- 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-grc2:17.1-17.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The author discusses guidelines for constructing and refining plots, emphasizing the importance of visualizing events and sharing the characters' emotions. He explains the process of establishing a general outline first and then adding appropriate episodes, using Iphigenia and the Odyssey as examples.
δεῖ δὲ τοὺς μύθους συνιστάναι καὶ τῇ λέξει συναπεργάζεσθαι ὅτι μάλιστα πρὸ ὀμμάτων τιθέμενον·1 οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἐναργέστατα ὁρῶν ὥσπερ παρ’ αὐτοῖς γιγνόμενος τοῖς πραττομένοις εὑρίσκοι τὸ πρέπον καὶ ἥκιστα ἂν λανθάνοι τὰ ὑπεναντία.
In constructing plots and working them out with diction, one should set them before one’s eyes as much as possible. For in this way, seeing them most vividly, as if present at the very events being performed, one would discover what is appropriate and would least of all overlook contradictions.
σημεῖον δὲ τούτου ὃ ἐπετιμᾶτο Καρκίνῳ. ὁ γὰρ Ἀμφιάραος ἐξ ἱεροῦ ἀνῄει, ὃ μὴ ὁρῶντα ἐλάνθανεν,2 ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς ἐξέπεσεν δυσχερανάντων τοῦτο τῶν θεατῶν.
An indication of this is the mistake for which Carcinus was censured. For his Amphiaraus was coming up out of the temple, which escaped the notice of the poet through his not seeing it; but on the stage it failed, since the spectators took offense at this.
ὅσα δὲ δυνατὸν καὶ τοῖς σχήμασιν συναπεργαζόμενον·3 πιθανώτατοι γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως οἱ ἐν τοῖς πάθεσίν εἰσιν, καὶ χειμαίνει ὁ χειμαζόμενος καὶ χαλεπαίνει ὁ ὀργιζόμενος ἀληθινώτατα.
One should also work it out as far as possible with the gestures of the characters. For those who are themselves in the grip of passions are most persuasive by virtue of their shared nature: the one who is agitated agitates others most genuinely, and the one who is angry rages most truly.
διὸ εὐφυοῦς ἡ ποιητική ἐστιν ἢ μανικοῦ·4 τούτων γὰρ οἱ μὲν εὔπλαστοι οἱ δὲ ἐκστατικοί εἰσιν.
Therefore, poetry belongs to the highly gifted person or to the madman; for of these, the former are adaptable, while the latter are ecstatic.
τούς τε λόγους καὶ τοὺς πεποιημένους δεῖ καὶ αὐτὸν ποιοῦντα ἐκτίθεσθαι καθόλου, εἶθ’ οὕτως ἐπεισοδιοῦν καὶ παρατείνειν.
As for the plots, whether they are already made or whether he is making them himself, the poet should first lay them out in general terms, and then insert the episodes and extend them in this way.
λέγω δὲ οὕτως ἂν θεωρεῖσθαι τὸ καθόλου, οἷον τῆς Ἰφιγενείας· τυθείσης τινὸς κόρης καὶ ἀφανισθείσης ἀδήλως τοῖς θύσασιν, ἱδρυνθείσης δὲ εἰς ἄλλην χώραν, ἐν ᾗ νόμος ἦν τοὺς ξένους θύειν τῇ θεῷ, ταύτην ἔσχε τὴν ἱερωσύνην· χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον τῷ ἀδελφῷ συνέβη ἐλθεῖν τῆς ἱερείας, τὸ δὲ ὅτι ἀνεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς ἐλθεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐφ’ ὅ τι δὲ ἔξω τοῦ μύθου·5 ἐλθὼν δὲ καὶ ληφθεὶς θύεσθαι μέλλων ἀνεγνώρισεν, εἴθ’ ὡς Εὐριπίδης εἴθ’ ὡς Πολύιδος ἐποίησεν, κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς εἰπὼν ὅτι οὐκ ἄρα μόνον τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδει τυθῆναι, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἡ σωτηρία.
