Poetics Summary

I think what Aristotle is trying to say is that an event can take place and have no meaning, but as soon as it is given magnitude and importance, then it can qualify as something meaningful. A tragedy would not be tragic unless there was a certain gravity to the situation. He also discusses the beginning, middle, and end of a story. The beginning is what must happen before, and the conclusion is the result after, but in between (the middle) is where events actually take place and developments occur. That being said, stories, objects, and living creatures can't be appreciated unless they are seen as a whole. If you knew one fact about a person, you wouldn't have a great sense of who they are. He says that you can't write a story about everything that happened in a person's life because it is simply too much to take in at once.

I find this final sentiment a bit ironic, because he is cramming so much into a very short passage. He makes many statements on a wide range of topics, but doesn't spend a lot of time providing evidence for each. This brings to mind Letter to Maggie, where the professor claims that the most important thing in writing is turning "stuff" into evidence. Making a strong, cohesive thesis statement doesn't mean anything unless it is supported, even if it is capable of convincing people the statement is true. There is undoubtedly a lot of wisdom contained in Poetics, but I feel it would have a much larger impact if it was less scattered.