Aristotelian
means belonging to or derived from the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle
(384-322 BCE), the most important of all ancient philosophers in his influence
on medieval science and logic, and on literary theory since the renaissance.
In his Poetics, Aristotle saw poetry in terms of the imitation or mimesis
of human actions, and accordingly regarded the plot or mytlios as the
basic principle of coherence in any literary work, which must have a beginning,
a middle, and an end. Since the Renaissance, his name has been associated most
often with his concepts of tragic catharsis, anagnorisis, and
unity of action .