Aristotle was not a literary critic in the modern sense of the term. However, he has expressed his views on poetry in his ‘Poetics’. According to Aristotle, tragedy is the greatest form of poetry. It is also the most complex form of poetry. He defines tragedy as “An imitation of action that is serious, complete and of certain magnitude, in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, several kinds being found at different parts of the play, in the form of action, not narrative, through pity and fear effecting proper purgation of these emotions.” Aristotle says that a good tragedy has six parts. In the order of importance, they are
v Plot
v Character
v Thought
v Music or Song
v Diction and
v Spectacle.
Of these, the first three constitute the tragedy proper. The last three are the media through which it is presented. Aristotle says that Plot, the arrangement of incidents, is the soul of the tragedy. And he goes on to say that there can be tragedy without character, but not without plot. A tragedy must arouse the feelings of ‘pity’ and ‘fear’ and purify the emotions of the spectators. Next only to plot is character that is followed by thought. The poet conveys the feelings of ‘pity’ and ‘fear’ through the medium of diction or words “embellished with each kind of artistic ornament” The spectacle “is least connected with the art of poetry”. Though it is the mechanical part of tragedy, it is not less important. The power of tragedy is felt thorough the representation of the actors. He does not agree with Plato, his teacher, that the tragedy has harmful effects on man. Plato feels that constant exposure to the sufferings of others will weaken our ability to endure pain, sufferings and the other feelings associated with them.Aistotle feels that constant exposure to the sufferings of others will arouse the feelings of pity and fear in the spectator and lead to what he calls ‘Catharsis’ or purgation of the feelings in their minds. When the spectators and the readers identify themselves with the hero, they are lifted out of themselves and emerge stronger and nobler that before.

Aristotle the famous disciple of Plato was not a literary critic in the modern sense of the term. However, in his book ‘Poetics’, Aristotle discusses the nature of poetry. Drawing upon the Greek literature, he puts forward cogent arguments about the nature of poetry. His approach is scientific and materialistic. He agrees with Plato and says that poetry is imitation like any other art. Artists and Poets imitate things. According to Aristotle, imitation is an inborn instinct. But he does not agree with the view of Plato that poetry is twice removed from reality, as it is an imitation of imitation. Accepting the given apparent world as real Aristotle holds that poetry represents life. Having said that, he classifies poetry in terms of their structure into different types such as ballad, epic, tragedy, satire so on. Poetry gives pleasure to the poet and the reader. Not only that, a poem reveals truths of universal kind. Comparing a poet with a historian, he says that a historian merely records what has happened in the past. But a poet is a prophet as well. He can also say what may happen in the future, what is possible according to the law of probability. Aristotle states that it is for the pleasure poetry offers and its ability to satisfy the basic instinct in man for rhythm, poetry is written and read. Unlike Plato, Aristotle does not see instruction as the basic function of poetry. However, if it instructs in addition to providing pleasure or if the instruction is incidental, it is acceptable. Such poetry serves two purposes, i.e., it gives pleasure and it inculcates moral values in the readers. Aristotle agrees with Plato that poetry appeals to emotions. But he does not accept the contention of Plato that poetry is harmful to society. He believes that poetry has a beneficial effect on society. He says that tragedy, the greatest form of poetry as he sees it, arouses the feelings of pity and fear in the minds of readers and spectators and refines their emotions. When one watches the sufferings of others in a tragedy or in other forms of poetry, the emotions of pity and fear in ones mind finds an outlet and one is relieved of the excess of these emotions. One feels lifted out of one self and becomes nobler than before.

Plato rightly says that poetry is the product of imagination not that of rational thinking. Therefore, the life portrayed in poetry is not real. It is just what the poet imagines it to be. Poetry is imitation of life which is an imitation of what he calls ‘Forms’. Therefore, poetry does not help the reader to understand the real. It is the nature of poetry. Everyone accepts this argument of Plato. Having discussed the nature of poetry, Plato goes on to discuss how and why poetry influences the readers. Poetry does not prompt the readers to think rationally. Poetry holds reason prisoner and sets man on a flight of fancy. In other words, poetry appeals to emotions and feelings, not to rational thinking. It gives pleasure not knowledge to the readers. According to Plato poetry often “fed and watered the passions” and “ruled” the readers. These comments show clearly that he was well aware of the poetic method. Plato classified poetry into dithyrambic and mimetic. The dithyrambic poetry is entirely lyrical. Poetry such as drama and epic are mimetic. In drama, the poet imitates the speech and actions of man. However, epic contains lyrics also. According to Plato, an epic is better than a drama. This is widely accepted even today. Plato also discusses the nature of the pleasures the tragedies and comedies arouse in the spectators. Although the explanations are not convincing, it was Plato who raised such questions first. We may not agree with Plato on many points. However is remains a fact that it was Plato who first discussed the nature of what we call literature today.