ASSIGNMENT ON MIMESIS
SUBMITTED
TO
SUBMITTED BY
Dr. Shalini Sujitha
M
Department of
English and 1 M A English and
Comparative
Literature
Comparative literature
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Mimesis-according
to Plato
3. Mimesis-according
to Aristotle
4. Mimesis-
according to Horace
5. Mimesis-according
to Longinus
6. Conclusion
7. bibliography
INTRODUCTION
“Mimesis”
is a Greek word meaning “to imitate”. The word originally referred to the
physical act of miming or mimicking something.
In literary and artistic theory “Imitation” is an oldest term and which
carries highest meaning and value. Mimesis not only carrying the meaning “Imitation”
but also “representation”, “mimicry”, “the act of expression” etc. In ancient
Greece ‘mimesis’ was an idea that
governed the creation of wok of art. It defines our way of thinking about art,
literature, representation. In another way we can say that, mimesis, describe
things, actions and imitating nature,
truth, beauty, person etc. The word has
been also used to describe the imitative relationship between art and life, a
master and a disciple and an art work and its audience. ‘Mimesis’ connects
ideas related to artistic representation in a more general way in order to talk
about human social behavior.
The ancient philosopher
Plato provides the first and most influential account of mimesis in his
dialogue Republic. The word mimesis
can be traced in the fifth century BCE, but it is rare before Plato adopted the
term in the following century. According to Plato’s “Theory of ideas” discussed
in the Republic, ideas are the ultimate reality .Plato says that phenomenal
world is an imitation of the ideals and the poets imitates the shadows of the
ideals. His theory of mimesis is very complicated one. According to him art
means an imitation of life and all art is mimetic by nature. Art is an idea and
so it is an imitation. But Plato rejected poetry as it is mimetic in nature on
the moral and philosophical grounds. Plato considers poetry as ‘Twice removed
from reality’. So he condemned poetry
because of its incapacity to get in to the root of the things. His argument is that poets and other artists
represent the gods in inappropriate way. In short we can say that according to
Plato art is an imitation that misleads human.
Similar to Plato’s writings about mimesis,
Aristotle also defined mimesis as the perfection and imitation of nature.
Aristotle borrowed the word “mimesis” from his master Plato. Defining himself
Aristotle gave a new interpretation for this word. He inaugurated the
systematic and distinctive discipline of literary criticism and theory with the
Poetics. Poetics contains Aristotle’s
most famous remarks on mimesis. In Poetics
he discusses different genres of tragedy, comedy and epic poetry and also how
poets these various genres “represent” or “imitate” various things. He has a different opinion from Plato, he
considers art as an imitation and that is good. He does not accept imitation as
an entirely false thing. He founds an aesthetic quality for poetry.
Through imitation an artist
presents an imaginative reconstruction of life. For Aristotle, “imitation”
means “representation” of natural objects. Like Plato he was not against
literature; he stated that human beings are mimetic beings by nature, showing
an urge to create art and that reflect and represent reality. By refusing the
charges of Plato against art and artists Aristotle states that the chief
function of poetry is not only to provide “instruction” but also to offer
pleasure. For him a poet is not far away from the reality, he is nearer to
reality. Imitation is natural to human from childhood. He also argues that the
pleasure of imitation is inborn in an artist. He says that it is this pleasure
in imitation that leads the child to learn his earliest lessons in speech and
conduct from his family or from the society in which he lived. Giving much importance to tragedy he says
tragedy provides moral insights. Tragedy is the imitation of certain kinds of
people and actions. A successful tragedy produces a catharsis in the audience. Whereas Plato regards mimesis as a dangerous
thing and that corrupting imitation of reality, Aristotle treats it as
foundational aspects of human nature.
Plato’s and Aristotle’s
different opinions regarding mimesis paved the way for further discussion over
mimesis. After Plato and Aristotle two outstanding figures in the roman period,
Horace and Longinus, made a discussion on mimesis. Put more emphasis on the
imitation of the methods or techniques of the earlier writers Horace describes
the importance of imitating nature in a unified and harmonious way. Longinus
gives importance to sublimity of great thoughts. It is Longinus who extends the
concept of mimesis to an elevated level and he lays the foundation for the
romantic criticism. There are many other critics who also talk about on the
topic mimesis.
Here it is an assignment on the topic mimesis and it contains different
interpretation and their opinion regarding mimesis by different critics
especially in the classical age. Plato, Aristotle, Horace and Longinus are my
main concern.
