ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Plato believed that poetry is breeder of falsehood and thus mother of all lies because poetry dealt with illusion and not reality. Poet’s creation is twice removed from reality and thus false and all lies are dealt in poetry.

Detailed explanation-2: -Plato objected that poetry plays on the emotions and thus undermines the highest part of our soul, the part that should at all times be in control-Reason. Aristotle cunningly showed, using the notion of catharsis, that while poetry does indeed play on the emotions, it does so in a way that enhances our reasoning!

Detailed explanation-3: -Plato’s three main objections to poetry are that poetry is not ethical, philosophical and pragmatic, in other words, he objected to poetry from the point of view of Education, from Philosophical point of view and from Moral point of view.

Detailed explanation-4: -Aristotle replied to the charges made by his Guru Plato against poetry in particular and art in general. He replied to them one by one in his defence of poetry. Plato says that art being the imitation of the actual is removed from the Truth.