46 Poetics

(e) Song is particular to [the art of] music; hence [the poet]
will need to take his starting-points complete in themselves A Hypothetical Reconstruction
from that [art].
(f) Spectacle supplies * * as a great need to dramas.
of Poetics II
Plot, diction and song are observed in all comedies, reason-
ings, character and spectacle in [not] a few.
(based on the Tractatus
4.2 The quantitative parts of comedy Coislinianus and the
There are four parts of comedy: (a) prologue, (b) choral [part], fragments of Poetics II)
(c) episode and (d) exit.
(a) A prologue is a part of a comedy that is up to the entry of
the chorus.
(b) A choral [part] is the song sung by the chorus, when it has
sufficient magnitude.
(c) An episode is the [part] between two choral songs.
(d) An exit is the [part] uttered at the end by the chorus.
1. The field of the enquiry
4.3 The three kinds of comedy Our [next] topic is lampoons and comedy, [and what potential
[The kinds] of comedy are (a) old, which goes to excess in the each has; how many kinds of the laughable there are, of what
laughable; (b) new, which abandons this, and inclines towards sort they are, and how they should be used if the composition
the grand; and (c) middle, which is mixed from both. is to turn out well; also, from how many parts comedy is consti-
tuted, and of what sort they are; and likewise all other aspects
of the same enquiry. Let us begin again, following the natural
order, from first principles.]

1.1 The kinds of poetry are classified

according to (a) representation
[As we said,] poetry is of two kinds, non-representational and
representational, [depending on whether the name "poet" is
applied according to representation, or merely according to the
media used, i.e. song and verse. The non-representational kind
is divided into] (a) historical and (b) educational (whether this is
for instruction or theoretical investigation). [As we said, even
when someone puts such works into verse, he is not rightly
called a poet according to representation.]

47
48 Poetics
1.2 The kinds of poetry are classified according
to (b) the manner of the representation
[Representational poetry is divided according to the manner in
which the representation is produced, into] (a) narrative [like
epic], and (b) dramatic, i.e. enacted [like comedy and tragedy.]
1.3 The kinds of poetry are classified according
to (c) the objects of the representation
[Dramatic poetry, as we said, represents people doing things,
and these people and their actions are either good or inferior.
The difference between] comedy and tragedy [is that the former
aims to represent people as worse, the latter as better, than
they are: we may add] mimes and satyr-plays. [So let this ac-
count of representation, its points of difference, and how many
and what they are, suffice.]
2. The function of tragedy
[Just as I showed that tragedy and comedy arose from causes
natural to man, so too they arose by nature for an end, namely
the catharsis of human emotions. We have already seen how
this is accomplished in tragedy. If it is properly constructed,]
tragedy reduces the soul's emotions of [pity and] terror by
means of compassion and dread, [which are aroused by the
representation of pitiable and terrible events. By "reduces", I
mean that] tragedy aims to [make the spectator] have a due pro-
portion [i.e. the mean] of [emotions of] terror [and the like, by
arousing these emotions through the representation. Tragedy,
like epic, has as its end the catharsis of these emotions, which
gives rise to the pleasure proper to tragedy.] It has, [as one
might say, emotions of] pain as its mother. [As for how cathar-
sis works in comedy, and how this differs from tragedy, I shall
explain below when we have looked at the nature of the laugh-
able. But now let us discuss comedy, taking up the definition of
its essence that results from what has been said.]
Reconstruction of Poetics II 49
3. The nature of comedy
3.1 The definition of comedy
Comedy is a representation of an action that is laughable and
lacking in magnitude, complete, [in embellished speech], with
each of its parts [used] separately in the [various] elements [of
the play]; [represented] by people acting and [not] by means of
narration; accomplishing by means of pleasure and laughter the
catharsis of such emotions. It has laughter, [so to speak,] as its
mother.
[I explained what each of these things means when tragedy
was defined.]
