The Poetics of Aristotle sets out the essential nature of drama and the performing arts. “Poetics” is one half of Aristotle’s philosophy upon the subject of aesthetics – the other being his Rhetoric. Both books have been influential upon dramatists and students of fine arts, literature and philosophy for over two thousand years. Each chapter deals with a different element of drama and its composition, discussing the progress by which Greek society had come to define its written literature in the field of performance art in the period of Greek antiquity. As is typical for Aristotle, the work is detailed and thorough, discussing each element of dramatic performance and composition in turn.