Plato and Aristotle on poetry /

This volume, issued posthumously and edited with care and devotion by Peter Burian, represents Gerald Else's final judgments on the literary theories of Plato and Aristotle. It is to Else that we owe the reopening of the debate on Aristotle's controversial doctrine of catharsis and other important theoretical principles. In this work Else revisits and modifies some of his earlier controversial positions. Scholars who were not previously persuaded by his views will probably not be now converted. Else's paramount scholarly contribution was his daring and astute attack on dead (and deadly) traditions rather than his own interpretive suggestions. Else's treatment here of Platonic aesthetics is the best now available. His detailed review of the principal themes in Aristotle's Poetics provides a concise and intelligent study of the major issues in that work. This imaginative and provocative book deserves wide reading even though a number of its innovative conclusions may not be persuasive. Recommended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.-L. Golden, Florida State University