at last, aristotles lost second book is found again. But he does not actually address any of those ideas. Meanwhile, while teaching at st andrews, i came across a mysterious and forgotten text that, when it was first published in 1839, was identified as an abstract of the lost second book of aristotles poetics, his missing treatise on comedy. Of all the writings on theory and aestheticsancient, medieval, or modernthe most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first philosophical treatise to. The lost second book of aristotles poetics classics. The lost second book of aristotles poetics walmart. Some other scholars indicate that tragedy is a very.
Here, walter watson offers a new interpretation of the lost second book of aristotle s poetics. Based on richard jankos philological reconstruction of the epitome, a summary first recovered in 1839 and hotly contested thereafter, watson mounts a compelling philosophical argument that places the statements excerpted from the aristotelian text. Of all the writings on theory and aestheticsancient, medieval, or modernthe most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of. The lost second book of aristotles poetics by walter watson.
A document known as the tractatus coislinianus, first recovered in the biblioteque nationale in paris in 1839, appears to be a summary of aristotles second book. In this way, eco demonstrates that books can be plausibly reconstructed by. The lost second book of aristotles poetics walter watson. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more.
The tractatus, thought to have been written in the. Aristotle writes also that he will address catharsis and an analysis of what is funny. Of all the writings on theory and aestheticsancient, medieval, or modernthe most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first. We know that aristotle also wrote a treatise on comedy that has been lost. Buy the lost second book of aristotle s poetics by watson, walter isbn.
The existence of a second book is proved by ancient. The tradition of a lost second book of the poetics 1 since the renaissance any treatment of aristotles poetics has discussed and lamented the loss of a second. The lost second book of aristotles poetics in searchworks. Based on richard jankos philological reconstruction of the epitome, a summary first recovered in 1839 and hotly contested thereafter, watson mounts a compelling philosophical argument that places the statements of this summary of the. Aristotles book on comedy is now lost, but eco imagines what aristotle might have written. Now, philosopher walter watson offers a new interpretation of the lost second book of aristotles poetics. Two other unique features are jankos translations with notes of both the tractatus coislinianus, which is argued to be a summary of the lost second book of the poetics, and fragments of aristotles dialogue on poets, including recently discovered texts about catharsis, which appear in english for the first time. The book builds on richard jankos aristotle on comedy 1984, which argued that the supposed abstract or epitome of poetics book two, in the manuscript known as tractatus coislinianus, is actually based on the lost second book, an opinion much debated over the previous century. The lost second book of aristotles poetics of all the writings on theory and aestheticsancient, medieval, or modernthe most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of literature. Assessing this theory against the background of earlier greek views on poetry and art, particularly plato. In the book, aristotle argues that laughter is cathartic, and a sign of humanitys capacity for reason. These are arguments drawn from elsewhere in aristotles poetics. On the second book of aristotles poetics and the source. Richard jankos acclaimed translation of aristotles poetics is accompanied by the most comprehensive commentary available in english that does not presume knowledge of the original greek.
Choice anyone interested in the first great work of literary theory will find the lost second book of aristotle s poetics. The lost second book of aristotles poetics by walter. In the poetics, aristotle writes that he will speak of comedybut there is no further mention of comedy. Here, walter watson offers a new interpretation of the lost second book of aristotles poetics. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The lost second book of aristotles poetics paperback march 23, 2015. Full text of on the second book of aristotles poetics and the source. Aristotle writes also that he will address catharsis and an analysis of. Scholars believe there was a second book, which is lost. Based on richard jankos philological reconstruction of the epitome, a summary first recovered in 1839 and hotly contested thereafter, watson mounts a compelling philosophical argument that places the statements of this summary of the aristotelian. Aristotles poetics, brand new, free shipping in the us ebay. Walter watson, the lost second book of aristotles poetics. Based on richard jankos philological reconstruction of.
Walter watson of all the writings on theory and aesthetics, ancient, medieval, or modern, the most important is indisputably aristotles poetics, the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of. Type book authors walter watson date 2012 publisher university of chicago press pub place chicago isbn10 0226875083 isbn 9780226875088. Such scholars fail to appreciate the achievements of robertellus, bernays, and lane cooper, who have shown us how much can be done with the extant text of the poetics in terms of uncovering a solid basis for a theory of comedy. Two other unique features are jankos translations with notes of both the tractatus coislinianus, which is argued to be a summary of the lost second book of the poetics, and fragments of aristotles. The deficiency is explained on that basis by gercke,4 following rose.
Though there were thousands of tragedies and scores of playwrights, we only have thirtythree extant tragedies, written by the three great tragedians. Aristotles poetics, isbn 5519687528, isbn 9785519687522, brand new, free shipping in the us. At some point, aristotles original work was divided in two, each book written on a separate roll of papyrus. Aristotle proposes to study poetry by analyzing its constitutive parts and then drawing general conclusions. Aristotles poetics, halliwell university of chicago press. Mimesis or imitation, representation, or expression, given that, e. The lost second book of aristotles poetics is a core plot element in umberto ecos bestseller novel, the name of the rose. Aristotles poetics was the first philosophical treatise to propound a theory of literature. Aristotle in his books on the aristotelian philosophy. Aristotles poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and first extant philosophical at some point, aristotles original work was divided in two, each book written on a separate roll of papyrus. The portion of the poetics that survives discusses mainly tragedy and epic poetry. Some scholars speculate that the tractatus coislinianus summarises the contents of the lost second book.
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