Unit-1
Unit-1
Unit-1
CRITICISM
Structure
Objectives
Introduction
What Do We Mean By Classical Criticism?
1.2.1 Introduction to Plato and Aristotle
1.2.2 Plato's Main Ideas
1.2.3 Aristotle's Main Ideas
1.2.4 Concept of Dialogue
Oratory and Rhetoric /
1.3.1 ' The Beginnings
1.3.2 The Flowering
Poetry as Iaspiration
Myth
Three Styles of Poetry
Music as Integral to Literary Composition
1.7.1 The Monophonic Nature of Grsek Music
1.7.2 The Greek Musical Scales .
1.7.3 Emotions, Ethics and Musical Modes
The Concept of Mimesis
Let Us Sum Up
Questions
Glossary
Suggested Reading
1.0 OBJECTIVES
~ f t ereading
r this unit, hopefully you will
I
The difference between our culture that appreciates literature, and even the
performing arts through printed or electronically stored documentation and the
ancients (for whom a performance was hardly repeated the same way), is precis'ely
this: we can store a work of art and postpone our response to it. The ancients had
to-performand respond at the same time.
This resulted in a special aesthetics in which nearness between the
speaker/actor/poet/singerand hisher audience became crucial. Because of this
immediacy of communication in all ancient arts, whether poetry, music, or even
philosophical dialogue, a strong emotional response from the audience also
became inevitable. Emotions therefore, acquired a primary importance in all the
ancient literary concepts such as those of imitation (mimesis), inspiration, ethics
or pleasure (hedone).
When one thinks about the Greek art of imaginative creation, there are a couple of
concepts that are very different from our present day ideas. For the Greeks, the
Classical Criticism individual poet, playwright, dramatists, or musician was not supposed to make
hisher mark by novelty or individual style that departed from tradition in a big
way. The ancients liked new things but as a continuation of tradition and the
established norms. Also the ideas of the artists were not welcome if they were
. shocking or very individualistic in thought. The poet merely claimed that hisher
products were only transmitted by h i d e r . The credit of originality of creative
going to the Muses.
. Not only the inspiration to create came from the Muses, the creation of the artist
was also a copy of the world that had been created by a force much greater than
h i d e r . Theories of art for this reason believed the artist to be an imitator.
Mention has already been made of them earlier on but we shall look at this in
greater detail shen we analyse the ideas of Plato and Aristotle keeping the
concept of imitation in mind.
Another significant concern of the Greeks was the ethical value of art. Not only
must the poet, an imitative painter of this world created by the gods, acknowledge
hisher lower place, s h e must also ensure that whatever s h e produces is good and
useful. The ancients left room for innovation but not for experimentation of
doublful worth. There was no room for a philosophy that advocated art for art's
sake. Sometimes this \concern for social worth of art,led to a severe censure of
the artist as in the caseqf Plato who thought that no art can be good as, all of it
consists of unreality and untruth. Or, as in the case of Aristotle, it led to a
patronisation of theartist, because for Aristotle the artist brought us knowledge
and a deeper understanding of the world.
Last but not least, the capacity of art to please by emotional arousal was also a
demand on the poetic imagination. The emphasis in ancient times was not so such
on m m n g an a vehicle for ideology or social reform but more on its capacity to
Poetry and drama must please in a healthy way and provide an
emotional outlet from the daily state of tension. This aim of art as emotional cure
was best developed by Aristotle through his concept of catharsis. In the following
units we shall see how all these ideas combine to create the value system of
ancient literary criticism.
For Plato (429-397 B.C.), 'poiesis' or what we call literary theory or even
criticism was an imitation or, 'mimesis'. ('Poiesis' (GK) translates into poetry, in
English, but the focus of these two term is very different, for the Greeks lyric
poetry had a very small part to play as compared to the epic or drama. Plato and
Aristotle moreover theorised not about lyric poetry, but about tragedy and
comedy, about drama, so Richard Harland suggests the more appropriate use of
the terms literary theory/criticism for the Greek 'poiesis'). Plato called 'poiesis'
an imitation or 'mimesis' because he believed drama to be a reproduction of
something that is not really present, and is therefore a 'dramatisation of the
reproduction' (Richard Harland, p.6). What he means is that in a play or an epic,
what happens is this - the poet recreates an experience, the audience watch that
re-created experience, they are in fact encouraged to live through that experience .
as if they are physically within the time and space of that experience. Not only
this, Plato, also goes on distinguish between 'mimesis' and 'digenesis'.
