The Poetics of Aristotle

“With respect to the requirement of art, the probable impossible is always preferable to the improbable possible.””

— Aristotle

“A beginning is that which does not itself follow anything by causal necessity, but after which something naturally is or comes to be. An end, on the contrary, is that which itself naturally follows some other thing, either by necessity, or as a rule, but has nothing following it. A middle is that which follows something as some other thing follows it. A well constructed plot, therefore, must neither begin nor end at haphazard, but conform to these principles.””

— Aristotle

“Accordingly, the poet should prefer probable impossibilities to improbable possibilities.””

— Aristotle

“the greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances.””

— Aristotle

“A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility. The story should never be made up of improbable incidents; there should be nothing of the sort in it.””

— Aristotle

“The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of a tragedy; Character holds the second place.””

— Aristotle

“For the essence of a riddle is to express true facts under impossible combinations.””

— Aristotle

“All human happiness or misery takes the form of action; the end for which we live is a certain kind of action.””

— Aristotle

“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, showing what kind of things a man chooses or avoids.””

— Aristotle