BBL 3103 LITERARY THEORY FROM PLATO TO T. S. ELIOT DR. IDA BAIZURA BAHAR

GREEK CRITICISM: ARISTOTLE Philosopher Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Born: 384 BC, Stagira Died: 322 BC, Chalcis Full name: Aristotle Education: Platonic Academy (367 BC–347 BC)

01 M ISCELLANEOUS i. About A student of Plato Aristotle was the first scientific literary critic Most of his literary criticism is contained in his Poetics

01 M ISCELLANEOUS 02 Poetics i. About All poetry begins as satire or epic The satiric then becomes comedy, and the epic/heroic tragedy Accordingly, the principles valid for judgment of satire are also to an extent valid for comedy; the principles for the epic are valid for tragedy Unlike Plato, who arrived at philosophical truths by way of dialectics (dialogue), Aristotle uses as his starting point existing evidence, i.e: Greek poetry In this way, Aristotle is scientific : analyses facts to arrive at generalisations Poetry is studied in relation to man: first attempt at a psychological analysis of lit

03 U NITY i. The Organic Poem A poem is like a living organism, where every part serves the whole Every poem thus has to have unity (or correspond to the Three Unities: time, place, action ) Aristotle is chiefly concerned with the unity of action This unity is contained within the plot (see ‘tragic plot’ below) All actions within the play must serve the effect aimed at by the author  even complex plays with multiple incidents (or in a way, storylines) must be linked causally

03 U NITY ii. The Aim of Poetry In the end, the aim of a play is to give its audience refined pleasure Refined pleasure is inherently moral  morality is therefore incidental iii. Catharsis Pleasure is brought about by catharsis (a release) If tragedy reflects life, the viewer is able to, in a way, act out his emotional responses indirectly Emotions: pity and fear

04 T RAGEDY i. Definition The imitation of an action in beautiful language which results in a catharsis of pity and fear ii. The Tragic Plot Must have a sequential beginning, middle and end Must be long enough to allow action to develop Must be short enough to stop the action from being diluted Aristotle divides plot into two kinds: simple and complex > simple: without peripety and/or discovery > complex: with peripety and/or discovery > peripety: change in the fortunes of the hero  discovery: the hero’s progression from ignorance to knowledge

04 T RAGEDY iii. The Tragic Hero/Characters Characters must be good, appropriate, lifelike, and consistent Evil characters may be introduced, but they must serve the function of the plot All characters, good or evil, must: > Reflect character types in real life > Must be consistent with their rank/station/profession etc. The ideal tragic hero is neither wholly good nor wholly bad > leans towards ‘good’ more than he does ‘bad’ > falls from a position of eminence, not because he is evil, but because of hamartia : an error of judgment

05 I MITATION i. About All art is imitation; only differs in object, medium and manner of imitation ii. Poetry Poetry imitates imaginatively Aspires towards the universal, not the particular > an attempt to attain a higher truth, one greater than that afforded by Nature Poetry is not about a particular individual, nor strictly about human nature as we know it, but the potentialities that human nature can express

05 I MITATION iii. Imaginative reality In the case of a fictional world, or a fictional series of events, there must still be unity Poetry must be believable > the details of that fictional world must be inherently logical, and the events inherently sequential  ‘suspension of disbelief’ iv. The Improbable Material improbability : improbability of facts Irrationality : logical or sequential chain broken Moral improbability : going against laws of human nature

06 L EGACY i. The Poetics Poetics was the first proper analytical treatise on literature > the first principles of poetry and drama Contained a rudimentary form of historical and psychological criticism To some extent a how-to guide for would-be writers A defence of poetry, reiterated by later critics

07 A RISTOTLE VS. P LATO Although Plato prized the philosophical mind, he had the temperament of the artist, whereas Aristotle was more analytical and scientific Plato believed in an Ideal world, and that everything in the observable world was, in a sense, a lie; Aristotle was very much grounded in the real world, but was interested in the potentialities of the objects within it Plato believed that art was a copy of nature; Aristotle believed that although art did imitate nature, it also hinted at an ‘ideal’ of sorts Plato believed that philosophy > art; Aristotle believed that art > philosophy Plato distrusted emotions; Aristotle emphasised the need to release emotions Plato: ideas to things; Aristotle: things to ideas