"Mimesis' is the speech of a character directly reproduced,' whereas 'digenesis' is
'a narration of doings and sayings where 'the poet speaks in his own person and
does not try to turn our attention in another direction by pretending that soineone
else is speaking .' [Plato, quoted in Harland, p.7). With this distinction between
'mimesis' and 'digenesis', it is easy for us to discern that drama is entirely
'mimet~c', whereas epic is mi metic only where dialogue is reproduced rii t e%:!' t.
where the poet t r l l s (lie ~ [ O I, il I , di 'r I V . / $ C ' . I!] .iiurt, this is what larv
called ' s h c ~111~:' , 1 1 1 t i 'tcllii~g're:,pet>l~\.l; l1l*zi~however disapprt .
imitation, and i)1 tit~ln,ltiscdd~alogue.
But why did Plato disapprove of mimesis? Plato was a firm believer of the true
form. He believed in only the most red reality. He obiected to dramatised
Classical Criticism dialogue on the grounds that such dramatisation encouraged people to live lives
other than their own. Something, parents tell children even today regarding the
invasion of cable T.V. Plato was merely warning people against the danger of
aping roles blindly, he feared that the influence of mimesislimitation could be so
great that it could take over the minds and lives of young impressionable people
completely and become of primary importance. Plato was not comfortable with
the idea of grief caused by scenes of suffering in the plays. He assumed that a
temporary catharsis could infect the audience so strongly that they could become
emotionally uncontrollable.
His basic argument against mimesis was the fact that both drama and epic imitate
the world of perceptual appearances. For him, the only reality was that of
. abstractions. The poet in his eyes, imitated an appearance of the abstraction and a
playlan epic was hence a derivative of the derivative., hence thrice removed from
reality. 'They are images, not realities.' (Plato, Republic, p.67, quoted by R.
Harland p.9). While the rhetoricians never questioned society on philosophy,
Plato was the first serious thinker to question society along theoretical lines, all
this is clearly to be seen when one reads his Republic.
Continuing from Plato's thought processes and his theory, the Neo-Platonists of
the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. interpreted Plato's reality of abstractions to be
the Thoughts of God. These theorists seemed to imply that the artists as a whole
could perhaps bypass the world of sensory appearances and achieve direct access
to the true. Though they did not really contribute to 'poiesis' as such, their
interpretations paved the way for the claims of the poets as missionaries and the
poet's words as missionary wordsltruth.
Plato's works include the Republic, Ion, Cratylus, the Dialogues of Plato and
Phaedms among others. Plato has dealt at large with the notion of the poet as
divinely inspired in the Phaedrus, and has tafked about the place of the poet in a
good society in the Republic. In fact in Book I1 he discusses the education of the
good citizen, he also examines the nature of poetry and the value of imaginative
literature. Book X of the Republic discusses the nature of poetry at length. His
most important contribution to literary theory lies in the form of his objections to
'poiesis'. He presents this argument brilliantly with reference to a painter. As we
said earlier, Plato believed in true reality, in the ideal, in abstractions. For him
objects were nothing more than an imitation of the reality or the ideal, he felt that
an individual imitating an imitation would produce an imitative form that was
thrice removed from the ideal. Similarly, poetry for Plato did the same thing - it
was inferior because it was the imitation of an imitation.
His pupil Aristotle was to later examine the nature and differentiating qualities of
'poiesis' and to prove that 'poiesis' was true, serious and helpful, whereas Platb
had maintained that it was false, trivial and harmful, and that the poet should be
kept out of his republic.
Aristotle classifies the various genres of poetry, discusses their nature, the goals to
be followed, the appropriate effect of tragedy and then goes on to talk about the ,
type of tragic hero who could produce this effect. The description of the tragic
hero is to be found discussed at length in his Poetics. The appropriate type of
hero is 'a man remarkable for neither virtue nor vice, for neither justice nor
depravity, but a man whose fall is due to some error or weakness, some hamartia.'
