Page 18 - DENG501_LITERARY_CRITICISM_AND_THEORIES

Literary Criticism and Theories

Notes and essential qualities." This 'more', this intuition and perception is the aim of the artist. Artistic
creation cannot be fairly criticized on the ground that it is not the creation in concrete terms of
things and beings. Thus considered it does not take us away form the Truth, but leads us to the
essential reality of life.
Plato again says that art is bad because it does not inspire virtue, does not teach morality. But is
teaching the function of the art? Is it the aim of the artist? The function of art is to provide aesthetic
delight, communicate experience, express emotions and represent life. It should ever be confused
with the function of ethics which is simply to teach morality. If an artist succeeds in pleasing us in
aesthetic sense, he is a good artist. If he fails in doing so, he is a bad artist. There is no other
criterion to judge his worth. R.A.Scott-James observes: "Morality teaches. Art does not attempt to
teach. It merely asserts it is thus or thus that life is perceived to be. That is my bit of reality, says
the artist. Take it or leave it - draw any lessons you like from it - that is my account of things as
they are - if it has any value to you as evidence or teaching, use it, but that is not my business: I
have given you my rendering, my account, my vision, my dream, my illusion - call it what you
will. If there is any lesson in it, it is yours to draw, not mine to preach." Similarly, Plato's charge
that needless lamentations and ecstasies at the imaginary events of sorrow and happiness
encourages weaker part of soul and numbs faculty of reason. This charge is defended by Aristotle
in his Theory of Catharsis. David Daiches summarizes Aristotle's views in reply to Plato's charges
in brief: "Tragedy (Art) gives new knowledge, yields aesthetic satisfaction and produces a better
state of mind."
Plato judges poetry now from the educational standpoint, now from the philosophical one and
then from the ethical one. But he does not care to consider it from its own unique standpoint. He
does not define its aims. He forgets that every thing should be judged in terms of its own aims and
objective its own criteria of merit and demerit. We cannot fairly maintain that music is bad because
it does not paint, or that painting is bad because it does not sing. Similarly, we cannot say that
poetry is bad because it does not teach philosophy of ethics. If poetry, philosophy and ethics had
identical function, how could they be different subjects? To denounce poetry because it is not
philosophy or ideal is clearly absurd.
1.5.2 How did Aristotle Differ in His Theory of Mimesis from
His Guru Plato?
Aristotle agrees with Plato in calling the poet an imitator and creative art, imitation. He imitates
one of the three objects - things as they were/are, things as they are said/thought to be or things
as they ought to be. In other words, he imitates what is past or present, what is commonly
believed and what is ideal. Aristotle believes that there is natural pleasure in imitation which is in-
born instinct in men. It is this pleasure in imitation that enables the child to learn his earliest
lessons in speech and conduct from those around him, because there is a pleasure in doing so. In
a grown up child - a poet, there is another instinct, helping him to make him a poet - the instinct
for harmony and rhythm.
He does not agree with his teacher in - 'poet's imitation is twice removed form reality and hence
unreal/illusion of truth. To prove his point he compares poetry with history. The poet and the
historian differ not by their medium, but the true difference is that the historian relates 'what has
happened?, the poet, what may/ought to have happened?- the ideal. Poetry, therefore, is more
philosophical and a higher thing the history, which expresses the particular, while poetry tends to
express the universal. Therefore, the picture of poetry pleases all and at all times.
Aristotle does not agree with Plato in function of poetry to make people weaker and emotional/
too sentimental. For him, catharsis is ennobling and humbles human being.
So far as moral nature of poetry is concerned, Aristotle believed that the end of poetry is to please;
however, teaching may be given. Such pleasing is superior to the other pleasure because it teaches
civic morality. So all good literature gives pleasure, which is not divorced from moral lessons.

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