- Source
- Aristotle. Aristotelis De arte poetica liber. Kassel, Rudolf, editor. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1965 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg034.humanitext-grc2:12.1-12.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The author defines and explains the quantitative and constituent parts of tragedy, including the prologue, episode, exode, and choric song along with its sub-divisions.
μέρη δὲ τραγῳδίας οἷς μὲν ὡς εἴδεσι δεῖ χρῆσθαι1 πρότερον εἴπομεν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ποσὸν καὶ εἰς ἃ διαιρεῖται κεχωρισμένα τάδε ἐστίν, πρόλογος ἐπεισόδιον ἔξοδος χορικόν, καὶ τούτου τὸ μὲν πάροδος τὸ δὲ στάσιμον, κοινὰ μὲν ἁπάντων ταῦτα, ἴδια δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ κομμοί.2
We have previously spoken of the parts of tragedy which should be used as qualitative elements, but according to quantity and the separate divisions into which tragedy is divided, they are as follows: prologue, episode, exode, and choric song. And of the choric song, one part is the parode, the other the stasimon. These are common to all tragedies, but the songs from the stage and the kommoi are peculiar to some.
ἔστιν δὲ πρόλογος μὲν μέρος ὅλον τραγῳδίας τὸ πρὸ χοροῦ παρόδου, ἐπεισόδιον δὲ μέρος ὅλον τραγῳδίας τὸ μεταξὺ ὅλων χορικῶν μελῶν, ἔξοδος δὲ μέρος ὅλον τραγῳδίας μεθ’ ὃ οὐκ ἔστι χοροῦ μέλος·
A prologue is a complete part of tragedy preceding the entrance (parode) of the chorus. An episode is a complete part of tragedy between complete choric songs. An exode is a complete part of tragedy after which there is no song of the chorus.
χορικοῦ δὲ πάροδος μὲν ἡ πρώτη λέξις ὅλη χοροῦ, στάσιμον δὲ μέλος χοροῦ τὸ ἄνευ ἀναπαίστου καὶ τροχαίου,3 κομμὸς δὲ θρῆνος κοινὸς χοροῦ καὶ ἀπὸ σκηνῆς.
Of the choric song, the parode is the entire first utterance of the chorus. A stasimon is a song of the chorus without anapestic and trochaic meters. A kommos is a lamentation common to both the chorus and those on the stage.
μέρη δὲ τραγῳδίας οἷς μὲν ὡς εἴδεσι δεῖ χρῆσθαι πρότερον εἴπαμεν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ποσὸν καὶ εἰς ἃ διαιρεῖται κεχωρισμένα ταῦτ’ ἐστίν.
We have previously spoken of the parts of tragedy which should be used as qualitative elements, but according to quantity and the separate divisions into which it is divided, these are they.
- 12.1οἷς μὲν ὡς εἴδεσι δεῖ χρῆσθαι
The relative pronoun οἷς is in the dative case because it is governed by the verb χρῆσθαι. The phrase ὡς εἴδεσι means "as forms" or "as qualitative parts," referring back to the six qualitative parts of tragedy discussed in Chapter 6 (plot, character, etc.).
- 12.3ἴδια δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ κομμοί
The adjective ἴδια is used predicatively with the subjects τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς ("those from the stage") and κομμοί ("lamentations"), with the copula verb ἐστίν being omitted. It stands in contrast to κοινά ("common to all"), indicating elements that are unique or peculiar only to certain tragedies.
- 12.8στάσιμον δὲ μέλος χοροῦ τὸ ἄνευ ἀναπαίστου καὶ τροχαίου
The preposition ἄνευ governs the genitives ἀναπαίστου and τροχαίου, meaning "without anapestic and trochaic [meters]." This excludes the marching meters typically used for the entrance or exit of the chorus, defining the stasimon as a stationary song.