3 Review(s)

About the Book:This small book about Aristotle’s Poetics is a treasure trove of knowledge about western aesthetics. Poetics today refers to the general theory of literature. Modern critics of the Russian Formalism, Prague School and Structuralism appeal for a science of literature which identifies the general properties for making good literature possible. Aristotle’s Poetics provides a great guidance in this regard.This book has four chapters: (1) Aristotle’s Life and Works, (2) Aristotle’s Poetics: The Text, (3) Aristotle’s Poetics: An Interpretation, and (4) The History of Reception. The book ends with biographical notes and a select bibliography. People will enjoy reading this book for higher aesthetics in literature. Indeed, R. A. Scott-James observes, “In turning to the Poetics, after reading Plato or any earlier writer, we find ourselves transported suddenly to a familiar world — it might be that of our own time.”About the Author:Dr. Mallikarjun Patil is an English writer and critic. Now he is the Professor and Chairman, Dept. of English, Karnatak University, Dharwad. His three novels When the Ground Shakes Beneath (2008), A Don in the Jungle (2008) and Under the Mango Tree (2009) are well received. This is India and Other Stories (2010) and Scenes from India (2013) are his major books of short fiction. He is known for his England’s trip and his Indian travels in the Himalayas and North-East India.Dr. Patil did his research on Hardy and has published critical works on him. His studies in British Literature, American Literature, African American Literature, Indian English Literature and World Classics are most useful for both students and scholars. Patil has published critical works on Dickens, Hardy, Lawrence, Conrad, Kipling, Poe, Hemingway, Faulkner, Melville, Kafka, Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. Patil got a fellowship and did a Summer Course in English literature at Oxford. His England’s account In Shakespeare’s England…. (2007) is a masterpiece. Most of his English novels are translated and published into Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati and Panjabi. Under the Mango Tree is getting into German now. What more its Kannada version is being staged and filmed. He has translated books for Central Sahitya Academi, New Delhi. This book on Aristotle’s Poetics is just one of his several books for our higher understanding of literature.