Homer

Homer is, according to Aristotle, the model poet which all other poets should try to emulate. He is frequently mentioned throughout the book and whenever his poetry is mentioned it is always given as an example of the correct way of writing poetry. Even when Homer seems to defy the guidelines given for writing good poetry, Aristotle finds a way to excuse or explain away these deviations. For example, Aristotle condemns "episodic" poems—poems which have a number of unrelated scenes—as contrary to the concept of unity which is essential to good poetry. However, Homer has a number of episodes in the Odyssey and yet Aristotle excuses this by saying that they somehow form the unity of a single action. Homer is a kind of Greek hero: He is the preeminent poet and even philosophy—which, as Aristotle explains, is deeply involved in the...