Plato

 

Plato

His Age and Works

Plato date of birth is generally put down at 427 B.C and died in 348 B.C. He was the most celebrated disciple of Socrates. Plato began his career as a poet and playwright. But after his association with Socrates, he destroyed his poems and plays and devoted himself entirely to philosophical cogitations. After the assassination of Socrates, he founded an Academy in 387 B.C and taught his pupils philosophy, natural sciences, mathematics, practical legislation and jurisprudence. His important works are The Dialogues, Ion, Lysis, Georgics and Republic.

His theory of art

Plato holds that ideas exist as archetypes or originals in heaven. In Republic, Plato gives the example of a carpenter making a table. The ideal table exists as an archetype only in heaven. The carpenter’s table is an imitation of the ideal, flawless, perfect table which exists only in heaven. The poet who describes a table is imitating the carpenter’s table which is itself an imitation of the heavenly table. The poet’s description is an imitation of an imitation and hence is twice removed from reality. The poet has certain other serious limitations. The third rate poet has no serious purpose. His aim is to popularizes himself or to make money.

His attack on poetry

Plato asserts that the poet speaks the divine myth. Poetry is not a craft, which can be practiced by all and sundry. It is the effect of inspiration and the divine speaks through the poet. It cannot be recalled in its original fervor. Such a tool is not dependable, according Plato, reason, which opposed to passion is reliable. Poetry makes the reader feel rather than think. It makes readers adore beauty. They become excessively aesthetic. They lose their capacity for action. Poets speak ‘lies’ about gods. Such a deflation of gods contributes to the spread of atheism and impiety, so Plato banishes poetry from his Academy

His attack on drama

Plato’s attack on drama is as well-known as his attack on poetry. Plato holds that the dramatist has to pander to the low tastes of the spectators. Towards this end, he introduces ribald jokes, low buffoonery etc., in comedies and wars and lamentations in tragedies. Plato’s comments on the effects of bad drama on actors and spectators are quite pertinent. Actors who impersonate wicked characters become wicked themselves. A villain in a drama is likely to become a villain in real life. Exposure to wicked characters may corrupt the audience also. The converse is also true. Portrayal of a noble character will ennoble the actor as well as the audience.

Plato’s contribution to the critical art, thus is considerable. Scattered in fragments though it might be, all together read like a systematic treatise on the art of writing.