Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
247 global ratings
5 star
73%
4 star
14%
3 star
7%
2 star
2%
1 star
4%
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review this product

Customer images

Customer image
Customer image
See all customer images
Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Manjari
1.0 out of 5 stars It's a photocopy of the original!
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
The book is nothing but a poor quality hard cover with someone else's markings etc (photocopied too) Even the print of it is poor quality.. Definitely not worth $22. Although the content is in public domain and they are just making photocopies and selling it for this price, the quality of the book overall is poor!
Read more
review image
MattMerk
2.0 out of 5 stars I really should have known better...
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
I read the author's intro before getting the book and immediately saw the translator wasn't a big fan of paragraphs. The guy must have a vendetta. Big long tracts of text with very few paragraph pauses make this a real slog. There are much better translations out there.
Read more
Knife G
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent But Needs thought
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2013
Verified Purchase
I read this book in an effort to enhance my personal hobby of script writing. If I recall correctly, I read somehwere that this is an important book regarding proper plot structure. Having read the book I believe this to be true. It touches upon tragedy, epics, comedies, plot, character, reasoning among other things.
Granted, this was written at a time when theater and poetry were the thing (LEDs were not in fashion at the time). And when taken in that context, the book makes a lot of sense. I have since found the structure to be in many movies I have watched over the years. It has added significant value to how I am developing characters in my stories and the stories themselves.
This is not a definitive guide. Story telling has eveolved throughout the ages. But, knowing the evolution helps write better. Or at least it does for me.
As with the writings of all philosophers (and I personally like Aristotle), the text is meant to be studied. It is NOT a step by step guide. You read a little and think a lot. Happy reading!
Read more
Michael Broudo
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Background to the Development of Western Literature
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
This review refers to the "Penguin Classics" edition with an introduction by Malcolm Health: This book was often referred to by both my high school and college literature teachers although it has taken me an additional +20 years to actually read the book. I am glad I did. I think those interested in western literature or aesthetics will find Poetic's to be an essential read as it provides the initial codification of concepts such as tragedy, comedy, plot, unity, character, and katharsis. Malcolm Heath's introduction is absolutely essential and is worth the price of the book alone.
Read more
S.F. Monteiro
4.0 out of 5 stars Too short
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2020
Verified Purchase
The introduction is longer than the content of the actual text. Still a must have for Aristotle fans.
Read more
Leigh Wyatt Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Malcolm Heath translation and annotation of Aristotle's Poetics (Penguin)
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2014
Verified Purchase
The Penguin Aristotle editions are probably the best available for nonspecialists with limited or no classical Greek. The long and detailed introduction is worth the cost of this book alone; and the translation itself is scrupulous and scrupulously annotated with detailed notes and references to historical contexts and Aristotle's other writings. (The H.C. Lawson-Tancred translation and annotation of Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric is another outstanding example.) I have read the Poetics in various translations for over forty years. This is by far the best translation for conveying, as nearly as possible, what Aristotle actually wrote and, even more importantly, the historical and literary contexts in which he wrote and the consequent inferences his first Greek readers would have been expected to make based on what they knew. It's also a very readable translation (no small feat with Aristotle, who can be made very tough going in English by translators more interested in showing off their erudition than assisting readers). This is the translation to buy for students or casual readers making their first attempt at Aristotle, or by more seasoned readers who have been confused or discouraged by enigmatic translations without notes. This is also an economically priced translation, a much better buy than the cheaper, unannotated translations.
Read more
Pencilpress
1.0 out of 5 stars Buy a Different Edition
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
This edition's pages appear to be photostats including the notes and underlining of some former student. Expensive for this poor level of quality.
Read more
review image
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars THE text for creative writers
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
this is THE foundation text for all creative writers, not just screen writers! I'm glad to have it as part of my permanent collection, where I can turn to it again and again for inspiration.
Read more
See all reviews

Top reviews from other countries

Ms. Fiona Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars the classic text
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
Anyone studying literature or drama in particular needs to have read this book. It is the ultimate reference work for serious students, and the language is so straightforward and clear that it reads as if it were a contemporary work, and not the millennia-old masterpiece that it really is.
Read more
gary mckenzie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
An absolute must-read for anyone interested in storytelling. THE must-read book for writers.
Speedy delivery. Aristotle was a genius
Read more
Paul Stevens
5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry in motion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
You see this is where my addiction to text books gets me. It looks learned on my study bookshelf though.
Read more
Noufallina
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
I’m very pleased with what I received.
Read more
Grace R.
4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
I just wanted this for context on Aristotelian Tragedy. It was definitely helpful, and it's interesting to read. The notes provided by the translator are very useful and he includes ideas from some of Aristotle's other works. I was glad of this since Poetics actually doesn't include much about Katharsis, that whole section appears to have been lost.
Read more
See all reviews