Plato's Literary Criticism PDF

Literary Criticism  Literary Criticism Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of works of literature. Literary criticism can broaden a reader's understanding of an author's work by summarizing, interpreting, and exploring its value. Literature...

Literary Criticism  Literary Criticism Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of works of literature. Literary criticism can broaden a reader's understanding of an author's work by summarizing, interpreting, and exploring its value. Literature can be enjoyed in two ways. A layman enjoys it carelessly but he gets a vague and confused impression out of that book. On the other hand a trained man studies literature in a methodical manner. He gets maximum enjoyment out of that book. First of all the trained man makes a thorough study of the work of art. In the light of his examination, he declares whether it is good or bad, enjoyable or unenjoyable. This mode of enjoyment is known as criticism and a critic is an ideal reader. Thus, criticism is born out of questioning. Its approach is that of science. Intellectual freedom is necessary for the development of criticism. There are three different kinds of criticism. They are Legislative criticism, Aesthetic criticism and Descriptive criticism. Main types of Criticism Legislative criticism lays down rules for the art of writing, based on the best works of Greek and Latin literature. The Elizabethan criticism in England and a large part of eighteenth century criticism belong to legislative criticism. Aesthetic criticism treats literature as an art, independent activity of the mind. It is a part of aesthetics concerned with critically judging beauty and ugliness, tastefulness and tastelessness, style and fashion, meaning and quality of design—and issues of human sentiment and affect (the evoking of pleasure and pain, likes and dislikes). Descriptive criticism is a study of individual works of writers, of their aims, methods and effects. Descriptive criticism is the latest of the three criticisms and the most popular. Among the earliest examples are Ben Johnson's Conversations with Drummond and John Dryden's prefaces.  Other Types  Historical-biographical criticism- It examines literature through the perspective of the author's historical context. This approach assumes that the significance of a particular piece of literature is inextricably linked to its historical context. For example, historical-biographical critics evaluate Shakespeare's work within the context of English literature, history, and culture during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.  Moral-philosophical criticism- It approaches literature based on its ethical merits. Moral-philosophical critics evaluate literary works based on the moral statements and judgments the characters and author express throughout the literary text. Sociological criticism evaluates literature based on its relationship to society. The sociological criticism method examines the author's status in their society as well as the effect that the literary work had on its audience within the society. One form of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism, which examines how a specific work of literature affirms or rejects oppression within class systems. Phychoanalytic criticism- This form of literary criticism examines literature based on the psychological desires and neuroses of the characters within a particular piece of literature. Psychoanalytic critics believe that an author's unconscious thoughts are expressed through their work.  Beginning Aristophanes was the first writer who applied his mind to a critical study of literature. In his comedy titled The Frogs, he discussed the relative merits of Aeschylus and Euripedes. Aristophanes discusses the relative importance of craftsmanship, morality and the choice of language in a work of art. Plato(428 CA- 347 BC)  Plato’s Time Plato is a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato talks about some big ideas, like how he didn't like democracy (which was the way Athens was governed) and how he had some issues with the teachers and poets in Athens. Now, to really understand what Plato is saying in his dialogues, you need to know about the political and social context of Athens at that time. In other words, you can't fully get what Plato is talking about if you don't know what was going on in Athens back then. So, in simple terms, Plato's ideas are connected to the world he lived in, especially his thoughts on democracy and the people who educated and wrote poetry in Athens. To really understand what he meant, you need to know about the time he lived in. He criticizes how Athens, the city he lived in, was practicing democracy during a time of war. He uses a fictional city called th e "diseased city" to show what Athens was doing wrong. Socrates, a philosopher, tries to fix the problems in this fictional city, and it reflects what was happening in Athens. The Peloponnesian War was a war fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta—the two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece at the time (431 to 405 B.C.E.). This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta, making Sparta the most powerful city -state in the region, resulted in Athens’ defeat and the temporary overthrow of Athenian democracy which, for many, was ultimately responsible for the failure at war. His works such as Republic is dedicated to a fierce criticism of Athenian poets and their mythologies - why would a book about justice dedicate so much attention to art? For a book ostensibly about politics, why spend so much time talking about education?  