A Terminological Commentary on the Poetics of Aristotle

• Applicant: Loren Marsh
• Subject Area: Greek and Latin Philology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 433709369

The purpose of this project is to develop a new theoretical understanding of Aristotle's unusual terminological practice, and then apply that understanding to the extensive terminological problems found in the Poetics. Since the Poetics is the most terminologically controversial of Aristotle's works, this short but dense treatise is ideally suited for a focused investigation of a range of crucial terms within a single field. The results of this investigation can be expected to produce a clearer – and in some respects profoundly different – understanding of Aristotle's theory of art and literature. But as the first study dedicated entirely to terminology in Aristotle, this analysis is expected to offer fresh insights into how terms found in all of his writings can be systematically identified, classified, explained and defined.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants