Poetics refers generally to the theory of literary forms and
literary discourse. It may refer specifically to the theory of
poetry, although some speakers use the term so broadly as to
denote the concept of "theory" itself. Scholar T. V. F. Brogan
identifies three major movements in Western poetics over the
past 3,000 years, beginning with the formalist, objectivist
Aristotelian tradition. During the romantic era, poetics tended
toward expressionism and emphasized the perceiving subject. The
20th century witnessed a return to the Aristotelian paradigm,
followed by trends toward metacriticality, or the establishment
of a theory of poetics. See also  - List of basic poetry topics
- Figure of speech - Stylistic device - Rhetorical device -
Meter (poetry) - Musical form - Symbolist poetry - Literary
theory - History of poetry - Poetics and Linguistics Association
Notes and references  - Gérard Genette Essays In Aesthetics,
Volume 4 p.14 quuotation: My program then was named "Theory of
Literary Forms" — a title th