§9.1φανερὸν δὲ ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ ὅτι οὐ τὸ τὰ γενόμενα λέγειν, τοῦτο ποιητοῦ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἀλλ’ οἷα ἂν γένοιτο καὶ τὰ δυνατὰ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἢ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον.
It is also clear from what has been said that the poet's task is not to relate what has happened, but what might happen—that is, what is possible according to probability or necessity.
§9.2ὁ γὰρ ἱστορικὸς καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς οὐ τῷ ἢ ἔμμετρα λέγειν ἢ ἄμετρα διαφέρουσιν (εἴη γὰρ ἂν τὰ Ἡροδότου εἰς μέτρα τεθῆναι καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἂν εἴη ἱστορία τις μετὰ μέτρου ἢ ἄνευ μέτρων)· ἀλλὰ τούτῳ διαφέρει, τῷ τὸν μὲν τὰ γενόμενα λέγειν, τὸν δὲ οἷα ἂν γένοιτο.
For the historian and the poet do not differ by speaking in meter or without meter (for the work of Herodotus might be put into meter, and it would be no less a kind of history with meter than without meter); rather, they differ in this, that the one relates what has happened, and the other what might happen.
§9.3διὸ καὶ φιλοσοφώτερον καὶ σπουδαιότερον ποίησις ἱστορίας ἐστίν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ποίησις μᾶλλον τὰ καθόλου, ἡ δ’ ἱστορία τὰ καθ’ ἕκαστον λέγει.
Therefore, poetry is something more philosophical and more serious than history; for poetry speaks more of universals, while history speaks of particulars.
§9.4ἔστιν δὲ καθόλου μέν, τῷ ποίῳ τὰ ποῖα ἄττα συμβαίνει λέγειν ἢ πράττειν κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἢ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον, οὗ στοχάζεται ἡ ποίησις ὀνόματα ἐπιτιθεμένη· τὸ δὲ καθ’ ἕκαστον, τί Ἀλκιβιάδης ἔπραξεν ἢ τί ἔπαθεν.
By "universal" is meant what kind of person will happen to say or do what kind of thing according to probability or necessity, which is what poetry aims at, even though it attaches proper names; by "particular" is meant what Alcibiades did or what happened to him.
§9.5ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς κωμῳδίας ἤδη τοῦτο δῆλον γέγονεν· συστήσαντες γὰρ τὸν μῦθον διὰ τῶν εἰκότων οὕτω τὰ τυχόντα ὀνόματα ὑποτιθέασιν, καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ ἰαμβοποιοὶ περὶ τὸν καθ’ ἕκαστον ποιοῦσιν.
In the case of comedy, this has already become clear; for after constructing the plot through probable incidents, they then assign arbitrary names, and do not, like the iambic poets, write about specific individuals.
§9.6ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς τραγῳδίας τῶν γενομένων ὀνομάτων ἀντέχονται.
In tragedy, however, they hold to historical names.
αἴτιον δ’ ὅτι πιθανόν ἐστι τὸ δυνατόν· τὰ μὲν οὖν μὴ γενόμενα οὔπω πιστεύομεν εἶναι δυνατά, τὰ δὲ γενόμενα φανερὸν ὅτι δυνατά· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐγένετο, εἰ ἦν ἀδύνατα.
The reason is that what is possible is credible; we do not yet believe that what has not happened is possible, but what has happened is obviously possible, for it would not have happened if it were impossible.
§9.7οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις ἐν ἐνίαις μὲν ἓν ἢ δύο τῶν γνωρίμων ἐστὶν ὀνομάτων, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πεποιημένα, ἐν ἐνίαις δὲ οὐθέν, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ἀγάθωνος Ἀνθεῖ·
Nevertheless, even in tragedies, in some there is only one or two of the well-known names, while the others are made up; and in some there are none at all, as in Agathon's Antheus.
ὁμοίως γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ τά τε πράγματα καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα πεποίηται, καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον εὐφραίνει.
For in this play both the incidents and the names are equally made up, and yet it pleases no less.
§9.8ὥστ’ οὐ πάντως εἶναι ζητητέον τῶν παραδεδομένων μύθων, περὶ οὓς αἱ τραγῳδίαι εἰσίν, ἀντέχεσθαι.