What I mean by looking at the general outline in this way may be illustrated from Iphigenia: A certain girl has been sacrificed and has vanished in a way unseen by those who sacrificed her; she is established in another country, where it was the custom to sacrifice strangers to the goddess, and she obtains this priesthood. Sometime later, it happens that the brother of the priestess arrives; the fact that the god ordered him to go there, and for what purpose, is outside the plot. But having come and been captured, when he is about to be sacrificed, he makes himself known—either as Euripides made him do or as Polyidus did, by saying, as was natural, that not only his sister, then, but also he himself had to be sacrificed—and from this comes his salvation.
μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἤδη ὑποθέντα τὰ ὀνόματα ἐπεισοδιοῦν·
After this, having already assigned the names, one should insert the episodes.
ὅπως δὲ ἔσται οἰκεῖα τὰ ἐπεισόδια, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀρέστῃ ἡ μανία δι’ ἧς ἐλήφθη καὶ ἡ σωτηρία διὰ τῆς καθάρσεως.
But one must see to it that the episodes are appropriate, as in the case of Orestes, his madness through which he was captured, and his salvation through the purification.
ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς δράμασιν τὰ ἐπεισόδια σύντομα, ἡ δ’ ἐποποιία τούτοις μηκύνεται.
In dramas, then, the episodes are concise, but epic poetry is lengthened by them.
τῆς γὰρ Ὀδυσσείας οὐ μακρὸς ὁ λόγος ἐστίν· ἀποδημοῦντός τινος ἔτη πολλὰ καὶ παραφυλαττομένου ὑπὸ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος καὶ μόνου ὄντος, ἔτι δὲ τῶν οἴκοι οὕτως ἐχόντων ὥστε τὰ χρήματα ὑπὸ μνηστήρων ἀναλίσκεσθαι καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀφικνεῖται χειμασθείς, καὶ ἀναγνωρίσας τινὰς ἐπιθέμενος αὐτὸς μὲν ἐσώθη τοὺς δ’ ἐχθροὺς διέφθειρε.
For the story of the Odyssey is not long: A certain man is away from home for many years, watched hostilely by Poseidon, and is alone; further, matters at home are in such a state that his property is being wasted by suitors and his son’s life is being plotted against; he himself arrives after being tempest-tossed, and having made himself known to certain persons, he makes an attack, saves himself, and destroys his enemies.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ἴδιον τοῦτο, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα ἐπεισόδια.
This, then, is the core of the story, and the rest is episodes.
- 1455aὅτι μάλιστα πρὸ ὀμμάτων τιθέμενον
The participle τιθέμενον is a masculine accusative singular, agreeing with the implied subject of the impersonal verb δεῖ, which is the poet. ὅτι μάλιστα modifies the expression to mean "as much as possible."
- 1455a25ὃ μὴ ὁρῶντα ἐλάνθανεν
The relative pronoun ὃ is neuter singular, referring to the preceding event (Amphiaraus coming up out of the temple). The participle ὁρῶντα is accusative, agreeing with the implied poet, functioning with ἐλάνθανεν to mean "escaped the notice of the poet through his not seeing it."
- 1455a25ὅσα δὲ δυνατὸν καὶ τοῖς σχήμασιν συναπεργαζόμενον
ὅσα δὲ δυνατὸν is an adverbial phrase meaning "as far as possible." Like τιθέμενον in section 1, συναπεργαζόμενον is a accusative participle agreeing with the poet, dependent on δεῖ. σχήμασιν refers to physical gestures or bodily expressions of emotion.
- 1455a30διὸ εὐφυοῦς ἡ ποιητική ἐστιν ἢ μανικοῦ
The genitives εὐφυοῦς and μανικοῦ are predicative genitives of possession or suitability, meaning "belongs to" or "is characteristic of" a highly gifted person or a madman.
- 1455b5τὸ δὲ ὅτι ἀνεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς ἐλθεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐφ’ ὅ τι δὲ ἔξω τοῦ μύθου
The clause τὸ ὅτι ἀνεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς ἐλθεῖν ἐκεῖ (the fact that the god ordered him to go there) is a noun clause acting as a subject. The article τὸ nominalizes this entire clause as well as the following indirect question ἐφ’ ὅ τι (and for what purpose).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 2