How long does it take to read Poetics?

About 2 h 08 min at 238 words per minute, assuming 275 words per page. At 30 minutes a day that is 5 days.

How many words is Poetics?

Roughly 31,000 words, estimated from the median page count at 275 words per page. Open Library does not record word counts, so this is an estimate.

Book · by Aristotle · first published 1913

How many pages is Poetics?

Poetics by Aristotle has a median of 111 pages across 83 English-language print editions with a recorded page count; the middle half of editions run 95 to 121 pages.

Median pages

111

83 editions counted

Range

55–235

shortest to longest edition

Reading time

2.1h

at 238 wpm (non-fiction average)

Words (est.)

31k

at 275 words per page

How long will Poetics take you?

Starts at the non-fiction average of 238 words per minute and 275 words per page. Move the slider to your own speed.

Reading speed 238 wpm

Page density

Reading time

2 h 08 min

At 30 min a day

5 days

At 1 hour a day

3 days

Page count of every edition, by year

Each dot is one English-language print edition. Shaded: middle half of editions. Line: median.

Open Library edition records (2026-09-30 dump).

Pages by format

Hardcover, paperback and mass-market editions are typeset differently, so the same text can run to more or fewer pages.

Format	Median pages	Editions	Reading time
Hardcover	116	5	2 h 14 min
Paperback	116	7	2 h 14 min

Editions counted

The 83 editions behind the figures above, newest first. 51 more editions were set aside because the page count was less than half or more than 2.2 times the median, which usually means an abridged text, an omnibus, or a typing error. Open Library lists 252 editions of this work in all languages and formats.

Year	Publisher	Format	Pages	Open Library
2006	IndyPublish	Paperback	116	OL8538678M
2006	Focus Pub./R. Pullins Co.	–	73	OL24895021M
2006	Dodo Press	Paperback	60	OL8408317M
2006	IndyPublish	Hardcover	116	OL8538676M
2005	Kessinger Publishing	Paperback	132	OL8460114M
2005	Digireads.com	Paperback	80	OL8490163M
2005	Kessinger Publishing, LLC	Hardcover	132	OL8545014M
2005	IndyPublish.com	Hardcover	116	OL9576552M
2005	IndyPublish.com	Paperback	116	OL11825947M
2004	BookSurge Classics	Paperback	94	OL12435169M
2004	IndyPublish.com	Paperback	116	OL11754501M
2004	IndyPublish.com	Hardcover	116	OL9373916M
2002	St. Augustine's Press	–	105	OL22467899M
2001	Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen	–	55	OL3753279M
2000	Hill and Wang	–	118	OL16321711M
1997	Dover Publications	–	60	OL1007237M
1997	McGill-Queen's University Press	–	186	OL3542810M
1997	Penguin Classics	–	144	OL7355365M
1996	Penguin Books	–	61	OL745073M
1993	Oxford University Press, USA	–	96	OL7396594M
1992	Prometheus Books	–	67	OL1728955M
1990	Peripatetic Press	–	168	OL2224842M
1987	University of North Carolina Press	–	197	OL2387215M
1987	Duckworth	–	197	OL18998983M
1987	Hackett Pub. Co.	–	235	OL2385891M
1985	University Press of America	–	172	OL3028523M
1982	Norton	–	115	OL4272585M
1976	The Clarendon Press	–	95	OL23314745M
1970	H. Regnery Co.	–	172	OL18496594M
1970	University of North Carolina Press	–	70	OL15149813M
1967	University of North Carolina Press	–	70	OL18082078M
1967	University of Michigan Press	–	124	OL20888185M
1967	Clarendon Press	–	95	OL19897639M
1967	University of Michigan Press	–	124	OL22238479M
1967	Cornell University Press	–	100	OL16526892M
1967	University of Michigan Press	–	124	OL22638859M
1966	The Clarendon Press	–	82	OL22899193M
1963	Dent	–	208	OL14361661M
1963	Dent	–	208	OL16236384M
1962	Hill and Wang	–	118	OL15411583M
1961	H. Regnery Co.	–	172	OL5813283M
1961	Hill and Wang	–	118	OL5820818M
1961	Hill and Wang	–	118	OL21155123M
1961	H. Regnery Co.	–	172	OL22112879M
1961	Henry Regnery	–	172	OL24933789M
1958	Liberal Arts Press	–	110	OL6251704M
1958	Prentice Hall College Div	–	142	OL7265891M
1958	Liberal Arts Press	–	110	OL15411735M
1958	Bobbs-Merrill	–	110	OL20234531M
1953	Cambridge University Press	Hardcover	102	OL7715421M
1947	Cornell University Press	–	100	OL15411708M
1947	Cornell University Press	–	100	OL23826945M
1942	North Carolina University Press	–	70	OL20137620M
1942	University of North Carolina Press	–	70	OL6438692M
1940	Clarendon Press	–	82	OL14739337M
1940	H. Regnery	–	102	OL16538310M
1940	O.U.P.	–	82	OL17274644M
1938	The Clarendon Press	–	95	OL6435377M
1932	Société d'Édition Les Belles Lettres	–	146	OL16744451M
1929	Macmillan	–	111	OL22361780M
1929	Clarendon Press	–	95	OL18178503M
1922	Macmillan	–	111	OL7037970M
1920	Oxford University Press	–	95	OL22331175M
1920	Clarendon Press	–	95	OL7043702M
1920	Clarendon press	–	95	OL13585239M
1913	Harcourt, Brace	–	101	OL23375265M
1913	Ginn and Company	–	101	OL13581234M
1913	Harcourt, Brace	–	101	OL15411689M
1911	Macmillan	–	111	OL15411574M
1911	Macmillan	–	111	OL16672005M
1909	Clarendon Press	–	95	OL24356432M
1909	Clarendon Press	–	95	OL15411655M
1907	Macmillan & Co., Ltd	–	111	OL13663411M
1907	Macmillan	–	111	OL18390734M
1902	Macmillan	–	111	OL16765517M
1898	Macmillan	–	111	OL16800771M
1898	Macmillan	–	111	OL19516258M
1898	Macmillan	–	111	OL24658318M
1898	Macmillan	–	111	OL19897604M
1895	Macmillan	–	105	OL7183497M
1819	Printed for G. & W.B. Whittaker	–	75	OL7114335M
1788	J. Stockdale	–	202	OL20561706M
1775	Printed for J. Dodsley ... and Messrs. Richardson and Urquha	–	107	OL840887M

More by Aristotle

All 4 books by Aristotle with page counts

Questions

How many pages is Poetics?: About 111 pages: that is the median of 83 English-language print editions on Open Library. Editions range from 55 to 235 pages.
How long does it take to read Poetics?: About 2 h 08 min at 238 words per minute, assuming 275 words per page. At 30 minutes a day that is 5 days.
How many words is Poetics?: Roughly 31,000 words, estimated from the median page count at 275 words per page. Open Library does not record word counts, so this is an estimate.

Data: Open Library monthly data dumps (works, editions, authors, reading log, ratings) (Open Library / Internet Archive); How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate (Marc Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language 109 (2019)).