Poetics /

This edition of Aristotle's Poetics and related fragmentary texts should be viewed with both gratitude and caution. Gratitude, because this fairly literal translation is accompanied by a clearly written introduction (which succinctly covers the principal themes of Platonic and Aristotelian aesthetics), a set of informative notes, and a useful glossary. Moreover, the supplementary texts which Janko translates here (some for the first time) are nowhere else available in such a convenient form. He also provides the most lucid account now available of the "purification" theory of catharsis. Caution is indicated, however, because of the highly controversial nature of Janko's belief--that he has reconstructed the "lost" second book of the Poetics. Moreover, Janko has not explained convincingly how excess and deficiency of pity and fear can be purified by tragedy into the proper mean of these emotions. Used with intelligence and caution, however, this work can benefit students at every level of sophistication in the study of the Poetics. L. Golden Florida State University