3.2 The qualitative parts of comedy may
be deduced from the laughable
[Since the function of comic representation is to represent the
laughable, we must next consider from how many kinds]
laughter has its structure, [i.e. how the pleasure that is particu-
lar to comic representation arises.] Laughter arises from (a) dic-
tion and (b) incidents.
3.2.1 The laughter of comedy
comes from (a) diction
Laughter arises from diction in seven ways.
(i) First, [it arises] from homonymy, [when the same name
has two or more meanings,] like "paying": [this means "de-
fraying" and "profitable";] e.g. "metre", [which Aristophanes
puns on in the Clouds.]
(ii) Second, from synonymy, when two or more names have
the same meaning, like "cloak", "wrap" and "mantle"; e.g.
"I'm here and am arrived", which is the same thing, [as Aris-
tophanes jokes in the Frogs.]
(iii) Third, from verbosity, when someone [twice] uses the
same name [with the same meaning].
(iv) Fourth, from paronymy, [when the standard name is in
part the same and in part altered.] Paronyms are divided into
those (a) by addition, when something extraneous is attached
to the standard [name, e.g. "infamonous" instead of "infa-
50 Poetics
mous"]; and (b) by shortening, [when something is removed
from the standard name,] e.g. "I'm called Midas the joke" [in-
stead of "joker". Also] (c) from a diminutive, [when the stan-
dard name is lengthened or curtailed to trivialise something
and make it laughable,] e.g. "Socratiddles, Euripidipides" [for
"Socrates" and "Euripides" in Aristophanes. Again,] (d) from
an alteration, [when the standard name is in part left un-
changed and in part made up, e.g.] "the worstest of all" [in-
stead of "the worst"].
[(v) Again, laughter arises from parody, when one name is
pronounced instead of another,] e.g. "O Clod Almighty" in-
stead of "O God".
[(vi) Again, from metaphor. By "metaphor" I mean, as we
said, the transference of names from things similar] either in
sound or [in appearance or potential or some other perceptible
quality, especially if ugly but not painful or destructive; one
should not transfer a name from something too dissimilar, but
use] something of the same genus [or similar by analogy, other-
wise it will be a riddle but not a metaphor.]
(vii) Seventh, from the form of the diction. [By this I mean
e.g. what is a command, or what is a wish; this belongs to the
art of delivery.]
[These then are the seven kinds of the laughable that arise
from diction, and it necessarily follows that diction is an ele-
ment of comic representation.]
3.2.2 The laughter of comedy comes
from (b) the incidents
Laughter [also arises] from the incidents [on the stage,] in two
ways. [As I said in the Rhetoric, a major cause of amusement is
making something like something else, and the accompanying
deception of expectations. Obviously this can happen in the
incidents.]
(i) [Laughter arises] first from deception, e.g. Strepsiades be-
lieving that the story about the flea was true [in Aristophanes'
Clouds,] and (ii) secondly from making [something] like [some-
thing else]. Making something like something else is divided
into two in its use: (a) making something like something better
[than it is], e.g. [the slave] Xanthias [disguised as the hero] Her-
acles [in Aristophanes' Frogs,] or (b) making it like something
Reconstruction of Poetics II 51
worse, e.g. [the god] Dionysus [disguised as the slave] Xanthias
[in the same play].
[Other kinds of the laughable are errors in serious poetry,
which can be used inappropriately on purpose to arouse laugh-
ter, as we said. Laughter arises] (iii) from the impossible, [or]
(iv) from the possible and inconsequential, [i.e. the improbable;
these are effective if they accomplish the function of the repre-
sentation, i.e. the arousal of laughter; otherwise they are errors
even in comedy. It also arises] (v) from things contrary to ex-
pectation. [From this it will be clear that the representation of
the action or structure of the incidents is also useful for arous-
ing laughter, and it necessarily follows that this is an element of
comic representation.]