[Ibid., ch 13,]. We can hereby conclude that according to Aristotle's theory, the
status of the character must fit in with the actions that are attributed to him, so as
to produce the desired emotion effect. Aristotle's discourse is all about the
establishing of set goals, and once that has been achieved, he imparts instructions
on how to achieve them. The two, Master and Pupil differ largely in their
perceptions and understanding of the notion of mimesis. Classical Criticism is
fairly objective, it is an "attempt at expressing infinite ideas and feelings in a finite
form, whereas romanticism is an attempt to express a kind of universal poetry in
the creation of which the [Friedrich Schlegel(1772-1829), qtd. J A Cuddon,
p.1231 poet made his own Laws." Romanticism is a response to classicism in
Romanticism, the individual or the subject is more important. It is easy enough
for us to see how this course itself has been structured in the form of a dialogue, as
/
Classical Criticism one movement is a response to another movement in the history of literary
criticism.
oratory
rhetoric
The most detailed treatise on the subject is by Aristotle, and is called the Rhetoric.
It is in three parts. He first puts forth the idea that the theory' of rhetorical
argument. It is distinct from the philosophical argument, then he goes on to deal
with the art of appealing to the emotions and prejudices of the audience and
finally with the subject of the style to be adopted. Aristotle's Rhetoric is the most
exhaustive text that not only gives an account of the style that an orator or a
rhetorician may employ, it is also the most detailed analysis of human emotions
found in antiquity. For Aristotle, it was very important to effectively carry
through one's argument relying not merely on logic but on the emotional
manipulation of the listeners. In ancient times the reaction to the speech was
required to be more or less immediate, hence the moulding of the mind during
communication was crucial. In the courts as well as in the political assemblies,
emotional appeals were decisive. Aristotle was clearly keeping in mind the
speaker, the logiographos and the stage actor.
Among the great practioners of the art, though not a composer of manuals on it,
was Demosthenes (384-322). Though of noble birth, rnistfortune struck him and
he was disinherited. Through his legal skills he not only recovered the family
property he had missed out on but also became a great speech writer, public figure
and military general.
The poet could, therefore, also produce poems-which were not quite rational or
seemingly true. Poetry could not always be explained empirically. It could be a
true tale or a false one and yet both were believed to be efficacious. The retention
of old myths which in later times seemed barbarous or unjust was thus justified as
poetic inspiration and licence. But opposed to this view was another school of
thought, the more empirical one, for which the flights of imagination were not to
cross the limits of observation. Very early in the literary criticism of the Hellenic
world, these two streams of thought became evident. The followers ofcone valued
inspiration and prophetic utterance, said, "the deceiver is wiser than the deceived".
Art was a meaningful deception which conveyed a knowledge which may not be
seemingly rational but has a logic of its own. In this way, they upheld the
irrational aspect of the myths, while others criticised them on grounds of moral
infirmity. The myths do not seem either good socid examples nor instructive.
The conduct of gods shows them in poor light. Plato was among the critics of
poetic inspiration. For him, the ancient myths did not fit the rational scheme of a
perfect republic nor of a political order. Even though his concept of the Forms is
rather mystical and not quite rational, he was suspicious of emotional fervour in
any form as he was convinced that it destroyedceason. His analytical disciple
Aristotle, on the contrary, conceded the educational and aesthetic worth of
emotion in art.
But the quarrel between poetry and philosophy was a continuing one. The
philosophers used language to investigate into the nature of thines, while the poet,
the orator and the rhetorician were aiming at creating an effect on the audience for
establishing emotional truth. Literary criticism hovered in between favouring the
w
poets sometimes and the philosophers at other.
-
1.5 MYTH
Myth is the core of all Greek poetry, drama, narrative, prose q d lyric. The Greek
word 'mythos' simply means story. But the kinds of stories that have been
preserved from the very start of racial and collective memory of the Greek culture
were already distant from the life of an ordinary Greek by the fifth century B.C.
In all cultures myths are narratives that have been preserved in racial memories
through ritual enactments on religious days or representations in sculpture,
pottery, temple walls, special seals, shields, vases, holy objects and all other kinds
of artifacts including toys. In poetry, plays, music they found the most explicit
statements.
There are various modem theories about what is the purpose of myths and what
practical utility they have in a culture. All these theories me ways of looking at
the history and literature (oral and written) of the non-European cultures such as
the African, native American and Asian, or ancient Mediterranean through the,
eyes of the the Euro-American nations that have lost their own myths and faith in
the religious cosmology of Christianity. In all these ways of making meaning out
of myths, a basic methodolgy is followed whereby all myths are reduced to a
symbolic way of representing a single idea.
In the Greek world, this preservation of the myths and their transmission was done
by poets, paean and dithyramb singers, dramatists, players of ancient harps called
kithars and rhapsodists. The last of these sang the epics in earlier times with
musical instruments and kept alive the ancient Homeric pronunciation till the
Alexandrian times. Their rendering brought them very close to theatre actors and
there is little doubt that their style influenced the singing of the chorus in Greek
theatre. Like all performing artists they kept alive the close connection between
poetry and music.
