poetica

Poetics, or poetica in some languages, denotes the study and theory of poetry and, more broadly, of literary composition. The term derives from Greek poietikos, meaning “creative” or “making,” and poiein, “to make.” In its scholarly sense, poetics analyzes how poems and other forms of writing are produced, how they work, and how readers experience them.

In antiquity, Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest surviving systematic account of literary theory. It treats poetry as mimesis, or imitation, and identifies the central aims and elements of tragedy: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle. Aristotle argues that a well-structured plot and coherent action generate emotional effect, and he analyzes how form, language, and performance contribute to the audience's experience; his framework has influenced Western poetics for centuries.

Over the centuries, poetics expanded beyond Greek theory. Medieval and Renaissance writers reflected on the moral and aesthetic purposes of poetry and on how form serves meaning. In the modern era, poetics became interdisciplinary, linking literary criticism with linguistics, philosophy, and cognitive science. Formalist and structuralist approaches emphasize form and devices, while narratology studies narrative perspective and time; later thinkers such as Bakhtin highlighted dialogism and the social context of language.

Today, poetics encompasses both the craft of composing poetry and the critical study of form, genre, and effect. It informs teaching, criticism, and experimental practice, and its scope includes prose, drama, and other narrative arts as well as verse. The term appears in university curricula and in titles of books and journals, such as Poética in Spanish-language contexts. See also aesthetics, rhetoric, and literary theory.