MIMESIS- ACCORDING TO PLATO
Plato the most celebrated disciple of Socrates
and he lived in the fifth century BC. He
was more a philosopher than a
critic. That is why he is known as the
“father of philosophy”. Plato created ‘Academy’ for his students. It is Plato who provided the first and most
influential account of mimesis. Plato’s
theory of mimesis is very complicated. Plato’s use of the word “mimesis” marks
a crucial turning point in the history of Greek ideas about art. Plato wrote
about mimesis in both Ion and The republic. In Ion he states that poetry is the art of divine madness or
inspiration. Plato written his Republic in 380 BC and it is a Socratic dialogue
concern about justice or it is about his ideal common wealth.
Towards
the beginning of the dialogue, Plato’s speaker Socrates proposes constructing
an ideal city. The city will allow Socrates to argue for the ideal of reason
and individual life. Plato’s ideal common wealth is a utopian world where we
can see every kind of people with equality. There is farmer, carpenter, weaver
and so forth. According to Socrates, in
that city each individual is meaning to perform a task with his or her nature
and ability for the development of the nation. Socrates remembers the guardians
of the city that the only task of the guardians is to protect their city. He
considers mimesis or imitation as a bad or false thing. By prohibiting his
guardians from imitating women slaves, bad men, inhuman sound and insane he
tries to prove that mimesis is not only a bad thing but a danger to the health
of republic.
In
order to protect the ideal commonwealth Plato and Socrates wants to control the
imitation of false things. So guardians must obey the rules of the city. Their
conduct and behavior will be influence their children and they will be imitate
it. He pursue “mothers and nurses” to
tell the young only ‘the approved tales’. He wants to control both the subject
of the tales and the way they are told.
In book 3 he talks about prohibited stories and behaviors. He prohibits
the stories of torments of the underworld, heroes lamenting their fate,
disobeying superiors and desires for sex, food and money. Imitating or
representing these types of stories mislead the people of the common wealth.
Through Socrates’ dialogue Plato challenging the reality of mimesis. In
Plato’s opinion only truth is the concern of the philosopher (poetic truth). A
poet does not speak truth. He considers poets as liars. Poet has no place in
our idea of god. According to Plato’s “theory of ideas” discussed in The Republic, ideas are the ultimate
reality. So art is an idea and it is an
imitation of reality. The world is an
imperfect copy of original transcended world.
The transcended world again imitated by the artists. So poetry is twice
removed from reality. Plato argued that the poet who describes a bed in his
poem is not true to the original. The
original bed is an ideal that exists only in heaven. For him the carpenter who
makes the bed is closer to the true nature of the bed because he makes it. The
poet who only describes a bed is far removed from the reality of the bed
because he does not make it. Plato speaks of a degree with in mimesis- how
close the imitator is to the original. He went on to argue that the better the
poet the closer that poet’s description will be to reality.
Plato condemned poetry because of its incapacity to get into the root of
things. Plato says “We should, therefore, refuse
admittance to any poetry which portrays eminent human as being overcome by
laughter, and do so even vigorously if it shows gods in that state”(Leitch,58).
Plato also says us to rejects the lines of Homer where he says about the gods, “Unquenchable
laughter arose among the blessed gods as they watched Hephaestus bustling about
the house.” (Leitch, 58)
In order to prove his ‘theory of ideas’ Plato put forward his concept of
“cave Allegory”. The people who lived in the cave believe that the only reality
exist in the world is that cave. They are ignoring about the outside reality. They are blinded by the sunlight. When art
tries to lead people away from the reality Plato tries his best to lead people
towards the reality i.e., ‘lead people from the cave’ to the reality. He
encourages people to slowly tolerate the light and see things. Then only the people become fully aware of
the form of the good and moral things. Otherwise the art will brings the people in to
illusion and thereby mislead them.
It
is already said that Plato was more a philosopher than a critic. Plato gives
first consideration for philosophy. Philosophy deals with ideas whereas poetry
deals with illusion. According to him philosophy is superior to poetry. So
poetry can never replace philosophy. The things that the poets describe are
imperfect copies of the original. According to him the imperfect reproductions
of things through art may take man away from the reality. Poetry is a product
of moment’s inspiration, or the outcome of soul. Unlike philosophy it is not
based on reason or truth. So Plato wanted to banish poets from his ideal
commonwealth.
