USMAN ANNAM

F2019150029

LITERARY CRITICISM

MADAM ANUM RASHID

MA BATCH

PLATOS ATTACK ON POETRY AND ARISTOTLES REPLY

Plato was a phenomenal poet and a critic simultaneously. He was from Greece and one can be
astonished to read him and his poetry and his philosophy was to a very great extent was
pioneered by him. Infect he was the teacher of Aristotle who is by the way considered if not
best was an equal to plato. His famous works are republic ion and others.

Well I would now start wit the topic that would be centered around these great two
philosophers. I would start off with plato. We are discussing the fact why he rejected and
attacked poetry and said that poetry is not a part of literature. and art. Plato was more
inclined and supported the idea and he conveyed that literature is a piece of art but poetry is
not contained in the same category. He has a number of objections in this regard and say that
poetry is not original and pure in its formations. Plato believes that poetry is not part of
literature and hence stands misfit to be called an art. Furthermore art has to do a lot with the
theory of ideas and hence consider ideas to be ultimate reality. When something is copied it
loses its spirit .

Plato was a formidable opponent of poetry, and he supports his

argument on the basis of three points. Which he has played to express his sentiments of hatred
for poetry. They are written as follows

1) Poetic Inspiration
2) Emotional Element
3) Deficiency of morals in the character.

This source is normally not such that can be explained actually

all good points are extracted and such feelings can be translated in into good poetry,
now where does it come from, it comes through a lot of experience of reading and and
this art cannot be learned through reading or writing , an obvious example of that is of
Shakespeare Milton Spenser frost or Tennyson . Who taught them . He was of the
opinion that texts shouldn’t be imitation and by imitation I mean that when you try to
mimic or copy a text that text loses its eligibility of being called a text that has divorced
itself from reality and that is what is not acceptable. But if we go deeper in the concept
both agree and so it looks that instead to one it is the imitation of vulgar world versus
the imitation of real world

Secondly Plato was of the opinion that emotions should not

reside in the imaginative vicinity of a rational philosopher. As a matter of fact criticism
on these scholars was a way to overpower an opposing argument of a fellow scholar. To
many a scholar emotion is related with weak and meager things and is never encourage
able plato so we can analyses that he farther says that to making appeals is
disrespectful from the act of reasoning and also his masculinity was challenged and so
he said that it is unworthy of men to be emotional . lastly I would say that at the time of
homer he and other of his friends made fun go gods and for that plato harbored a
strange sort of harshness for poets . so plato called the characters of such plays to be
frivolous and it was outrageous for plato

Plato on the other hand thought that poetry is not included with piece of art and he
says that poetry is not creative. And so he wrote optics in which and conveyed his idea
about truth .

Aristotle calls poetry more philosophical than history. And also

said that catharsis is the subtraction of unhealthy feelings which can pollute the heart to
such magnitude that you experience a sudden relaxation just like an obligation settled
and thus these sentiments are adjusted accordingly so this would give a relief as so to be
cleaned up or purified

Aristotle calls poetry was more philosophical than history. And

also said that catharsis is the subtraction of unhealthy feelings which can pollute the
heart to such magnitude that you experience a sudden relaxation just like an obligation
settled and thus these sentiments are adjusted accordingly so this would give a relief as
so to be cleaned up or purified. Aristotle was of the view that poetry even has a
contribution in not allowing it to get into the the jeopardy of extinction. Poetry
examines human action , it may examine the reasons of any event in both legal issues
and tragedy and hence we can find moral choice in these issues.
 Aristotle also defends his argument by combining the effects
of poetry in trey and ethics too he created a relationship of tragedy between law in
order to focus and nurture a a bonding between two factors fear and pity. These are
those two emotions that make you a better human because these two feelings arouse in
your heart if you are yourself not selfish corrupt and this is the concept of purgation of
your thoughts starts you are then able to purify your emotions and then your feelings
and emotions reaches the stage of purgation . this is known as catharsis. And so
Aristotle believes that mimesis is called a process or a sort of chemical equation where a
poet unifies elements of arranging and constructing and editing a text. Oedipus red was
also an example of cathartic experience so that shows that Aristotle tried to measure
human action and reasoning. Even Hegel said that poetry is art of speech and also that
poetry is of ideas . it give speech and color as a painter or a sculpture modifies its
painting sculpture or like a mission through the intermixing of tunes so Aristotle was
praised also by others but words count restrict me to go any furthermore

Lastly I would say that all these poets and philosophers only
portray a difference of opinion whereby they argue but that is just a scholarly argument
so we can not say that one was wrong another right it is just a difference in perception
difference it is just how they come to a point.