Aristotle On Art

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a haphazard way. The plot of the play must represent the action of the play as a unified whole. 'Incidents must be so arranged that if any of them is differently placed or taken away the effect of wholeness will be seriously disrupted.' (Poetics, ch 8).
It is the historian who makes a copy or record of things that have happened. The poet describes what might happen. The kinds of things that might happen are those which, in the circumstances, are either probable or necessary.
Poetry is concerned with universal truths; history treats of particular facts.
Universal truths in this context refer to the kinds of things that a certain type of person will probably or necessarily do or say in a given situation.
In order to produce the pleasure that is appropriate to tragedy, the plot itself must awaken fear and pity in the audience. In this way tragedy effects a healthy catharsis (purgation) of these emotions. Thus, Aristotle implicitly rejects Plato's view that the performance of a ...

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