Scaife ATLAS

CTS Library / Poetics

Poetics (6.17-6.21)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg034.perseus-eng2:6.17-6.21
Refs {'start': {'reference': '6.17', 'human_reference': 'Chapter 6 Subchapter 17'}, 'end': {'reference': '6.21', 'human_reference': 'Chapter 6 Subchapter 21'}}
Ancestors [{'reference': '6'}]
Children []
prev
plain textXML
next

And furthermore, two of the most important elements in the emotional effect of tragedy, reversals and discoveries,[*] are parts of the plot.

And here is further proof: those who try to write tragedy are much sooner successful in language and character-study than in arranging the incidents. It is the same with almost all the earliest poets.

The plot then is the first principle and as it were the soul of tragedy: character comes second.

It is much the same also in painting;

1450b
1
if a man smeared a canvas with the loveliest colors at random, it would not give as much pleasure as an outline in black and white.[*]

And it is mainly because a play is a representation of action that it also for that reason represents people.

Tokens

And 1 w 3
furthermore 1 w 14
two 1 w 18
of 1 w 20
the 2 w 23
most 1 w 27
important 1 w 36
elements 1 w 44
in 1 w 46
the 3 w 49
emotional 1 w 58
effect 1 w 64
of 2 w 66
tragedy 1 w 73
reversals 1 w 83
and 1 w 86
discoveries 1 w 97
See 1 w 101
chapter 1 w 108
11 1 w 110
are 1 w 114
parts 1 w 119
of 3 w 121
the 4 w 124
plot 1 w 128
And 2 w 132
here 1 w 136
is 2 w 138
further 2 w 145
proof 1 w 150
those 1 w 156
who 1 w 159
try 1 w 162
to 1 w 164
write 1 w 169
tragedy 2 w 176
are 2 w 179
much 1 w 183
sooner 1 w 189
successful 1 w 199
in 2 w 201
language 1 w 209
and 2 w 212
character-study 1 w 227
than 1 w 231
in 3 w 233
arranging 1 w 242
the 6 w 245
incidents 1 w 254
It 1 w 257
is 3 w 259
the 7 w 262
same 1 w 266
with 1 w 270
almost 1 w 276
all 1 w 279
the 8 w 282
earliest 1 w 290
poets 1 w 295
The 1 w 299
plot 2 w 303
then 1 w 307
is 4 w 309
the 10 w 312
first 1 w 317
principle 1 w 326
and 3 w 329
as 1 w 331
it 3 w 333
were 1 w 337
the 11 w 340
soul 1 w 344
of 5 w 346
tragedy 3 w 353
character 2 w 363
comes 1 w 368
second 1 w 374
It 2 w 377
is 5 w 379
much 2 w 383
the 12 w 386
same 2 w 390
also 1 w 394
in 7 w 396
painting 1 w 404
if 1 w 407
a 31 w 408
man 1 w 411
smeared 1 w 418
a 34 w 419
canvas 1 w 425
with 2 w 429
the 13 w 432
loveliest 1 w 441
colors 1 w 447
at 1 w 449
random 1 w 455
it 5 w 458
would 1 w 463
not 1 w 466
give 1 w 470
as 3 w 472
much 3 w 476
pleasure 1 w 484
as 5 w 486
an 11 w 488
outline 1 w 495
in 11 w 497
black 1 w 502
and 5 w 505
white 1 w 510
Selection 1 w 520
and 6 w 523
design 1 w 529
are 4 w 532
necessary 1 w 541
for 1 w 544
any 1 w 547
work 1 w 551
of 6 w 553
representation 1 w 567
And 3 w 571
it 7 w 573
is 6 w 575
mainly 1 w 581
because 1 w 588
a 52 w 589
play 1 w 593
is 7 w 595
a 54 w 596
representation 2 w 610
of 7 w 612
action 1 w 618
that 1 w 622
it 8 w 624
also 2 w 628
for 2 w 631
that 2 w 635
reason 1 w 641
represents 1 w 651
people 1 w 657