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Plato vs sidney views on poetry
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Plato (425-348 BCE) is the most ancient philosopher of all times and his existence is proven through his written works, with the Republic being one of them (Leckey lecture). (Plato is a widely recognized ancient philosopher due to his existence being documented throughout time by the means of his own written works.) In the Republic, Plato argues why poetry is detrimental to the people and how it does so. The effects that poetry has on people eventually forced Plato to exile all the poets from this ideally perfect city, the Republic. That means no poems and poets, whatsoever in this perfect city!
Plato exiled all the poets from the city because he claimed that the art that was being taught by the poets was misleading the people. He said that
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Poetry has the ability to excite emotions and influence the youth because it has the freedom of choosing to say whatever it wants and there are no limits to confine it. For words and phrases are able to persuade and convince the audience of what is being told to them. This applies especially with the youth:
“Don’t you know that the beginning is the most important part of every work and that this is especially so with anything young and tender? For at that stage it’s the most plastic, and each thing assimilates itself to the model whose stamp anyone whishes to give it.” (Plato, Republic, Book III).
This is exactly the reason why we shouldn’t swear in front or at young children. (Leckey lecture). For children, their mindset is like a clean, white sheet of paper and ideally, we are supposed to help them fill it up with wise and educating information, not some terrible ideas that is going to ruin them later on in life. However, for sculptures there is a set of laws that it has to abide by (Lessing pg.13). Since they have a limit of what can actually be put on a sculpture, this includes a limit to what the sculpture can deliver to the people; the meaning is restricted. On the polar opposite, there are no restrictions on what can be written in poetry and that is the problem that Plato is asserting. Due to poetry’s freedom of putting whatever it wants, the people will be confused and nonchalant of what they are saying because they might think that what they heard is just a joke and they go on and tell it to other people, but it can actually have severe consequences (Leckey
...of a chair is only an illusion to trick the viewer into thinking that their seeing an actual chair. Plato argues that this is not useful in society, since it is not truth. His argument is very narrow minded in that it only sees value in objects which have a concrete practical use. Whereas, a painters work doesn’t have a function other than to provide beauty which can enhance one’s life experience.
When one owns a valuable statue fashioned by a great artist, one becomes responsible for its security. So life-like it is that it may "run away and escape," jokes Plato, the point being that because fine statues are attractive to other people, their owners must take precautions against their loss by tying then down.
The poems make for a simple addition to the narrative and allows for a much more meaningful experience for a reader and makes for a much more engrossing story, thus adding to the experience as a whole.
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
To recall another relic of ancient Greece, Plato had strong opinions on artwork, even that which was created during his time. Plato believed tha...
value of form and thought can be seen throughout many of the works of art. Plato said that
(4) Plato, Crito, in: The Works of Plato, The Nottingham Society, New York, vol. III, p. 125-6. (the year of publication unknown).
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance,” –Aristotle
Plato. The Works of Plato. Trans. Irwin Edman. New York : The Modern Library, 1983.
Plato was a Greek philosopher whose ideas impacted the intellectual and cultural life of the Middle Ages. Christian, Jewish and Islamic scholars studied Plato although most had limited access to his works. Plato’s works were composed of dialogues, which are conversations between many characters that discussed the topics of justice, truth, love and knowledge. (Jordan. 1996)
Here, we will be looking at a rendition of the high marble statue of Augustus Caesar known as “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Originating from 1st Century A.D., it is said that there is a possibility that the original sculpture could have been of greek descent. Upon a general overview of the sculpture, one can see that Augustus fulfils a millitarial role of some kind. From his very stance to the garments portrayed on him, Augustus is draped in a decorative cuirass and a tunic, accompanied by a figure of Cupid clutching on to his right calf. After taking the general themes of the work into account, one can then began to start unraveling the many symbolic elements embedded into the sculpture that allude to godly themes. Starting from the crown of his head, the very chiselment and structure of his face gives the work a youthful element to it, even though some say that Augustus was around 40 years old. A recurring theme within Greek and Roman culture is the matter of godliness and immortality amongst idolized figures themselves. This idea is usually depicted by displaying powerful human being in a younger light. This
Plato and Sidney had some of the same ideas but yet different ideas for poetry at the same time. They may not have the same ideas because of the times that they each lived in. If you think about it, Plato’s time of living was 427-347 B.C. and Sidney lived in the 1500’s. Therefore, each philosopher had a different view of poetry and what it could possible do for their community. Neither one is right nor wrong but, if we, as people, took both of their perceptions to heart, we would probably live in a world that wasn’t so tainted and corruptive.
When reading or listening to poetry, the main objective for me is to feel moved. Happiness, longing, sadness are some of the feelings that can be achieved just by listening to others’ words. It is within these words that creates another world, or separates us from our own. Words all have a certain kind of attachment to them, so if used properly an author can stimulate a reader beyond belief.
First, Plato believed that ideas are the realist things in the world. What we see in our daily life is not reality; sense perceptions are only appearances. And appearances are unreliable material copies of the immaterial pure ideas. Thus to him the world of the ideas is reasonable and fixed and holds the truth. While the world of physical appearances is variable and irrational, and it only bears reality to the extent that it succeeds in capturing the idea. To live the best life that you can and to be happy and do good, as a person you have to strive to understand and imitate the ideas as best as you can. So, with this philosophy in mind we can understand why Plato considered art as just a mindless pleasure. He viewed art as just an imitation.
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.