Here is the essential guide for the student of the brief and puzzling Poetics, whether reading the Poetics on its own account as an Aristotelian treatise, or as the earliest work on those problems, about tragedy especially, that are still discussed in literary theory.'

British Book News

A splendid work of scholarship and analysis ... in Halliwell's book, the Poetics has acquired a brilliant new interpretation

Times Literary Supplement

Stephen Halliwell's Aristotle's Poetics is, quite simply, the best book available on that difficult work. With a rare combination of literary subtlety and philosophical insight, Halliwell demonstrates convincingly that the Poetics must be read in the context of Aristotle's ethical and social thought. Again and again, he shows how this approach enriches our understanding of the text. ... This is a work of fundamental importance for anyone pursuing the study of ancient literature and literary theory.

Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago