Rhetoric & The Poetics of Aristotle [1954 HARDCOVER] • The Modern Library #246

Rhetoric (translated by W. Rhys Roberts) & Poetics (translated by Ingram Bywater) by Aristotle

VINTAGE HARDCOVER [1954] THE MODERN LIBRARY (#246)

Small hardcover with dust jacket in excellent condition.

Some extremely mild wear to an overall stunning dust jacket. 

Ships in a new HQ jacket protector.

Book itself is mint with *signature of orig. owner on front endpaper. 

Reads like new!

ABOUT THE BOOK

It is no exaggeration to say that all Western literary criticism flows from Aristotle. In the Poetics he focuses mainly on drama, especially tragedy, and introduces ideas that are still being debated more than two thousand years later. Among them is the often misunderstood theory of the unities of action, place, and time, as well as such concepts as: art as a form of imitation, and drama as an imitation of human actions; plot as a drama’s central element, and “reversal” and “recognition” as important elements within a plot; and the purging of pity and fear from the audience as the function of tragedy. Rather than offer these ideas merely as abstract theories, Aristotle applies them in cogent analyses of the classic Greek dramas—the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

In the Rhetoric, Aristotle turns to the principles of persuasive writing, including argumentation and the logical development of proof, appeals to emotion, and matters of delivery and style. Perhaps most essentially, Aristotle teaches us how to engage in the central civic activities of accusing and defending, recommending policies, and proving and refuting ideas.

These two foundational works are key documents for understanding the culture and politics of Western civilization, and how they continue to evolve today.