Consequently, one should not seek to hold entirely to the traditional plots about which tragedies are written.
καὶ γὰρ γελοῖον τοῦτο ζητεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ γνώριμα ὀλίγοις γνώριμά ἐστιν, ἀλλ’ ὅμως εὐφραίνει πάντας.
Indeed, to seek this is ridiculous, since even the well-known plots are well-known only to a few, but nevertheless delight everyone.
§9.9δῆλον οὖν ἐκ τούτων ὅτι τὸν ποιητὴν μᾶλλον τῶν μύθων εἶναι δεῖ ποιητὴν ἢ τῶν μέτρων, ὅσῳ ποιητὴς κατὰ τὴν μίμησίν ἐστιν, μιμεῖται δὲ τὰς πράξεις.
It is clear, then, from these facts that the poet must be a maker of plots rather than of verses, insofar as he is a poet by virtue of imitation, and he imitates actions.
§9.10κἂν ἄρα συμβῇ γενόμενα ποιεῖν, οὐθὲν ἧττον ποιητής ἐστι· τῶν γὰρ γενομένων ἔνια οὐδὲν κωλύει τοιαῦτα εἶναι οἷα ἂν εἰκὸς γενέσθαι, καθ’ ὃ ἐκεῖνος αὐτῶν ποιητής ἐστιν.
And even if it should happen that he writes about what has actually occurred, he is no less a poet; for nothing prevents some of the things that have happened from being of such a nature as might probably occur, and in respect of this, he is their maker.
§9.11τῶν δὲ ἁπλῶν μύθων καὶ πράξεων αἱ ἐπεισοδιώδεις εἰσὶν χείρισται·
Of simple plots and actions, the episodic are the worst.
λέγω δ’ ἐπεισοδιώδη μῦθον ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἐπεισόδια μετ’ ἄλληλα οὔτ’ εἰκὸς οὔτ’ ἀνάγκη εἶναι.
I call a plot "episodic" in which the episodes succeed one another without either probability or necessity.
§9.11bτοιαῦται δὲ ποιοῦνται ὑπὸ μὲν τῶν φαύλων ποιητῶν δι’ αὐτούς, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν διὰ τοὺς ὑποκριτάς· ἀγωνίσματα γὰρ ποιοῦντες καὶ παρὰ τὴν δύναμιν παρατείνοντες τὸν μῦθον πολλάκις διαστρέφειν ἀναγκάζονται τὸ ἐφεξῆς.
Such plays are composed by bad poets because of their own faults, and by good poets because of the actors; for in composing competition-pieces and stretching the plot beyond its capacity, they are often forced to distort the sequence of events.
§9.11cἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ μόνον τελείας ἐστὶ πράξεως ἡ μίμησις ἀλλὰ καὶ φοβερῶν καὶ ἐλεεινῶν, ταῦτα δὲ γίνεται καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν γένηται παρὰ τὴν δόξαν δι’ ἄλληλα· §9.12τὸ γὰρ θαυμαστὸν οὕτως ἕξει μᾶλλον ἢ εἰ ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου καὶ τῆς τύχης, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τύχης ταῦτα θαυμασιώτατα δοκεῖ ὅσα ὥσπερ ἐπίτηδες φαίνεται γεγονέναι, οἷον ὡς ὁ ἀνδριὰς ὁ τοῦ Μίτυος ἐν Ἄργει ἀπέκτεινεν τὸν αἴτιον τοῦ θανάτου τῷ Μίτυι, θεωροῦντι ἐμπεσών· ἔοικε γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐκ εἰκῇ γίνεσθαι·
Since the imitation is not only of a complete action, but also of things that are fearful and pitiful, and these arise especially when they occur contrary to expectation and yet because of one another; for the marvelous element will be more prominent in this way than if things happen spontaneously and by chance; since even of chance events, those seem most marvelous which appear to have happened as if on purpose—such as when the statue of Mitys at Argos killed the man who was responsible for Mitys' death, by falling upon him while he was looking at it; for such things do not seem to happen at random.
§9.13ὥστε ἀνάγκη τοὺς τοιούτους εἶναι καλλίους μύθους.
Consequently, plots of this kind must necessarily be better.