Poetics Aristotle S H Butcher 9781542710978 Books
Download As PDF : Poetics Aristotle S H Butcher 9781542710978 Books
Poetics
ARISTOTLE (384 BC - 322 BC)
Aristotle’s Poetics from the 4th century B.C. aims to give a short study of storytelling. It discusses things like unity of plot, reversal of situation, and character in the context of Greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry. But it still applies today. It is especially popular with screenwriters as seen in many script gurus’ how-to books.
Poetics Aristotle S H Butcher 9781542710978 Books
A good guide on how to write a story. Forget all this rising action/climax/falling action nonsense. Instead have a unity of action, a noble character or protagonist with a human failing. Have him make a tragic error (hamartia) which will lead to a peripeteia or reversal of fortune... good luck to bad luck. Let the plot become complicated with unforeseen consequences which will lead to disaster in which the main character suffers the most as a consequence of his foolish actions. Let the story finish with him understanding that he is the author of his own downfall (anagnorisis). Let the reader go away with a sense of pathos for the protagonist. Read Sophocles's Antigone and you will see this perfectly.Product details
|
Tags : Poetics [Aristotle, S. H. Butcher] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Poetics</b> <b>ARISTOTLE (384 BC - 322 BC)</b> Aristotle’s Poetics from the 4th century B.C. aims to give a short study of storytelling. It discusses things like unity of plot,Aristotle, S. H. Butcher,Poetics,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1542710979,PHILOSOPHY Aesthetics
People also read other books :
- A Fantasy of Far Japan Summer Dream Dialogues Suematsu Kencho 9781318997060 Books
- WTF am I supposed to eat? A Dieters Manifesto CJ English 9780986304224 Books
- The Pelican Trees edition by Patrick Higgins A Grateful Believer Literature Fiction eBooks
- Duty to the Crown The Crofton Chronicles Book 2 edition by Rebecca Cohen Literature Fiction eBooks
- Existing Dead Lyle PerezTinics 9781475280098 Books
Poetics Aristotle S H Butcher 9781542710978 Books Reviews
A scam! This "annotated" version of Aristotles Poetics is nothing of the sort! The publisher simply stuck a bunch of predetermined exercises designed for helping middle school students write book reports after the original text in translation. Exercises which make no mention of Poetics, and shed no additional light on them. I want my money back!!!
This review refers to the "Penguin Classics" edition with an introduction by Malcolm Health This book was often referred to by both my high school and college literature teachers although it has taken me an additional +20 years to actually read the book. I am glad I did. I think those interested in western literature or aesthetics will find Poetic's to be an essential read as it provides the initial codification of concepts such as tragedy, comedy, plot, unity, character, and katharsis. Malcolm Heath's introduction is absolutely essential and is worth the price of the book alone.
Not what I thought it would be. This has a hard-to-read, Courier 10pt, single-spaced translation of Poetics that is about as impenetrable as any other out there. It's backed by a mishmash of student exercises drafted in varying fonts. The exercises seem to have no relationship to the text of Poetics. "Annotated" is misleading at best.
I read this book in an effort to enhance my personal hobby of script writing. If I recall correctly, I read somehwere that this is an important book regarding proper plot structure. Having read the book I believe this to be true. It touches upon tragedy, epics, comedies, plot, character, reasoning among other things.
Granted, this was written at a time when theater and poetry were the thing (LEDs were not in fashion at the time). And when taken in that context, the book makes a lot of sense. I have since found the structure to be in many movies I have watched over the years. It has added significant value to how I am developing characters in my stories and the stories themselves.
This is not a definitive guide. Story telling has eveolved throughout the ages. But, knowing the evolution helps write better. Or at least it does for me.
As with the writings of all philosophers (and I personally like Aristotle), the text is meant to be studied. It is NOT a step by step guide. You read a little and think a lot. Happy reading!