[Laughter also arises] (vi) from making the characters incline
to be wicked [without this being necessary or probable; this is
of course an error in tragedy. Comedy represents persons who
are inferior to us, as we said, but not in every kind of wicked-
ness. What sort of people they are may be revealed] (vii) by
their use of vulgar dancing [like the cordax, or] (viii) [by bad
decision, e.g.] when someone who has the power [to decide]
lets go the most important things and takes those most inferior.
[Hence character too is a part of comic representation; but so
also is reasoning, since actions are caused by the reasoning as
well as the characters of the people acting. Therefore laughter
can also arise] (ix) [from reasoning,] when the argument [for an
action] is disjointed and lacking any sequence. [These, then, are
the kinds of the laughable arising from the incidents.]
[For this reason the elements of all comic representation are
necessarily four, diction, plot, character and reasoning. Com-
edy is superior to lampoon in this, since it has song and specta-
cle also.]
3.3 The function of personal abuse
in comedy and lampoon
[Again, comedy and abuse in verse, i.e. lampoon, differ in the
representation of people. As we said in the Rhetoric, the ele-
ments of the laughable are people, words and deeds.] Comedy
is superior to abuse, since abuse details without concealment
the bad [qualities and actions] attaching to people, but comedy

52 Poetics
requires the so-called innuendo. [Whereas abuse represents
how actual people like Alcibiades do behave, comedy, in its es-
sential nature to which it has attained, aims to represent how
people may behave in general; this is why, as we said, comic
poets now use made-up names for their characters, and do not
abuse real people as the writers of lampoons do.]
[Even so, there is a place for jokes in comedy, since vice
should be reproached, and a joke is a concealed reproach of an
error. In both comedy and lampoon,] the joker wishes to ex-
pose errors of soul and body [in his victims, and this arouses
laughter, provided that the error is not painful or destructive to
the victim or others.]
3.4 The function of tragedy and comedy compared
[Now that we have considered the laughable and its parts, we
should explain what we stated above about the function of com-
edy, i.e. the catharsis of pleasure and laughter. Just as the func-
tion of tragedy is to arouse pity and terror through the
representation of pitiable and terrifying actions, which come
about through an error that is painful or destructive in some
way, so too the function of comedy is to arouse pleasure and
laughter through the representation of laughable actions, which
also come about through an error, though not a painful or de-
structive one. Each kind of poetry aims to purify that part of the
soul concerned with these emotions. By seeing a representation
of terrifying things happening to others, one will learn to feel
terror in the right way, for the right reason, to the right extent
and so on; this will be accomplished by the catharsis of the
emotion of terror.]
[This applies not to the painful emotions only, but to the
pleasant ones as well. Just as] in tragedies [the poet] aims to
produce a due proportion of terror [in the souls of the specta-
tors, so too] in comedies there is to be a due proportion of the
laughable. [So much for the function of tragedy and comedy.]
Reconstruction of Poetics II 53
4. The parts of comedy 10
4.1 The qualitative parts of comedy,
and how they should be used
The elements of comedy are, [as we have shown, six:] plot,
character, reasoning, diction, song and spectacle. [These are the 14
same as the elements of tragedy, and, as in tragedy, two of
them refer to the media of the representation (i.e. diction and
song), one to the manner (i.e. spectacle), and three to the object
of the representation (i.e. plot, character and reasoning). There
are no others except these.]
4.1.1 Plot in comedy 11
Comic plot is one which is structured around laughable actions.
[We have said of what sort these are. The action should be
structured in accordance with probability, unless the comedy
achieves its aim better by using impossibilities and improbabili-
ties, as we have seen.]
4.1.2 Character in comedy 12
[Comedy represents characters who are inferior to ourselves,
i.e. worse than we are: therefore comic characters are those
who are somehow in error in soul or body. Typical] characters
of comedy are the buffoonish, the ironical, and the boasters.