Reasons Influence of Art on Society: Plato believed that art, including poetry and storytelling, had a profound influence on the minds and values of people in society. He thought that the stories and myths portrayed in art could shape people's beliefs, emotions, and behavior. So, in his quest for an ideal and just society, Plato wanted to address what he saw as problematic or corrupting elements in art because he believed that they could negatively impact the moral and ethical development of citizens. Education's Role in Shaping Virtue: Plato thought that education played a crucial role in shaping the character and virtues of individuals. In his ideal society, he envisioned a carefully designed educational system that aimed to produce virtuous and morally upright citizens. He believed that by critiquing the way educators approached teaching and storytelling, he could better illustrate his vision of how education should work to instill values aligned with justice and the common good. Connection Between Art and Politics: Plato saw a strong connection between art and politics. He believed that the stories and ideas presented in art had the power to influence political beliefs and actions. By addressing the influence of art in the Republic, Plato was indirectly addressing its impact on the political life of the city- state. He wanted to ensure that art didn't undermine the goals of justice and the ideal society he was proposing. The School Of Athens ( Raphael,1511) Plato was the most celebrated disciple of Socrates. During Plato's time, the glory of art and literature was on the wane and philosophy and oratory began to flourish and Socrates was the greatest of the philosophers. At the same time the national character and the standards of social and public life were declined. The rulers were corrupted and people lost moral values. So the philosophers began to discuss why there is decline in moral values. They applied the test of reason to each problem of the state. Philosophical investigation was the chief interest of Plato. His great work is called the DIALOGUES because subject is discussed in question answer form by a number of interlocutors and Socrates was chief among them. There are several such dialogues. They are Ion, Cratilus, Protagoras, Georgias, Symposium, Republic, Phaedrus, Philabus and Laws, apology.  Theory of Ideas In Republic, Plato says that Ideas are the ultimate reality (truth). Things are first conceived as ideas before they are shaped into things. This is known as Plato's Theory of Ideas. All the things in the world are mere images or copies of ideas. The idea of everything is its original pattern. Original is far better than its copy. A tree is a copy and idea is its original. So a tree is once removed from reality. So tree is an imperfect copy of its original. The reproduction of tree in art and literature is more imperfect or twice removed from reality. Therefore the productions of art and literature cannot shape the character of the individual or promote the wellbeing of the state. They take men away from reality. This is the reason for the decline of moral values in society. The familiar world of objects which surrounds us, and which we apprehend by our senses, is not independent and self-sufficient. Indeed it is not the real world (even though the objects in it exist) because it is dependent upon another world, the realm of pure Forms or ideas, which can be apprehended only by reason and not by our bodily sense perceptions. Connection b/w the two realms Plato says that the qualities of any object in the physical world are derived from the ideal Forms of those qualities. For example, an object in the physical world is beautiful because it partakes of the ideal Form of Beauty which exists in the higher realm. And so with Tallness, Equality, or Goodness, which Plato sees as the highest of the Forms. Plato even characterizes entire objects as having their essence in the ideal Forms; hence a bed in the physical world is an imperfect copy of the ideal bed in the world of Forms.  