Lecture 3

There is no genre of literature that we have today that the Greeks didn't develop.

Plato’s Critique of Poetry

Extremely influential and extremely misunderstood

Plato’s most important contributions to criticism appear in his famous dialogue the Republic

Plato makes the very important distinction between Mimesis and Diagesis

Diagesis = telling / Mimesis = showing

Plato was the first to explain that narration or story telling

This is Plato’s famous decision in Book X of the Republic to ban poets and poetry from the city.

the poetry that Plato talks about and bans is different from the poetry and art that Europe and the West have.

Plato does not use the words “literature” or “art.” He uses the word “poetry.”

Plato accuses the poetic experience of his time of conditioning the citizens to imitate and repeat, uncritically, the values of a tradition without grasping it

 The citizens, Plato says, are trained to imitate passively

Plato blames the traditional education given to the youth

Plato analyses two aspects of poetry to prove his point: style(form) and content

Style: Plato observes that the charm of poetry and its power reside in its rhythm, harmony, and measures. These are what he calls the ‘colours’ of poetry.