Mimetic theory

Question 1

Who was Plato and what did he write?

Answer 1

Plato was the first literary critic and the first critic of literature. Wrote Republic

Question 2

What was Plato’s stance on poetry/guardians?

Answer 2

• Plato suggests that the guardians should not read poetry and the poets have no place in the ideal republic.

Question 3

Mimesis

Answer 3

imitation, or imitative representation of the real world in art and literature. For Plato, imitation is of the ideal or unchanging Forms, thus poetry is devalued as an inferior copy of reality. For Aristotle, the term suggests “making” or representing human life in its joys and sorrows.

Question 4

Role of Mimesis in Society

Answer 4

• Plato’s “The Republic” addresses the societal role of mimesis, expressing concerns about its potential negative impact.
• He limits permissible types of poetry in the ideal republic, allowing only hymns to gods and praises of state heroes.

Question 5

The permissible types of poetry in Plato’s republic
are:

Answer 5

1. hymns to the gods
2. praises of state heroes
   All other forms of poetry must be censored.

Question 6

what was Plato’s challenge to literary theory

Answer 6

Plato says he will allow the poets back into the
republic if they can prove by means of some
formal defense that poetry:
1. has a useful function in a well-ordered state;
2. that it does not deceive but rather enhances our
knowledge of truth.

Question 7

What did Aristotle do?

Answer 7

Aristotle
1) made poetry worthy of philosophical
consideration;
2) reconnected metaphysical issues to empirical
reality.
He showed how knowledge can be broken up into
disciplines.

Question 8

What did Aristotle write?

Answer 8

Poetics 330BC

Aristotle treats poetry
as a separate discipline
with its specific laws,
its own unique tools
and its own proper ends.

Question 9

What Poetics do to the notion of mimesis?

Answer 9

Poetics reinterprets the notion of mimesis.

Question 10

Aristotelian concept of mimesis

Answer 10

Mimesis is a positive and natural thing.
1) As children, we learn primarily from imitation.
2) As adults, we delight in recognising and
contemplating imitations.
3) We possess an instinctive desire for harmony that
imitation produces.

Question 11

How Poetics define mimesis?

Answer 11

Poetics defines mimesis as a craft with its own
internal laws and aims rather than a mirror of
something else. Aristotle treats poetry as a natural object, an organic
entity.The artist is not an imitator, but a maker, a
craftsman.

Question 12

Praxis

Answer 12

Action or story (praxis) is long, episodic,
haphazard.

Question 13

Plato vs Aristotelian mimesis

Answer 13

In contrast to Plato, for Aristotle, mimesis works
in accordance with the laws of reason.

Question 14

Episodic plot

Answer 14

The episodic plot shows no internal cohesion
between the scenes. In the episodic plot events are based on the post hoc
principle.

Question 15

Aristotelian plot

Answer 15

The Aristotelian plot relies on a causal relationship
between each scene that propels the reader toward
the outcome. In the Aristotelian plot events are based on the
propter hoc principle.

Question 16

Post hoc

Answer 16

after this

Question 17

Propter hoc

Answer 17

Before this

Question 18

What plot demonstrates?

Answer 18

The plot demonstrates a rational ordering of events.

Question 19

How does Plato treat mimesis?

Answer 19

Plato treats the manner of mimesis as a moral
choice.

Question 20

How Aristotle treat mimesis?

Answer 20

Aristotle regards the manner of mimesis as an
artistic choice. For Aristotle, artistic and ethical choices are
distinct (cf. modern theories (modernism)).

Question 21

Literature expresses

Answer 21

universal truths (like
philosophy) through concrete examples (like
history).

Question 22

Catharsis

Answer 22

The proper response to tragedy is catharsis (in
Greek, “purging, cleansing”). Catharsis is a mixture of emotions of fear and
pity as inspired by a great tragedy.

Question 23

Cathartic response

Answer 23

Cathartic response is predictable and structurally
endemic to a good tragedy.

Question 24

Interpretations of catharsis

Answer 24

1)Purgation - Tragedy is a therapeutic experience. It cleanses us
of our emotions of pity and fear and thus leaves
us more fit and able to face the rigours of life. This view suggests that tragedy can help wash
away, on a group level, our baser emotions.
2) Purification - Tragedy does not so much purge our emotions as
purify them. This view is in sync with the
theological approach to the Passion plays, for
example.
3) Clarification - Tragedy sparks in us an intellectual response, a
moment of perfect clarity, like the modern sense
of epiphany.

Question 25

What qualities does the critic need to assess and indicate in order to determine the success of art?

Answer 25

The critic must assess and indicate the qualities
that make art successful and explain what makes
a great work of art.

Question 26

What is the central focus of the Platonic-Aristotelian debate regarding mimesis?

Answer 26

The Platonic – Aristotelian debate over
mimesis is a debate over the ontological status
of a work of art.

Question 27

How do the concerns raised by Plato and Aristotle regarding the value of mimesis continue to influence modern literary theory?

Answer 27

Although Plato and Aristotle disagree on the
value of mimesis, the concerns they raise persist
in modern literary theory, particularly the relation
between moral and aesthetic agency.

Question 28

How does the notion of catharsis relate to the affective dimension of art and narrative structure?

Answer 28

The notion of catharsis suggests that art does
have an affective dimension, which can be
elicited by way of a rationally structured
narrative.

Question 29

How do Plato and Aristotle view the role of the poet in relation to conveying meaning in existing reality?

Answer 29

For both Plato and Aristotle, the poet does not
convey the meaning of the existing reality; he
forms, creates meaning.

Question 30

What is the significance of mimesis in poetics and its role in shaping our theoretical understanding of literature?

Answer 30

Mimesis is the true object of poetics and the
origin of our theoretical reasoning about
literature.