[Each of these diverges from the mean, and therefore deserves
not praise but reproach. As we said in the Ethics, the buffoon
errs in humour, as he will make any joke, even against himself,
to please another, but an ironical person jokes to please him-
self. This is why we say that buffoonery is more suited to a
slave and less to a free citizen than is irony. But even the ironi-
cal man errs, just as does the boaster in the opposite way; the
first understates the truth, the second overstates it. Both, then,
are liars, but the boaster seems more worthy of blame. But, as
we said, not every kind of bad character is appropriate, but
only those that are not painful or destructive.]
4.1.3 Reasoning in comedy 13
The parts of reasoning are two, [as we said, namely] general
statement and proof. [These are explained in the Rhetoric. In
54 Poetics
particular the comic poet should use the proofs that do not de-
pend on art:] there are five [of these]—oaths, agreements, testi-
monies, ordeals and laws.
4.1.4 Diction in comedy
[We have already discussed diction and its parts, and how
laughter arises from it.] Comic diction is common and popular.
[Therefore it uses standard names and metaphors more than
exotic names, since it is closer to everyday speech than is trag-
edy. In tragedy the characters all speak in the same way, but in
comedy the diction should be appropriate.] The comic poet
should assign his characters their own ancestral dialect, and
himself the local one. [Thus the Boeotian in Aristophanes'
Acharnians uses his own dialect, but the poet in the parabasis
uses the local Attic dialect.]
4.1.5 Song and spectacle in drama
[The last two elements of comedy are shared with tragedy but
not with epic, and as we passed over them before we will men-
tion them now.] Song, [i.e. speech, rhythm and melody,] is
particular to [the art of] music [and not to that of poetry.] Hence
[the poet] will need to take his starting-points complete in
themselves from that [art.] Spectacle [belongs still less to the art
of poetry, but is enthralling. It] supplies, as a great benefit to
dramas, [both tragic and comic, the masks, scenery and
costumes.]
4.1.6 The qualitative parts of comedy
are not equally important
[Of these elements,] plot, diction and song are observed in all
comedies, but reasonings, character and spectacle in [not] a
few. [If there is no plot, there is no representation of an action,
but an action can be represented without including the charac-
ter and reasonings of those acting. Spectacle is least particular
to the art of poetry, as the nature of a comedy can be apparent
even when it is read. But a comedy could not exist without the
means of representation, since each comedy consists of spoken
verses and choral song in its separate parts. Preferably one
should try to have all the elements; otherwise, as many as pos-
Reconstruction of Poetics II 55
sible of them. So much for the parts of comedy that one should
use as elements.]
4.2 The quantitative parts of comedy 17
The [quantitative] parts of comedy, [i.e. the separate parts into
which it is divided,] are four: (a) prologue, (b) choral [part], (c)
episode and (d) exit.
(a) A prologue is a [whole] part of a comedy that is up to the
entry of the chorus.
(b) A choral [part] is the song sung by the chorus, when it has
sufficient magnitude.
(c) An episode is the [whole] part [of a comedy] that is be-
tween two [whole] choral songs.
(d) An exit is a [whole] part [of a comedy] uttered at the end
by the chorus.
[These, then, are the quantitative parts of comedy, i.e. the
separate parts into which it is divided.]
5. The three kinds of comedy compared 18
[Comedy is superior to lampoon, as we stated. But comedy did
not at once relinquish the form of the lampoon, but developed
little by little to attain its nature.] The old comedy goes to excess
in the laughable [as does the buffoon, since he desires to please
everybody, including vulgar people.] The new comedy aban-
dons this, and inclines towards the grand [or serious; but there
should be jokes and laughter in comedy. Therefore] the comedy
intermediate [between these is left,] which is mixed from both,
[e.g. the comedies of Aristophanes. This kind is the best.]
[Regarding comedy and lampoon, then, and indeed poetry as
a whole, in themselves, their kinds and their parts, as to how
many there are and how they differ, and what are the causes of
doing well or not in them, let this account suffice.]