Augusto Boal (1931-2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist and political activist. He is the author of Theatre of the Oppressed (Pluto Press, 2019).

Preface to the 2008 edition

Preface to the 2000 edition - The Unruly Protagonist

Preface to the 1974 edition

1. Aristotle's Coercive System of Tragedy

Introduction

Art Imitates Nature

What is the Meaning of 'Imitation'?

What, then, is the Purpose of Art and Science?

Major Arts and Minor Arts

What does Tragedy Imitate?

What is Happiness?

And What is Virtue?

Necessary Characteristics of Virtue

The Degrees of Virtue

What is Justice?

In What Sense can Theatre Function as an Instrument for Purifi cation and Intimidation?

The Ultimate Aim of Tragedy

A Short Glossary of Simple Words

How Aristotle's Coercive System of Tragedy Functions

Different Types of Confl ict: Hamartia and Social Ethos

Conclusion

2. Machiavelli and the Poetics of Virtù

The Feudal Abstraction

The Bourgeois Concretion

Machiavelli and Mandragola

Modern Reductions of Virtù

3. Hegel and Brecht: The Character as Subject or the Character as Object?

The 'Epic' Concept

Types of Poetry in Hegel

Characteristics of Dramatic Poetry, Still According to Hegel

Freedom of the Character-Subject

A Word Poorly Chosen

Does Thought Determine Being (or Vice Versa)?

Can Man be Changed?

Confl ict of Wills or Contradiction of Needs?

Empathy or What? Emotion or Reason?

Catharsis and Repose, or Knowledge and Action?

How to Interpret the New Works?

The Rest Does Not Count: They Are Minor Formal Differences Between the Three Genres

Empathy or Osmosis

4. Poetics of the Oppressed

Experiments with the People's Theatre in Peru

Conclusion: 'Spectator', a Bad Word!

5. Development of the Arena Theatre of São Paulo

Need for the 'Joker'

Goals of the 'Joker'

Structures of the 'Joker'

Appendices

Notes

Index