Plato’s Attack on Poetry

PoetryIn order to understand Platos attack on verse we have to take in consideration the political and social scope of Athens at that time. It was the context where Plato devoted all his efforts to uplift the clean condition of the individuals and the well being of the state. The aim of his literary criticism was to school the youth and form them into good citizens of his ideal state. It was the age of political worsen and the moral and educational model of the citizens were in a poor state.The epics of homing pigeon were very much rooted in every sphere of the society, and the squ atomic number 18 up of the poets on the society was too deep. Plato being a philosopher, to prove the transcendency of the philosophy, he impishly attacked rime. Apart from poetry he criticized every some some other form of arts. Platos concepts on art were base son his possibility of Ideas. He believed that ideas argon the ultimate reality. The ideas of everything are the original pattern an d the things are the copies. So he viewed all forms of art as merely copies of copy, double moved from reality.Things itself being imperfect and copies of the ideas, their reproduction in art moldiness be more imperfect. He believed that the works of art takes man out from reality rather than leading to it. It neither helped to mould the character nor to publicize the well being of the state. These were the basic principles underlined behind Platos critics on arts in general. Plato criticizes poetry in several of his dialogues, beginning with Apology, his first work, and polish with Laws, his last. Platos critics on poetry are basically forethoughted of both standards. The first concern was for the good of the individual and the state.Based on this standard he finds in poetry more to condemn it than approve. Same interchangeable his concepts about the other types of arts, his concepts about poetry also was under severe critic due to its unrealistic nature and its incapacity to be magna cum laude to the society and individual. He severely condemned the incapacity of the art forms to get in to the roots/ reality and being concerned with only the twice distant reality. This was the first standard he economic consumptiond to condemn the poetry and other art forms in general. He attacked poetry on four suitmoral, emotional, intellectual and utilitarian.Poetic inspirationPoets does not write what he has purview to say, but because he is inspired. It means they do not compose the numbers based on some truth and solid ground, but based on some impulses and non rational kind coming from supernatural source. A choppy outpouring of the individual based on the sudden impulse of the arcsecond does not be based on reason. Hence their pronouncements are unreliable and uncertain. They are not invulnerable guides and it cannot be followed, it also cannot make the individuals a better citizens and the state a better organization.There might be some truth in t hem, for they are divinely inspired, but much(prenominal) partial and imperfect truths must be carefully examined. Such truths cannot use as substitute for noesis based on reason. As the poems are based on the divinely inspired and completely based on inspiration, sometimes the poets themselves cannot explain what they write. Another aspect of poetry which he criticizes is, the fictitious or blind reliance on the passionate elements of the soul. He Plato divides the soul into three parts (1) rational, (2) spirited, (3) appetitive. The imitation of the non rational part of the soul leave behind give grater pleasure.The poets and the other artists imitates this baser, non rational part of the soul, and it leads them to away from reality and reason and become merely indulged in emotional outburst. The poets will be embarrassed in their real life of the emotional over pouring which takes roam during their poetic or other artistic performances. He condemns poetry in Republic X, for the poets, they feed and water the passions kind of of drying them up, and let them rule instead of ruling them as they ought to be ruled, with a view to the happiness and virtue of mankind.Based on all these ideas he strongly condemned poetry and argued that poetry cannot take the place of philosophy. The emotional appeal of poetry Platos other charge against poetry is its appeal to the emotion. Being a product of inspiration, it personal effects emotion rather than reason, the heart rather than intellect. Emotions being just impulses deal the poetic inspiration it cannot be trusted and act as safe guide as reason. The poetry at the time of Plato was tragic, in which the weeping and wailing were indulged to move the hearts of the spectators. He says in the republic for f we let our ingest sense of pity grow strong by feeding upon the griefs of others, it is not easy to restrain it in the case of our own sufferings. Non moral character. Platos another criticism against poetry is its lack of concern with morality. Poetry (and drama) is not conducive to social morality as poets procurer to the popular taste and narrate tales of mans pleasant vices. Poets tell lies about gods. Gods and their phonation heroes are represented as corrupt, immoral and dishonest in the epics of the poets (especially of Homer). This mar public taste and morality.Children tend to imitate the doings of gods and other heroes as told to them by their mothers, they fashion their own conduct on what they read. It also distraint him to see virtue often coming to grief in the literature esteemed in his days epics of Homer, narrative verse of Hesiod and tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides. He says in republic they give us to understand that many evil livers are happy and many righteous men unhappy. Plato attacks poetry on intellectual grounds as well poets have no knowledge of truth, for they imitate appearances and not the truth of things, illusions instead of reality.Poets, simi lar painters, imitate the turn out of things. Beyond the world of the senses there is another world, the world of ideal reality, where concepts, like truth, virtue, beauty, etc. , exist in an ideal form. Poetry is the product of vain ignorance. The poet who imitates without really knowing what he is imitating is demonstrating both his lack of useful answer and his lack of knowledge. At last Plato says that no poetry should be admitted provided hymns to the gods and panegyrics on famous men. The poets may be honoured, but they must be banished from his ideal state.