When
poets imitate something they give much importance to emotions. Plato makes his
next charge against the emotional appeal of poetry. Plato illustrates this with
reference to the tragic poetry of his age in which weeping and lamenting are
the main theme. According to him poetry tries to feed and watered the passions
instead of drying them up. He disapproves with poetic imitation by commenting
that poetry cannot teach morality, ethics and truth. There is no moral concern
in poetry. In it treatment of life poetry teaches both virtue and vice in the
same way. Plato accuses the writings of Homer, the odds of Pindar and the
tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides for its lack of moral concerns,
in their writing virtue often coming to grief. In his view many evil livers are
happy and many righteous men are unhappy in the world. Plato thought that such
literature corrupted both citizen and the state, this make the citizen weak.
According to him when poetry imitates something it should teach moral and
spiritual values.
For Plato
truth is the test of poetry. Pleasure is not the aim of poetry. Truth makes
virtue. Poetic truth must be highest truth, which emphasis on beauty, goodness,
justice etc. in short poet should concentrate on beauty and perfection. Poet
will become good artist only when he imitates truth. Plato finds difference in
truth regarding poetry and truth regarding life. The poet not describes the
actual things, but only describes what appears to him. Greek poetry keeps us
ignorant of truth, justice, goodness and real beauty.
Plato’s
views regarding imitation of poetry are also applicable to drama. A dramatist
imitates quarrel and sorrow of human life in tragedy and thunder and cries of
animals in comedy. According to Plato these type of representation in tragedy
and comedy arouse baser instinct. As moralist and a person who believe in truth
Plato disapproves with such type of imitation in play. He worried that when an
actor continuously imitates an evil character in drama it will badly affect his
personality. At the same time he encourages tragedies which reflect noblest
virtue.
In his work Republic Plato challenge the reality of mimesis. For him mimesis is
not serious, it is a play rather than representing true knowledge. Plato says that he was entirely
correct in banishing the mimetic poets. After Plato, the meaning of mimesis
shifted toward a specifically literary function in ancient Greek society, then
it reinterpreted. He did justice to poetry
MIMESIS-ACCORDING TO
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle was the most distinguished disciple of
Plato. Similar to Plato’s writing about
mimesis, Aristotle also defined mimesis as the perfection and imitation of
nature. It is often said that Aristotle’s account of mimesis is a critical
response to Plato’s exile of the poets in the Republic. His famous work poetics
is his treaties on the subject of mimesis. In this work Aristotle challenges
his teacher Plato’s claim about the nature and effects of mimesis. He makes his
conclusion from the particular objects he observes i.e. inductive method. Plato
usually works with deductive method, making his conclusion from his
metaphysical concept of being. Plato was
the first to use mimesis in connection with poetry. Deviating from Plato
Aristotle gave a new interpretation for the term mimesis.
Aristotle does not accept
mimesis as an entirely false thing. He finds out an aesthetic quality in
imitation. For him mimesis means ‘representation’ of natural objects. Through
mimesis an artist presents “an imaginative reconstruction of life”. According
to him from the phenomenal world the poet draws his material and makes
something new out of it. He says that poet’s work is not to simply imitate the
original, but to improve it. Aristotle refutes Plato’s argument of false
imitation of artists. For him a poet is not far removed from reality, he is
nearer to reality.
In Aristotle’s view
imitation is the common basis of all fine arts. While Plato equated with
painting Aristotle equated it with music. The painter imitates through form and
colors while the poet through language, rhythm and harmony. The musician also
imitates through rhythm and harmony. So poetry is very closer to music than
painting. There are different types of poetry according to the manner in which
they imitates. Epic poetry, tragedy, comedy and dithyrambic all these type of
poetry are “imitative arts”. These arts are different in their means, objects
and in the manner of imitation. He said that the objects of poetic imitations
are men in action, men as they are and as they ought to be.
There
is a lot of difference regarding Plato’s and Aristotle’s view on interpretation
on mimesis. While Plato considers poetic imitation as unreal (illusion)
Aristotle says poetic imitation is not unreal or twice removed from reality.
Poetry reveals the truth regarding universe. Imitation is natural to human from
child hood. Every man imitates something through art and other habits. It is
possible to imitate through color, words and voice. The same thing of imitation
is applicable to various arts. Artists imitate objects through rhythm, words
and melody. According to Aristotle without mimesis, artists cannot exist:
“ for as men, some through art and some through habit, imitates various object
by means of color and figure, and others, again, by voice: so, with respect to
the arts above mentioned, rhythm, word, melody are the different means by which, either singly or variously
combined, they all produce their imitation”. (Sharma,
49)
Aristotle considers poetry is more
philosophical thing than history. Because one relates what has happened, the
other what may happen. The treatment of
history is limited or particular. It deals with the facts and events of the
past, whereas the treatment of poetry is universal. In poetry the entire
humanity a may be a fit subject for study.
