POC Aristotle Plato

 What Aristotle proposed  In The Republic. Plato

turned Plato's theory on its presents his Theory of Forms,
head. Far from mistrusting our arguing that the objects in
senses, Aristotle relied on them this world are imitations of
for the evidence to back up his ideal Forms that are the
Their arguments theories. true reality.

 What he learnt from studying the  A chair in this world is just

natural world was that by an imitation of the Form of
observing the characteristics of Chair. That being the case,
art is twice removed from
every example of a particular
reality, as it is just an
plant or animal that he came imitation of an imitation: a
across, he could build up a painting of a chair is an
complete picture of what It was imitation of a chair which is
that distinguished it from other in turn an imitation of the
plants or animals, and deduce Form of Chair.
what makes it what it is.

"The senses are gateways to the

intelligence. There is nothing in the
intelligence which did not first pass
through the senses."

Plato objected to poetry on two

 Aristotle's Poetics is particularly grounds:
concerned with mimesis, a  Poetry does not lead to truth
Greek word used within literary like philosophy does. Instead,
theory and philosophy that it drives us away from it as
Mimesis loosely translates to poetry is a copy of a copy
"representation" or "imitation." since the real world is a mere
imitation of the world of
ideas
  In Ancient Greece, art was  Poetry depends on emotion,
considered mimetic. This means rather than logic. The poet
that, in one way or another, all could thus persuade people to
art is a representation or do immoral things. This is
Imitation of nature, including why Plato perceived poets as
human nature. immoral and banished them
from his Republic.
 Aristotle argues that the human
tendency to create art and poetry
comes from a natural Instinct for
imitation. This is how humans
are different from animals as
people learn through imitation
and have a strong inclination to
imitate people and things..

 Furthermore, Aristotle claims

that human beings find
universal pleasure in
imitations. People naturally take
pleasure in looking at an
accurate imitation of an object or
reading a work of art that
presents universal truths.

"For imitation is natural from his

infancy. Man differs from other
animals particularly in this, that he
is imitative, and acquires his
rudiments of knowledge in this way;
besides, the delight in it is
universal."
How forms of imitation differ:
 According to Aristotle, all forms of poetry (tragedy, epic poesry, comedy)
are forms of Imitation and can only differ in three ways: their medium of
imitation, their object of imitation, and their mode of initiation.

 The first kind of distinction is the means the poets employ. Just as a
painter employs paint and a sculptor employs stone, the poet employs
language, rhythm, and harmony, either singly or in combinations. Music
combines both rhythm and harmony, while dance uses only the rhythmical
movement of the dancers to convey its message
 In tragedy, comedy, and some kinds of poetry, rhythm, language, and
harmony are all used. In some cases, as in dithyrambic poetry, all three are
used together, while in other cases, as in comedy or tragedy, the different
parts come in to play at different times.

 The second distinction is the objects that are imitated. All poetry
represents actions with agents who are either better than us, worse than us,
or quite like us.
 For instance, tragedy and epic poetry deal with characters who are better
than us, while comedy and parody deal with characters who are worse than
us.

 The final distinction is the manner of representation which divided into

two kinds: narrative and dramatic presentation.
 In a narrative (epic poetry), the poet represents a course of events as a
story, either assuming the perspective of another person or speaking directly
to the audience in his or her own person.

 In a dramatic presentation (tragedy or comedy), a course of events is

placed before. us by means of actors who represent the events by taking on
the roles of different persons involved.
For Aristotle, imitation, and therefore the creation of art and poetry, is simply
human nature and will always be a part of the human experience.
Catharsis:
 It is the process of releasing strong or pent-up emotions through art.
Aristotle coined the term catharsis which comes from the Greek kathairein
meaning "to cleanse or purge” to describe the release of emotional tension
that he believed spectators experienced while watching dramatic tragedy.

 A cathartic experience whether in theater or literature is an experience in

which the audience or reader experiences the same emotions that the
characters are experiencing on stage or on the page.

 Catharsis in literature works a lot like therapy does in real life: by giving
readers the opportunity to experience intense emotions from a distance, it
allows them to let it all out.

 Cathartic works are especially good at tapping into repressed emotions

that is, emotions that a reader or audience member may not typically allow
themselves to feel.

 In Poetics, Aristotle argues that the true aim of tragedy is to bring about a
purification of emotion.

 Aristotle maintains that catharsis is a crucial part of tragedy and that

tragic plots should evoke fear and pity specifically, as these are the emotions
most often associated with tragic plats.

 Most tragedies involve human suffering, which, according to Aristotle, is

an action that involves destruction or pain. This pain or destruction should
produce the emotions of fear and pity in the audience
 A tragedy that does not elicit these emotions fails to meet the purpose of
tragedy: to imitate a specific action as closely and accurately as possible,
which in this case is human suffering.

 Aristotle ultimately argues that people find pleasure in viewing distressing

imitations, like those found in tragedy, as long as such imitations are viewed
from a safe distance

 Catharsis through tragedy not only allows the audience to view a

distressing image, it allows them to vicariously experience the same
emotions

 According to Aristotle, the strongest catharsis comes from tragic plots

that involve reversal.

 Aristotle defines reversal as a change to the opposite in the actions being

performed. In other words, catharsis is best achieved during tragedies in
which events defy expectations. This occurs when one action is expected
to have one result, but in fact has the opposite result

 In addition to reversals. Aristotle also argues that catharsis is best achieved

through tragic plots that involve recognition.

 Aristotle defines recognition as a change from ignorance to knowledge,

disclosing either a close relationship or enmity, on the part of people marked
out for good or bad fortune. In other words, recognition is a sudden
understanding or revelation, which for most of the plot remains unknown.