Republic

    Plato is the first major figure in the history of western philosophy. He is an idealist, moralist and a rationalist. He locates reality in what he calls ideas or forms rather than the world of appearance that we locate with our senses. Plato believes in the idea that is form which itself is formless but it is fixed. Idea is archetype and always remains the same. Reality can’t be found in the world of appearance but in the ideal world.

     The world that we perceive around us is the world of imitation or shadow of the idea or ideal world. When a poet imitates this world, his creation, obviously is twice removed from reality. Poets do not use their own rationality; they are inspired by the divine inspiration, so they are only forced to use their emotion. Further, more Plato stressed that the poets possess the madness and are not in control of themselves when they write. Poet’s creation caters (feeds) to the emotion and passion making people cowardice which ultimately will disrupt the order of the Republic. Literature for Plato is acceptable only if they produce courage, loves of goodness, faith, justice etc. But Homer has presented hatred, jealousy and lust, which exploit the readers rendering them towards corruption and coward.

    For Plato, poets are away from using their reason whereas philosophers use their reason to get the truth so they are closer to reality. For Plato art is an imitation of the world of phenomena which itself is an imitation of the world of Idea. Thus, it is an imitation of an imitation of what is already a photocopy. As he locates reality in the world of idea Plato says that art/ artist is twice removed from reality. Moreover for Plato artist is suspended from reason, or conceivably possessed by madness or not in the control of himself. Plato considers him dangerous to society and talks of poet’s banishment from his ideal republic.

    Poets according to Plato cannot be good teachers. The fault with them is that they attribute human qualities, behaviors and follies to gods and goddesses. In this way, they spot the unspotted essence of gods and thus threaten the well- being of a state by promoting disbelief in the Supreme Being of god. Thus Plato purposes a ban on the artist.

    Through Plato, separating form and content of poetry, emphasizes much on content or on the didactic and moral purposes, he does not totally dismiss the significance of poetry. His treatment towards the content of the poetry is like as Aristotle, when he says poetry should imitate the model virtue and noble action.

    Plato’s philosophy cause death to literature and this philosophy make Aristotle stands against him. If Plato’s disciple would not have stand in the against position of Plato, literature, art, poetry would have been died thousand years before.

Aristotle    Aristotle’s poetics is a reply to Plato’s Republic. Plato believes in two word but Aristotle believes in only one word, therefore he is monoist not a dualist for him it is nature that contains truth. He defines art is perfecting the imperfect nature. For him art is an imitation with beautification. Art is the imitation of object beautifying nature. No matter artist imitate but they make better world than what it is so artist is not merely imitator but also creator.Aristotle avoids the idea that the world of appearance is merely an ephemeral copy of the changeless ideas. Read More..

Plotinus    Plotinus, neo- platonic philosopher believes in two worlds, two part of the same world, one part is helpful to go to another world. Plotinus challenges Plato’s theory that art imitates nature and is thus twice removed from the essence or reality. He gives a higher position to art in his system. Plotinus believes that everything emanates from the one and strives to return to it. Read More...

Lodovico Castelvetro    Castelvetro is a good commentator on Aristotle’s poetics. In his treatment of the unity of time, his ideas are more rigid than Aristotle later followed by many neo- classical critics.Aristotle holds that the science, the art and history are not subject of poetry.But poetry resembles to history since history is divided in to subject matter and words so is with poetry. Read More...

John Dryden    John Dryden’s present essay “An essay on Dramatic Poesy” gives an explicit account of neo – classical theory of art in general. He defends the classical drama standing on the line of Aristotle saying it is an imitation of life, and reflects human nature clearly.He also discusses the three unities, rules that require a play take place in one place, during one day, and that it develops one single action or plot. Read More...

Thomas Love Peacock       The essay “The Four Ages of Poetry” exposes the deficiencies of modern poetry by positing the theory that in its development poetry passed through four ages: Age of Iron, Age of Gold, Age of Silver...Read More...

Oscar Wilde    Oscar Wilde believes that art does not copy life and nature rather constitutes its own world reality independent in to a new and perfect form. Therefore, art is not a mere copy of nature rather it is the creative force of humanity. Read More...

Emile Zola     Emile Zola is a French theorist and an advocator of naturalism; a scientific study of human nature, behaviour and psychology. Naturalism is an artistic movement emerged in the reaction of subjectivism of Romanticism. Naturalism uses the scientific criteria of observation and experimentation in writing and criticism. Read More...