Aristotle's Poetics (In Our Time)
335 BCE · Resource
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Aristotle's Poetics. The Poetics is, as far as we know, the first ever work of literary theory. Written in the 4th century BC, it is the work of a scholar who was also a biologist, and treats literary works with the detached analytical eye of a scientist. Aristotle examines drama and epic poetry, and how they achieve their effects; he analyses tragedy and the ways in which it plays on our emotions.
On these timelines: In Our Time (BBC podcast), Resources: Combined
Around 335 BCE
- Wars of the Diadochi (322 BCE)
- Reign of Alexander the Great (336 BCE)
- Peloponnesian War (431 BCE)
- Aristotle (384 BCE)
- Plato (428 BCE)
- Maurya Empire (322 BCE)
- Plato's Republic written (375 BCE)
- Punic Wars (264 BCE)
- Alexander the Great (356 BCE)
- Euclid's Elements (300 BCE)