The Rhetoric and Poetics of Aristotle

This superb edition contains two of Aristotle's greatest writings in authoritative translations. The Rhetoric is translated by Cambridge scholar John Henry Freese, and The Poetics is translated by Oxford scholar of classics Ingram Bywater. Aristotle's legendary treatise on speech explains and instructs on the powers of oratory to move and persuade people. Composed amid the popular Greek culture, in which aspiring and reigning politicians would perfect the oratorical arts to influence voting and their subjects, Rhetoric is a summation of an art whose poignancy and power could change the face of an entire society. The Poetics of Aristotle sets out the essential nature of drama and the performing arts. Each chapter deals with a different element of drama and its composition, discussing the process by which Greek society had come to define its written literature.