The study of mythology and its interpretation, or rather its attempted reduction to
philosophical message also came into vogue rather early. Heraklitos and
Palaiphatos are among the first mytho-analysts who thought that certain
philosophical ideas were perverted in the transmission of myths. The controversy
was part of the quarrel between poetry and philosophy, between creative truth and
the analytical mind. But the most significant aspect of myth employment for the
Hellenic people was its ritual use. It formed the basis of a large number of cults,
mysteries, hero-worships and the celebration of days sacred to the temple gods.
Artists, ancestors, medicine men and oracles were also elevated to the level of
demi-gods through the agency of myth. Thus it was the cause behind various
community actions of a wide range. It is not possible for us to appreciate the
value of myths in ancient Greek life if we think of them as stories used in theatre.
The emotional appeal of myths in theatre was based on their connection with the
daily life of rituals and religion.
The matter of style was largely dependent upon the audience targeted. Aristotle as
we shall discover in the later unit emphasised audience receptivity and the
manipulation of their emotions. Much of this theory rested in the Greek idea of
"leading the psyche" to be described in Unit 4.
composition today was nowhere to be found in ancient times. Poets, , ,,. ,> . i
dithyramb singers, actors, chorus singers, Kitharodes and rhapsodes either sar?g,
chanted or enunciated their words. Enunciations of verses in the speeches of
orators or parts of drama also employed the musical element. Thus, music and the
word were constantly united for any performance or public expression. It is
Clussical Criticism important, therefore, that the nature of the music of antiquity in terms of its
generic shape, scales and theories of relationship to emotions is properly
understood by us today.
Before the innovation of European polyphony only the monophonic line was
recognized as the base for constructing patterns of notes. A large number of
instruments or voices followed the same line. The musical score of Greek classical
theatre has hardly survived except for a single fragment revealing a line from
~ u i p e d e s Oresteia.
' And so, we are virtually without any evidence, and are
dependent upon a few passages of the writers who just refer to it in passing
(Pickard-Cambridge 257). But the records on Greek musical grammar have
survived and it can be presumed safely that even though what is available to us
today was put down on paper centuries later by Aristoxenus (a disciple of
Aristotle) it was more or less the same system as was practised by the Greek
dramatists of the fifth century B.C.
Among the many puzzles of the ancient musical system is the position of the
tonic. Its position in a System or the harmoniai is difficult to ascertain today. In a
given mode change of tonic from one note to another would have changed the
melody. We cannot be sure today if such modulation was practised. Another
puzzle is the existence of seven note scale or heptachordon which was also called
harmoniai, as is mentioned by Aristoxenus. Perhaps Plato was referring to the
heptaehordon harmoniai tradition which for him had names such as Ionian and
Syntonolydian and which are not to be found in the list of Aristoxenus.
Aristotle made the observation that rhythms and melodies very clearly represent
emotions like anger, softness, temperance and all their opposites emotions
(Politics V (viii) 5. 1340a 18 qtd. Butcherl29). He went on to clarify that musical
tunes even without words have the power to change the ethical nature of man
(Problems xix 27.929b qtd Butcher 131). Regarding the harmoniai and their
association to specific emotions there is no description in the works of later
musicologists like Aristoxenus but in the opinion of Plato, melodies such as the
the Dorian melody scale is manly and heroic, and the Phyrgian melody scale is
ecstatic. Scales like the Mixolydian and the Syntonolydian, he felt were
mournful, and Lydian and Ionian scales were fit for revelry. On the whole there
seems to have been three categories of the harmonai or the musical scales, namely
the Lydian, Phrygian and Dorian for the pathetic, ecstatic and heroic feelings
I respectively, and the mixed forms such as the Ionian scale and the Mixolydian
scale were ramifications of the first, the Hypophrygian of the second and
Hypodorian of the third.
On the two major views of Plato and Aristotle, we shall expound them in the Units
2, 3 and 4. They are not given here to avoid repetition.
The Greeks had examined these questions very early and hence their ideas,
particularly of Plato and Aristotle, are the starting point of this debate.
1.10 QUESTIONS
1. How did the quarrel between poetry and philosophy develop in classical
criticism?
3. How does music combine with use of words conceptually and practically
in
ancient literature?
1.11 GLOSSARY
Aristophanes ( about 457- 385 B.C.)
