CONTRIBUTIONS OF PLATO TO CRITICISM

Plato rightly says that poetry is the product of imagination not that of rational thinking. Therefore, the life portrayed in poetry is not real. It is just what the poet imagines it to be. Poetry is imitation of life which is an imitation of what he calls ‘Forms’. Therefore, poetry does not help the reader to understand the real. It is the nature of poetry. Everyone accepts this argument of Plato. Having discussed the nature of poetry, Plato goes on to discuss how and why poetry influences the readers. Poetry does not prompt the readers to think rationally. Poetry holds reason prisoner and sets man on a flight of fancy. In other words, poetry appeals to emotions and feelings, not to rational thinking. It gives pleasure not knowledge to the readers. According to Plato poetry often “fed and watered the passions” and “ruled” the readers. These comments show clearly that he was well aware of the poetic method. Plato classified poetry into dithyrambic and mimetic. The dithyrambic poetry is entirely lyrical. Poetry such as drama and epic are mimetic. In drama, the poet imitates the speech and actions of man. However, epic contains lyrics also. According to Plato, an epic is better than a drama. This is widely accepted even today. Plato also discusses the nature of the pleasures the tragedies and comedies arouse in the spectators. Although the explanations are not convincing, it was Plato who raised such questions first. We may not agree with Plato on many points. However is remains a fact that it was Plato who first discussed the nature of what we call literature today.