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ARISTOTLE_ADVISES

                                         July 30 - October 9, 2018
                                                             
                                                      ARISTOTLE_POETICS
                                                             
Section XVII is is a peculiar section where Aristotle             
appears to be giving advice on writing techniques-- see,          
you want to imagine the action in detail to avoid gaffs           
when it's staged, etc.                                            
                                                                  
                                                                  
He appears to be saying that you should read the dialog          
outloud, ranting and gesticulating as appropriate,           
doing your best to get into it:                              
                                                             
                                                             
   From Section XVII:                                        
                                                             
   "Again, the poet should work out his play, to the best    
   of his power, with appropriate gestures; for those who    
   feel emotion are most convincing through natural          
   sympathy with the characters they represent; and one      
   who is agitated storms, one who is angry rages, with      
   the most life-like reality. Hence poetry implies either   
   a happy gift of nature or a strain of madness. In the     
   one case a man can take the mould of any character; in    
   the other, he is lifted out of his proper self."          
                                                             
                                                             
                     That closing lines there work well          
                     standalone, though read that way it may     
                     not have enough context:                    
                                                                 
                      "... poetry implies either a happy gift  
                       of nature or a strain of madness. In     
                       the one case a man can take the mould    
                       of any character; in the other, he is 
                       lifted out of his proper self."           
                                                                 
                                                                 
  Unpacking something like the following passage                 
  from Section XVIII is difficult: does Aristotle                
  really approve of trying to be all things, or
  is he just giving some cynical advice on
  shutting-up the critics?

     "The poet should endeavour, if possible,
     to combine all poetic elements; or failing
     that, the greatest number and those the
     most important; the more so, in face of
     the cavilling criticism of the day.  For
     whereas there have hitherto been good
     poets, each in his own branch, the critics
     now expect one man to surpass all others
     in their several lines of excellence."


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