Mode is the way in which an artist imitates an object. For example, in epic poetry, the mode of imitation is narration; however, in tragedy, the mode of imitation is actors on a stage. According to Aristotle, imitations differ only in their medium, object, or mode of imitation.
Mode Quotes in Poetics
The Poetics quotes below are all either spoken by Mode or refer to Mode. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
Epic poetry and the composition of tragedy, as well as comedy and the arts of dithyrambic poetry and (for the most part) of music for pipe or lyre, are all (taken together) imitations. They can be differentiated from each other in three respects: in respect of their different media of imitation, or different objects, or a different mode (i.e. a different manner).
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Chapter 4
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So tragedy as a whole necessarily has six component parts, which determine the tragedy’s quality. The medium of imitation comprises two parts, the mode one, and object three; and there is nothing apart from these.
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Mode Term Timeline in Poetics
The timeline below shows where the term Mode appears in Poetics. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2. Poetry as a Species of Imitation
...Aristotle says, but they differ from each other in three ways: their medium, object, and/or mode of imitation.
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2.3 Mode. The last difference among imitations is the mode in which artists imitate an object. An object can be imitated through narration, or an...
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