L’IMMAGINE DEL NON-FINITO: RIFLESSIONI SULL’INCOMPIUTEZZA DA PLATONE AL TRATTATO SUL SUBLIME

Abstract

This paper illustrates some aspects of the reflections relating to the ‘unfinished’ by ancient Greek literary
critics, taking into account three major steps: the considerations made by Plato and Aristotle and the further
elaborations of the concept in the treatise On the Sublime. There is a file rouge, which links the descriptions
and reflections on the unfinished in the works of such different authors: the constant parallel between the
realm of the figurative arts and the realm of literary texts and discourses, which are analysed for their ‘uncompletedness’.
Apart from this aspect, the unfinished does not receive a coherent and stable elaboration,
but it is a concept that is considered in multifarious ways: Plato takes it into account in relationship with
the structure and style of his dialogues, as well as with the coherence of the philosophical system; Aristotle
considers it mainly as an important component in the classification of the literary genres; and, in the treatise
On the Sublime, it becomes a decisive element to observe the role it has in the literary works that reach the
“sublime”, as well as to test the effectiveness of various types of discourses and texts in front of different
audiences.