I ordered this particular translation of the Poetics for a two-person reading group. The other member recommended it for the translation and this being my first reading of the whole text I was happy to go along. In the end it was a fine choice for the translation, but the commentary comes along with it and I couldn't leave it out of my review completely.
First, the translation
No nits to pick here. It is very clear and readable. This isn't Aristotle at his most refined, but the translation should be accesible to anyone with the interest in reading it. Halliwell hasn't shied away from the overtly normative language that permeates the text, nor has he attempted to inject more structure or content than the text can bear.
Given that the commentary is (apparently) geared to folks with an interest in contemporary aesthetics, it is nice to see that Halliwell has not colored the text in a way that might be more palatable to the contemporary aesthetician. A few passages sent me scrambling for the OCT, but I always ended up happy with Halliwell's rendering.
Two notes 1) Halliwell has opted for "mimesis" and "mimetic" throughout. This is a case of a philosophical concept in transliteration rather than translation, but probably ought to be. This choice, and a few others, make the text more appropriate for the academically minded, though the Poetics might not be leisurely reading anyhow...and 2) Halliwell's translation does not include Bekker pages nor numbers. Chapter breaks are included but are of limited usefulness for reference to the OCT, etc.
Then, the commentary
I should admit that I am not the target audience for Halliwell's commentary. I would be an embarrassingly bad classicist, if I were to claim to be one...and I am not independently interested in contemporary aesthetics. That being the case, the commentary might be quite useful for other readers. Halliwell raises interesting points quite often and points up tensions in Aristotle's view writ large, but often misses the trees for the forest. Late in the book, admittedly where the lack of book II is most glaring, Aristotle introduces new machinery or recalls distinctions hastily made. Halliwell is silent here, perhaps because he just isn't interested in this fine-grained a reading...but that seems like just what a commentary ought to be interested in. One major issue is that the commentary occasionally reads like an argumentative essay - an argument for Halliwell's reading - but doesn't seem particularly well argued. Early assumptions are taken for granted in later chapters, etc.
Since I am almost positive that Halliwell has other folks in mind, and since my interests might be especially idiosyncratic anyway, I have tried not to let my thoughts on the commentary cloud the overall review...
The bottom line if you're looking for just a translation of the Poetics, this won't disappoint. I can't compare it directly to other translations, but it is accesible and I didn't find much to quibble with when I turned to the OCT. The commentary isn't, and doesn't pretend to be, a concentrated analysis of the philosophical framework on offer. It is an interesting essay on the development of aesthetics, the bridge between Aristotle and contemporary thinkers, and is probably quite full of material that would interest classicists and aestheticians. I can't really fault the commentary for having a different aim than I had hoped, and one need not refer to it besides.
For the student of Aristotle, someone interested in aesthetics and wanting to read this foundational treatise, or someone interested in the history of philosophy (or thinking in general), I think this translation will certainly meet your needs.
I bought this because Aaron Sorkin said it was one of his favorite books on writing. I expected dense and it is but not in the way I imagined. It's also clever and interesting and in an odd way comforting to know these writing principles are ancient and true-- true in the way of hitting their mark. However, a practical guide on writing this is not, you have to sift through it to find what applies to your writing. Not sure I agree with Sorkin, but glad to have read it. Plus, now I can sound sooooooo cerebral when I tell people I read this.
A good guide on how to write a story. Forget all this rising action/climax/falling action nonsense. Instead have a unity of action, a noble character or protagonist with a human failing. Have him make a tragic error (hamartia) which will lead to a peripeteia or reversal of fortune... good luck to bad luck. Let the plot become complicated with unforeseen consequences which will lead to disaster in which the main character suffers the most as a consequence of his foolish actions. Let the story finish with him understanding that he is the author of his own downfall (anagnorisis). Let the reader go away with a sense of pathos for the protagonist. Read Sophocles's Antigone and you will see this perfectly.
0 Response to "≫ PDF Poetics Aristotle S H Butcher 9781542710978 Books"
Post a Comment