André Dacier's influential preface to his 1705 English translation of Aristotle's Art of Poetry stands as a landmark of Augustan literary criticism, and this scholarly edition restores it as a key historical document in the rise of neoclassical theory. Dacier's Poetics, first published in French in 1692, quickly shaped debates in England and France, earning the attention of Congreve, Rymer, Dryden, Blackmore, and Collier. Rather than inventing new doctrine, Dacier forcefully reaffirmed Aristotelian principles: poetic rules, moral instruction, the proper structure of tragedy, and the disciplined use of the chorus. The text argues that tragedy depends on true understanding of its art, not merely on emotional effect or fluent verse, and it warns—through Plato's image of the overconfident young poet—that craft requires study, practice, and rigorous application. Scholarly notes and citations trace the controversies surrounding Dacier's ideas and their place in the final, highly reasoned phase of French classical criticism. Presented within a reprint series devoted to rare seventeenth- and eighteenth-century works, this edition highlights the enduring importance of Dacier's thought in eighteenth-century literary theory. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.