Poetics

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For the book by Aristotle, see Poetics (Aristotle).

Poetics refers generally to the theory of literary discourse and specifically to the theory of poetry, although some speakers use the term so broadly as to denote the concept of "theory" itself.^[1] The word originated with Aristotle's Poetics, a work on the definition of poetry that laid the foundation for Western thought on the subject.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 See Also 3 External Links 4 References

[edit] History

Leading poetics scholar T.V.F. Brogan identifies three major movements in Western poetics over the past 3000 years, beginning with the formalist, objectivist Aristotelian tradition. During the romantic era, poetics tended toward expressionism and emphasized the perceiving subject. The 20th century witnessed a return to the Aristotelian paradigm, followed by trends toward metacriticality, or the establishment of a theory of poetics.^[1]

Eastern poetics developed primarily with reference to the lyric, as opposed to the mimetic.^[1]

[edit] See Also

• Literary theory
• History of poetry
• Meter (poetry)