A poet imitates
things according to his own method and manner. Every artist differs from
another in their adopting methods. By imitation, with the help of mental images
a poet re-creates more convincing and real things than even the originals. An
artist is no false imitator, and a poet is no unreal creature. Aristotle says
that the chief function of poetry is not only to provide “instruction” but to
offer “pleasure”. By giving a new interpretation to the word mimesis, Aristotle
lent a new vitality to the art for art sakes movement. (Sharma14). Aristotle
comments that the ultimate aim of art is to provide pleasure. The pleasure of
imitation is inborn in an artist .This pleasure encourages people to imitate
objects. In the moral ground, like Plato, Aristotle does not finds poets as
“liars and corrupters” of human.
Aristotle
gives much importance to Tragedy. He considers tragedy as the highest and
noblest form of poetry. Tragedy, says Aristotle,
“is
an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain
magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the
several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action
,not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of
these emotions.”(Sharma 16)
In order to talks about imitation it is best
to take tragedy as a poetic form. Tragedy differs from other genres of poetry like epic and
comedy in the sense that the former ends in seriousness. ‘Tragedy is an
imitation of an action’, the action must be serious and it should produce
purgation of emotion of pity and fear. Purgation means catharsis or
purification which is the result of mimesis. When a
tragic play imitates human life, it reveals a certain truth regarding human
nature to us.
Tragedy provides more emotional effects and
that will be never effects badly to human. According to Aristotle among the
different types of poetry tragedy is superior. He considers imitation of tragedy is more
superior than epic. Both imitate characters of nobler type in verse and their
structure is same. But both are different in their length and epic poetry’s
action is limitless. There is more freedom of thought in tragedy than in epic
poetry. Tragedy has six constituent elements (plot, character, thought,
diction, song and spectacle) and that produce a pleasure, which epic poetry
fails to do. There is no song and
spectacle in epic. Tragedy has greater unity of effect (unity of action, unity
of time and unity of place.
Tragedy has a positive emotional effect on its
audience (catharsis). Aristotle considers Plot is the ‘soul of the tragedy’ and
which have beginning, middle and end. It is impossible to remove a single
incident without causing injury to the whole action. According to him there are
simple plot, complex plot and plot on the depiction of suffering. Simple plot
do not have peripeteia (reversal of intention) and anagnorisis (discovery of
truth). Complex plot carries both of
these. The plot is finally divisible in to two parts- complication and
denouement. The complication includes all action from the beginning where it
takes a turn for good or ill; and the denouement extends from the turning point
to the end. The best tragic plot imitates a good man, but not perfectly good
one suffering as a consequence of some error of judgment (hamartia) on his
part. In tragedy the tragic hero should enjoy great prosperity and dignity at
first. He should be a man of
intermediate structure, neither too good nor too bad. Then due his error in
judgments (hamartia) his misfortune comes. Then he recognizes the truth.
We can consider Aristotle as the best who
made an acceptable approach to poetry. Many of his contemporaries support his
opinion regards mimesis.
MIMESIS-
ACCORDING TO HORACE
Like Plato and Aristotle, Horace
also recognizes the importance of imitation in art. He talks about imitation of
nature in a unified and harmonious way. He put more emphasis on the imitative
method or the techniques adopted by the earlier writers. Giving less importance to philosophic matters
and metaphysical concepts, he keenly observes the technical issues such as
rhetoric and composition. His Ars Poetica
(art of poetry) has an important role in the history of literary criticism.
Unlike Plato Horace holds the poets in very high position. According to him the
function of poetry is both instruct and delight. He considers poetry as a
“craft” or art which has rules and conventions and that need both instruction
and practice.
In his Ars Poetica Horace shows his great love for Greek literature. He highlights
the importance of imitating ancient Greek literature. Horace does not give much importance to
originality of artistic work. He put emphasis on the literary tradition of the
ancients. According to his concept of mimesis he denies word by word
translation or a complete copying of the ancient literature. Following the
great method of the old, he advocates his contemporaries to making their own
invention based on literary tradition and principle. It is a kind of
re-creation. Like Plato he does not condemned Homer and his great epics,
instead he praises Homer’s mastery in handling epic plots. Homer invents
something new by mixing fiction with truth and he obeys the rule and convention
of poetry properly.
Horace
understands the concept of Ars in three ways. He understands the practiced
mastery of craft, systematic knowledge and techniques, capacity for objective
self criticism and the decorum. Decorum means use of appropriateness,
propriety, proportion and unity in arts. At the same time he warns the poet
against his concept of “purple patch”.
