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The subject of the Poetics is poetry, including epic poetry, tragedy and comedy. Unlike Plato, Aristotle regards poetry as a techne. The practice of poetry is governed by rules; these rules can be formulated and taught. Poetry is rationally com ....

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... mirror image of life. The most important of these formal requirements is unity. Taking tragedy as an example, the representation of the action of the play is the plot, and the plot is the ordered arrangement of the incidents. A well-constructed play must have a beginning, middle and an end. The plot must neither begin nor end in a haphazard way. The plot of the play must represent the action of the play as a unified whole. 'Incidents must be so arranged that if any of them is differently placed or taken away the effect of wholeness will be seriously disrupted.' (Poetics, ch 8). It is the historian who makes a copy or record of things ...