The most famous composer of plays of the period called Old Attic Comedy. He
was highly skilled in parody and satire which he pushed to the limits of fantasy
made dramatically very convincing. He was democratic in thought but supported
rather traditional values of life suitable to the common man. He satirised famous
personalities of his times like Cleon, Socrates, Aeschylus and Euripides. Of the
thirty two plays he is said to have written, only eleven survive. His earliest works'
Banqueteers and Babylonians (427-6 B.C.)are lost. Achamians, Knights, Clouds,
Wasps, Birds, Lysistrata, Plutus, Frogs, Ecclesiazusae (425 - 392 B.C.) are among
the great surviving ones.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C. )
Aristotle was the son of a well known medical practioner, Nicomachus who came
from the Asklepian tradition located in Macedonia. At the age of seventeen,
Aristotle became a student of Plato. After Plato was succeded by Speusippus, he
left the Academy along with Xenocrates to form a study circle in the island of
Assos and stayed there till 345 B.C., and then moved to Mytilene in Lesbos
where he researched deeply in zoology. In 342 B.C., he was invited by Phillipos
of Macedonia to tutor his son Alexander but after three years he returned to
Athens.
In Athens, he established his school near the Mt. Lykavitos with a big covered
courtyard (peripatos) by the name of which his philosophy came to be known. A
wide variety of research, funded by Alexander and others, was conducted by his
many brilliant disciples under his guidance. Aristoxenus researched on music,
Theophrastus on botany, Meno on medicine, Eudemus on mathematics. Likewise,
many histories in cosomology, phyiscs, astronomy and theology were complied at
his academy. After the death of Alexander, he was asked to leave Athens in 323
B.C. Aristotle went to Chalcis where he died of a stomach disease within a year.
His early works in dialogue form are mostly lost and so are the data base
manuscripts of much of his scientific research. The dialogues now lost were
modelled on Plato's and were perhaps called On Rhetoric, On Soul, On
~ h i l o s o ~ hOn
~ ;Metaphysics and the like. Known from other ancient references,
the lost works include Pithiioicai ( accounts of victors at Pythian games),
Nomima (tract on barbaric customs), Politeia ( constitutions of the Greek states),
and Didascaliai (reords of Athenian drama events).
Of what the subsequent ages found most useful and have therefore better survived,
the prominent works are.Analytics, Physics, De Aniima , Metaphysics, Nichomian
Ethics, Politics, Rhetoric and Poetics (fragment). Aristotle was a great classifier
and more of an empiricist but less a revelatory thinker as compared to Plato.
Aristoxenus
Philosopher and musical theorist, a student of Aristotle. He wrote many works
dealing with the lives of Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. He is a major source of
information on ancient performing arts.
Catharsis
Catharsis (Gk Katharsis, 'purgation') Aristotle uses the word in his definition of
tragedy in chapter VI of Poetics. 'Tragedy through pity and fear effects a
purgation of such emotions'. In this sense, it would imply that tragedy, having
aroused powerful feelings in the spectator, has also a therapeutic effect; after the
storm and climax there comes a sense of release from tension, of calm.
Dithyramb .
Initially a song in the rituals of Dionysus which according to Archiolochos was
brought from Corinth to Athens. Later it developed into a choral genre for which
competitions were held.
Dorian
Believed to be the last of the invaders from Northern Greece who overpowered
the Mycaeneans in around 1000 B.C. They occupied the regions of Argos,
Sicyon, Megara etc., and then moved down to Crete.
Hesiod
Believed to be prefer as old as Homer, his Theogonia is an account of the conflict
between the Olympian gods and their predecessors. His other important
composition called Works and Days gives rules of social conduct, the concept of
five ages, and homely advice for good living.
Longinus
The name or perhaps the pen-name of an author who composed a literary treatise
called On the Sublime (Peri Ipsous). This incomplete, yet very influential work
emphasises the literary theory that grandeur and sublimity are hollow without the
impact of emotions.
Muses
The Greek goddesses of music, literature, poetry, painting, tragedy, comedy hnd
philosophy and other branches of art were categorised into nine by Hesiod. They
were said to be the daughters of Zeus and Memosyne, and are represented as
heavenly dancers often led in performance by Apollo. The cult of the Muses was
prevalent all over Greece from early Homeric days till late Roman times.
Philosophers and artists of all kinds considered them their patron goddesses and
hence source of inspiration.