His view on Art As literature is an art, like painting, sculpture, and others, what Plato thought of art in general deserves the first consideration. It is intimately bound up with what is called his Theory of Ideas. Ideas, he says in The Republic, are the ultimate reality. Things are conceived as ideas before they take practical shape as things. A tree, thus, is nothing more than a concrete embodiment of its image in idea. The idea of everything therefore is its original pattern, and the thing itself its copy. As the copy ever fall short of the original, it is once removed from reality. Now art-literature, painting, sculpture-reproduces but things 'as near pass time", the first in words, the next in colours, and the last in stone. So it merely copies a copy. It is twice removed from reality. Things themselves being imperfect copies of the ideas from which they spring, their reproduction in art must be more imperfect still. They take us away from reality rather than towards it. Since art serves no useful purpose in society, Plato views art as useless. Art added neither knowledge nor intellectual value. Art is essentially deceptive and potentially dangerous. The whole aim of art is to deceive. Success is achieved when the spectator mistakes an imitation of reality. Art is unconcerned with morality, sometimes even teaching immoral lessons as in the case of The Iliad. Plato banished poetry and poets from his ideal republic. Plato's judgement of poetry is based on the twin standards. Reproductions of poetry are twice removed from reality. So it cannot mould the character of the individual and promote the welfare of the state.  Poetic Inspiration Plato says that the poet does not think deeply. Instead, he writes poem out of sudden emotional inspiration. It is not based on reason. So his words cannot be trusted. Poetry does not go deep into the root of things. He attacks poetry and poets for following reasons:  Poetry is twice removed from reality and it makes men believe in the imperfection.  The poet writes a poem not because he thought for a long time but because he is inspired suddenly. This suddenness cannot be truthful. Poetry contains profound truth but poetry fails in the test of reason. It cannot take the place of philosophy and it cannot make better citizen.  Poetry affects the emotions and not the reason. It appeals to the heart and not to the intellect. Emotions are temporary and they cannot be safe guides to men. Poetry is non-moral in character. It treats both virtue and vice alike. It does not teach moral to the readers. It corrupts human beings.  His views on Poetry He is of the view that philosophy is better than poetry because philosopher deals with idea/ truth, whereas poet deals with what appears to him illusion. Plato's three main objections to poetry are that poetry is not ethical, philosophical and pragmatic, in other words, he objected to poetry from the point of view of Education, from Philosophical point of view and from Moral point of view. Poetry has no organic unity and decorum. It is immoral Poets tell lies about Gods. Poet composes poetry only when he is inspired by the muse which means that he is not a safe guide. He depends on an inspiration which is beyond his control. Plato regards poetry as a product of an inferior part of the soul. Poetry affects emotions rather than reason, the heart rather than the intellect. A poet is a good artist only when he is a good teacher.  His Views on Drama According to Plato, Drama is a branch of poetry. Drama is different from poetry in the following ways:  Drama is to be staged. It approval and disapproval depends upon the audience. To convince the audience dramatists use some cheap techniques like quarrels, lamentations, thunder and sounds of animals. These techniques are a shame in our normal life. Such plays should be censored.  Audience while watching characters who are cowards, knaves and criminals tend to become one such character. They lose their individuality. Such characters must not be there in a play. A play should have good characters.  Plato is against the pleasure a tragedy and comedy gives. Tragedy offers pleasure to the audience. Human beings are full of feelings like anger, fear, grief, etc., when they are in excess there is pleasure.  In comedy, people laugh when a coward act like a brave man or when a criminal acts like an honest man. These characters are not to be laughed at but they should be pitied. A comic character must be lovable. Allegory Of the Cave ( Book VII) The physical world is in the form of a cave, in which the humans are trapped from the beginning of life, where we are stationary and cannot move our heads, so we perceive only shadows and sounds. Without reason, one of us is released and is encouraged to travel upward to the entrance of the cave. Then he is pulled to the entrance of the cave, where the light is hurting his eyes that are accustomed to the dark. The world of daylight represents the realm of Ideas. His eyes grow accustomed to the light and he can look up to the sun, and understand what the ultimate source of light and life is. This gradual process is a metaphor of education, and enlightenment. The enlightened person now has a moral responsibility to the unfortunate people, still in the cave, to rescue them and bring them into the light.  Book X: Republic He rejects any form of art and concludes that such artists have no place in the just city. Artists create things but they are only different copies of the idea of the original. The final book (book X) of the Republic is important because the “idea of twiced removed from reality” comes from it. It was Alfred North Whitehead, a distinguished 20th century mathematician and philosopher, who said “All of Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato”. Academy