“…he is a poet because he imitates, and what he imitates are actions.” -Aristotle
When discussing the way in which poems and tragedies imitate actions, Aristotle describes imitation that begins with an object, most often mankind, and the mediums that art takes form of. For poetry, objects are imitated through verses in varying rhythms and harmonies. The poets are the imitators because of their manipulation of characters. Man is either portrayed as better or worse than they truly are in real life. And, poems can be told from the poet’s perspective, or, from another persona. Aristotle believes that the entire makeup of a poem and a poet’s writing is all imitation of actual people and/or events.
Tragedies are imitations of an action that is “serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude” (Aristotle). In tragedies, mankind is not the thing that is being imitated, but the events from real life are. They don’t need characters, but they must need action in order for the writing to be a tragedy. Even if a person chooses to write about a historical event, they’re still a poet because the subject matter can still fall in line with the making of a tragedy.
For Aristotle, imitation is instinctual because it’s the way we can learn and relate to others around us. Harmony and rhythm are also instincts that humans are born with that exists in everyday conversation. When we speak with each other, Aristotle finds that it often runs through iambic lines and it flows naturally. Poetry is just apart of human nature, in Aristotle’s eyes, and when we tell stories, write songs, and dance we’re creating poems through the imitation of life.
Aristotle’s interpretations make me believe that his take on the role that imitation plays in art is a neither positive nor negative. Honestly, most of his explanation of art being an imitation of real life things and alterations of real people make sense. People often make the suggestion of life imitating art, but isn’t art just a depiction of everyday ideas and things?
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a few thoughts... 