Paean
Originally composed as a song of praise to Apollo or other gods, the paean was
sung on social occasions, war treaties and other felicitations. It was often sung in
unision led by experts. *
A large number of worksin Greek and Lkin are attributed to him, 227 accarding
to the ancient list of Lamprias. In medieval times a collectim of his minor works
was compiled and called Ethica (Moralia). There is a sizable corpus of spurious
material that has got mixed with his writings but is of great significance
nonetheless. His rhetodcal works include de gloria Athniensium, of the moral
works de superstitione is significant, the well known dialogues are Amatorius and
de Pythia oraculis, and the philosophic works are Quaestioness Platonicae and in
Timaeo. The best known works are the Lives of Ceasars.
Plutarch had a great influence on the Byzantine scholars down to late medieval
times.
Quintilian
Born in about A.D. 30, he was educated by the orator Domitius Afer, he became a
rhetorician receiving huge amounts from the aristocracy for the lessons he gave
them in advocacy, rhetoric and literature. He wrote in Latin asserting its value in
the face of Greek. His major work, Institutio Oratoria is a mine of information on
the art and education of orators during the Roman era.
18
Features of Classical
Criticism
Rhapsodes
Professional reciters of poetry, particularly of the epics of Homer. They played the
kithara while singing and in that case, were called kitharodes. They rendered the
text with great emotion reflected in their voice and song. Till a very late date,
they preserved the archaic pronunciation of their texts.
Thucydides
The historian general who wrote about the Peloponessian Wars fought between
(431-404 B.C.) Athens and Sparta in eight volumes. While these wars coincide
with the great flowering of theatre in Athens and other city-states, they also
weakened the Hellenic civilization by discouraging democratic governments and
encouraging military hegemony. Thucydides belonged to a well to do family
from Thrace. His account of the wars is regarded as the most authentic and
exhuastive one. Thucydides is also remebered as a fine stylists of Greek prose.
Secondary Reading
Beardsley, Monroe C. Aesthetics From Classicial Greece to the Present :a Short
History. Alabama : U of Alabama P,1932.
Frankel, Hermann Early Greek Poetry and Philosophy :A history of Greek epic,
lyric, and prose to middle of the country. Trans. By Moses Hades and James
Wilis. New York: A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book. Harcourt Brace Novanovich.
I
Orians, R.B. The Origins of European Thought. Cambridge: University Press,
1951.
Objectives
Introduction
Platonic View of Mimesis
2.2.1 Theory of the Forms
2.2.2 The Lower Status of Art
Plato's Definition of Truth
Platonic Idea of Social Well Being
Let Us Sum Up
Questions
Glossary
Suggested Reading
2.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit we shall aim to find out
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The easiest thing is to imagine Plato as an enemy of art because he viewed art
products of all kinds, whether poetry, theatre or painting as inferior copies of the
ultimate reality. But it should be borne in mind that Plato's primary aim was not
to evaluate the worth of aesthetic pleasure but to point out that representation
through art was inferior to the ultimate mth. His concerns were not artististic but
philosophical. As we have pointed out in unit 1, he was suspicious of emqtional
arousal of any kind and of the use of words made to establish emotional truth to
sway audiences. His views on poetry or "poesis" (making) and "mimesis"
(imitation) both reflect the urge to know the truth beyond words.
In his Republic, he has given us a picture of what a perfectly governed state
should be and how that state can be created by educating young men and women.
The rulers and the helpers of the Platonic Utopia, are not mere administrators or
military strategists. More than statesmen, they are philosophers who have a deep
understanding of the true nature of things. The ideal state, hence, is ruled by
'
philosophers who have received the right type of education according to his
ideals. In this educational system, Plato maintained that there was no room for the I
teaching of poetry and drama as these were neither healthy for the creation of a
strong moral character needed in an administrator nor did they provide any
knowledge of the world.
t
Most poetry of the contemporary Greek curriculum, Homer in particular, was
I
unsuitable as it showed gods and heroes with moral infirmities and sometimes '
even savagery. Such examples were not conducive to the formation of a worthy .
character. Also as most of this poetry was sung to the lyre in those times, Plato
pointed out that only those melodic scales should be used which inculcate heroism I
and courage. Likewise, enacting plays was harmful because in acting a pefson I
gave up his own demeanour and adopted the behaviour of another character often I
not very praiseworthy. Plato thus empathised with the others. For Plato, the veiy
purpose of art, was disruptive to the unswerving concentration of a guardian or a
citizen of his Utopia.
'
1