What is the author's tone in Poetics by Aristotle?

Aristotle's tone throughout the Poetics is objective, as he attempts to use both reason, history, and tradition to make a case for the poetic theory he is presenting. However, while he is objective, he is also highly critical of almost all of the poets that he mentions. In fact, the only poet discussed at any length which does not receive some criticism is Homer. This could come across to some as an arrogant approach, since Aristotle, who himself is not a poet, seems to judge all other poets and places himself in a position over and above all of them. However, this may be a misleading inference; Aristotle gives great deference to the artistic conventions of his time, going so far as to say that tragedy has been perfected over time. This arrogant appearance may simply be a result of the fact that Aristotle tends to mention only examples which are at variance with his theory, and generally does not give a great many examples of poetry which he thinks are good.