ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Aristotle was the most illustrious student of Plato; he wasa pupil in his school “the Academy” and later founded his own (the “Lyceum”).

Detailed explanation-2: -According to Plato’s theory of mimesis (imitation) the arts deal with illusion and they are imitation of an imitation. Thus, they are twice removed from reality. As a moralist, Plato disapproves of poetry because it is immoral, as a philosopher he disapproves of it because it is based in falsehood.

Detailed explanation-3: -Longinus defines sublimity (Greek hypsos) in literature as “the echo of greatness of spirit, ” that is, the moral and imaginative power of the writer that pervades a work. Thus, for the first time greatness in literature is ascribed to qualities innate in the writer rather than in the art.

Detailed explanation-4: -Hellenic Criticism: Criticism follows the creative activity. Generally in Greece, Plato and Aristotle were the most important critics in literature. Aristotle is the first scientific critic, theorist. A study of poetics is therefore a starting point for students of literature.