Imitation and Literature
Imitation is a foundational concept in the creation and study of literature. The fundamental assumptions embedded in imitation create a distinct and divisive method of perception. Imitation requires a basic belief in separation: appearance apart from reality, form apart from content. Literary works possess a dual existence, where the surface becomes most useful in its ability to reveal the substance contained within. Because the truth remains concealed, it can only be discerned or discovered through imitation. Thus imitation exists as an intermediary in a variety of artistic representations, each aspiring for an accurate depiction of meaning, perhaps even the basic truths of human existence. For Plato, however, art imitates a world that is already far removed from authentic reality, Truth, an inherently flawed copy of an already imperfect world. Art as an imitation is irrelevant to what is real. Many critics since Plato have attempted to reestablish the essential value of art by redefining or renegotiating the boundaries between imitation and authentic reality, between the text itself and meaning.
From ancient to more modern critics, art is defined, vilified, or redeemed by its ability to imitate. Aristotle values imitation as a natural process of humanity. Tragedy is simply a manifestation of the human desire to imitate. He asserts that every person "learns his lesson through imitation and we observe that all men find pleasure in imitations" (44). Unlike Plato's world of Forms, knowledge of truth and goodness are rooted in the observable universe to Aristotle. Because imitation strives to create accurate particularized images of the real world, it is a source for potential discovery and delight. Neoclassical criticism accepts as givens Aristotle's statements about the nature of art and reality. Art is valuable precisely because it is imitative. As Sir Philip Sydney states, "Poesy is an art of imitation...with this end, to teach and delight" (137). Imitation not only entertains, but gains a moral/ethical purpose: to teach virtue. Artists must, in addition to possessing great creative skills, also bear moral responsibility for shaping their imitations. Samuel Johnson seems to revisit Plato's attack upon art with his admission that an accurate imitation of morally questionable subject matter is not only unacceptable, but potentially harmful to those who encounter it. In order to accommodate a strong moral sense, Johnson describes imitation as a process of interpretation. "The business of a poet... is to examine, not the individual, but the species.
The book, “The Light in the Forest” is a book written by Conrad Richter. This book is about a young man named True Son. He was a young white boy that was captured by Indians. True Son was only four years old when he was captured, and eventually adopted as one of their own. True Son, at the time was way too young to fully understand what was going on. All’s True Son knew was that he had a family, an Indian family that loved him very much. To True Son, he was pure indian.
what the title of the book really meant to the story. Although I felt the ending
Arts criticism is the verbal or written discourse about works and/or movements of fine art. To develop this criticism, one would need to evaluate the work of art, and then make a judgment call about it. But what exactly makes for great arts criticism? Surely an amateur freshman just starting out an arts criticism class can’t facilitate a discussion about a work of art to the same caliber as experts such as Noël Carrol and Edith Wharton. Despite living nearly a century apart, both provide similar insights on what arts criticism entails and should accomplish. However, because Carrol specifically outlines the operations of criticism, as well as the importance of making a value judgment, his perspective on arts criticism is a stronger and more educational perspective than Wharton’s.
All in all, this novel is a good read, so long as the reader takes the time to think about everything that goes into it.
way that grasps the reader’s interest until the very end. The book did not address many
The first theory argues that art is an imitation of reality. The inability to represent reality flawlessly results in a piece of...
Some people think with a pen, some with a clay and many think using nothing. Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater are in the first classification. As it is obvious, nobody can control what they think and similarly, as they think with a pen, their ability of concealing their characteristics in those books are without no wonder poor. Oscar Wilde claimed in the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray that "to reveal art and to conceal the artist is the art's aim" but art inevitably reveals artist since it is the mirror of artist's unreachable depths. And ý assert that whatever ý give birth is my child and resembles me. Thus artists are all parents and their children resembles them. So in this paper, I will try to scrutinize these resemblances between the parents Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater with their children The Picture of Dorian Gray and other works of Oscar Wilde and Marius the Epicurean.
Imagine you have just moved to a new town and already everyone in the town dislikes your family. You have no clue why this is happening. Your parents are always busy so you’re forced to take care of your little brother. You live in a time where the men are only allowed to be smart and women have to act proper, always dress presentable and follow the rules. You and your father finally are becoming close and the next morning he’s found dead. The only way to solve this mystery is by a tree that’s hidden away. This book The Lie Tree, by Frances Hardinge falls under the genre of mystery.
Philosophers are often tempted to find out the hidden meanings behind the apparent reality. A lot of valuable contributions to that particular philosophical topic were made by Plato. Much of contemporary philosophy is still being based upon what he had left behind. Also, many other themes developed by philosophers can be related to Plato`s vision of reality and form. William Goulding in his essay, ‘Thinking as a Hobby’ assigns three grades to thinkers based on their understanding of the world and their perceptions of truth. The truth in Goulding`s (2004) writings can, conveniently, be related to the truth in Plato`s work, as the end meaning and the thematic vision is similar in nature. Goulding argues that detachment from the popular perception of reality and the ability to create new ideas takes an individual to the grade-one level of thinking, while blindly following the norms would be an attribute of grade-three thinkers. Similarly, in the ‘Allegory of the Cave’, Plato narrates that once a prisoner had been freed, he understands the reality behind the shadows.
Much of modern philosophy, and ironically, rhetoric, is based on the ideas of Plato’s focus. Metaphysically his main belief was the existence of the two worlds, the noumenal and the real world. Also known as the world of forms, the noumenal world is where spirit, absolute truth, and perfect form can be found. On the other hand, the real world, the realm of senses and man, is one of the imitations
For Walker the use of language is to do with an expression of self in
Mr. Berger states in his essay, “The reciprocal nature of vision is more fundamental than that of a spoken dialogue. And often dialogue is an attempt to verbalize this- an attempt to explain how, either metaphorically or literally, “you see things” (120). This statement is a use of the rhetorical strategy, ethos, which is what Mr. Berger uses to gain influence and trust with the academic audience that he is intending to instill new knowledge in. This is a strong use of ethos that leads into how art is viewed so
men lack as well as a connection to the dark and evil side of life.
film. It shows life as it really was for many people in and around the
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus defines beauty and the artist's comprehension of his/her own art. Stephen uses his esthetic theory with theories borrowed from St. Thomas Aquinas and Plato. The discourse can be broken down into three main sections: 1) A definitions of beauty and art. 2) The apprehension and qualifications of beauty. 3) The artist's view of his/her own work. I will explain how the first two sections of his esthetic theory relate to Stephen. Furthermore, I will argue that in the last section, Joyce is speaking of Stephen Dedalus and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as his art.