Purple patch means inappropriately placed ornate passages that violate
the principle of decorum. Horace warns
the poets to avoid it.
In
short we can say that in Ars Poetica Horace
reduced the concept mimesis in technique level.
MIMESIS –
ACCORDING TO LONGINUS
Longinus
recognizes imitation in relation with sublimity of great thoughts. While Horace
focuses on technical effects of arts, Longinus stress on spiritual effects of
arts. Longinus concept of mimesis or imitation is closely relates to his theory
of sublimity. On Sublimity is
Longinus famous treatise and it is a favorable commentary on the role of
emotion in the practice of writing, oratory and reading. According to him “sublimity is the echo of
noble mind.” By making the statement that nature and art is basic components of
sublimity he provides some general marks of true sublimity.
Through sublimity Longinus focuses on
the effect of good writing and also he criticizes bad writings. The presence of
noble passion is essential for achieving sublimity. According to him there are
five sources of sublimity:-great thought, strong emotion, certain figures of
thought and speech, noble diction and dignified word arrangement. He uses the
concept sublime as a mechanism in order to recognize the power of speech and
the depth of an idea. He states that poets should have connection with past and
present. A works of imitation should be placed and valued in the historical
context, with past present and future. Literary imitation is not restricted in a
particular age; it is possible in throughout the age. Longinus treaties is
similar to that of Aristotle’s Poetics in the sense that both focusing on the
formal techniques and emotional effects of literature.
These
classical writers Plato, Aristotle, Horace and Longinus influenced greatly many
of their cotemporaries or critics in the other age. Renaissance figures such as Petrarch, Erasmus
and Sir Philip Sidney are influenced by the concept mimesis, especially
Aristotelian concept of mimesis. Sidney considered mimesis as re- creation of
something new. According to him a poet is a creator and to create poetry is a
kind of divine process. By stating that it was through poetry man develops his
knowledge he divides poetry in to three types: - religious poetry,
philosophical poetry and imitative poetry. Like the classical writers say he
also believes that imitative poetry deals with life and nature.
In his treaties An Apology for Poetry (Defense of poesy) Sidney
defending the objection raised against poetry. By supporting Aristotle he
criticizes Plato for his attack against poetry. Sidney says there is no other
genre than poetry which teaches delight and knowledge. Poetry is not abuse and those
who abuse poetry are the real abusers. Next he makes the statement that poets
are not ‘liars or corrupters’. Because they never say what they are saying is
truth. Poetry is more effective than philosophy and it is an act of divine
madness.
Later the
romantic writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge adopted the concept of mimesis in his
writing. He opposes imitation to copying but Wordworth’s notion that poetry
should duplicate nature by capturing actual speech. Twentieth century
psychoanalysts Freud describe imitation in relation with his concept
unconsciousness.
CONCLUSION
From this assignment on
the topic “Mimesis” we can understand that, the term mimesis emphasis on the
representation of reality. The term
originated in ancient Greek and it was first used by Plato in order to describe
poetic imitation as a false thing and that corrupted human. He condemned poetry
in its moral ground, for him art is “twice removed from reality”. But it was
Plato for the first time taught us that poetry is a kind of inspiration and
also an art.
After Plato it was Aristotle who gave a new
interpretation to mimesis. Both Aristotle and Plato consider poetry is an
imitation of nature. Whereas Plato considers poetry as two stages far removed
from reality, Aristotle considers it as nearer to reality. Aristotle emphasizes
on the aesthetic value of poetry and thereby he recognizes the perfection and
nature of imitation. He does not accept mimesis an entirely false thing. Imitation
helps the audience to gain a kind of emotional purification. Catharsis is the
result of imitation.
Other classical writers such as
Horace and Longinus also talks on mimesis. Horace gives importance to ancient
literary tradition and considers the technical method in imitation. Longinus
connects mimesis with the great thought of sublimity. After the classical age, renaissance,
nineteenth and twentieth century literary critics also made discussion on this
topic. Now also it is an important topic for discussion.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Abrams,
M H and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Wadsworth:
Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
2. Dr.
Sharma, S D. Aristotle’s Poetics. Bareily:
student store, 2010. Print.
3. Habib,
M A R. Literary Criticism from Plato to
the Present an Introduction. Oxford: Wiley – Blackwell, 2011. Print.
4. Leitch,
B Vincent. The Norton Anthology Theory
and Criticism. USA: 2001 print.
5. Potolsky,
Matthew. Mimesis. Newyork: Routledge:
web.
6. Shields,
Christopher. Aristotle. London:
Routledge, 2007. Print.
Web
sources:
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