# Quote — Aristotle, Poetics

> A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language ... not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.

- Author: [Aristotle](https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle.md)
- Book: [Poetics](https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/poetics.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aristotle#Poetics) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Topics: [art](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/art.md), [literature](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/literature.md)
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/poetics/a-tragedy-then

## More from this book

> Poetry demands a man with a special gift for it, or else one with a touch of madness in him.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/poetics/poetry-demands-a-man.md)

> Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/poetics/poetry-is-finer.md)

> But the greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. This alone cannot be imparted by another; it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/aristotle/poetics/but-the-greatest.md)

Topics: [poetry](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/poetry.md), [talent](https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/talent.md)