Definition of
Mimesis and How It Has Been Applied to Literary Scholars in Different Contexts and
Times
The essay discusses the definition of mimesis
according to the ancient Greece scholars, Aristotle and Plato and how it has
been applied during the Graeco – Roman period by Horace and during Renaissance
by Sir Philip Sydney. The use of mimesis has been developed and continuously
applied from one literary scholar to another throughout the time and context
starting from Plato.
Mimesis,
according to the ancient Greece, was an idea that governed the creation of
works of art especially with similarity to the physical world and is understood
as a model for beauty, truth and the good. Plato believes that ideas alone are
true and real and the earthly things such as beauty, goodness, justice are mere
types or copies of the ideal beauty, goodness, etc which exist in heaven.
According to Plato, he thinks the imitations as mere or representation of these
ideal forms and not expression. The painter only imitates what he sees and
doesn’t know how to make or use one. Therefore, Plato condemns poetry because
he believes that poets are doing nothing but only imitating without really
knowing what he is imitating. According to
Aristotle, mimesis is said to be the basic principle to all common arts. The term
of mimesis is not invented by Aristotle in the first place. Mimesis was used by
Plato in connection with poetry. However Aristotle gives it a new definite
meaning so that the poetic imitation is no longer considered as mere mimicry
but it is regarded as an act of imaginative creation. For example, the poet
drawing his material from the imaginative world, and create something new out
of it. In Aristotle notion, the poetry and other fine arts are united by the
principle of imitation. Imitation is the common basis of all the fine art and
it differentiates the fine arts from the other category of arts. Aristotle
compares poetry with music while Plato compares it with painting. Aristotle’s
theory of imitation has enlarged its scope. The poet imitates not only the
surface but to the higher reality embedded within. In the Poetics, the conception mode of imitation includes the Epic and
Tragedy, Comedy and Dithyrambic poetry. Besides that, the music of the flute
and the lyre in most of their forms also included. The musician imitates
through rhythm and harmony. Through this way, the poetry is nearer to music
than painting. The manner of a poet could be purely narrative as in Epic or
representation through action as in drama. Different kinds of poetry differ
from each other in their manner of imitation.
During the
Graeco – Roman period, Horace applies the theory of mimesis in the poetic
imitation where he talks about the importance role of imagination. Unlike Plato
and Aristotle, he shifts the object of imitation from Ideals or Nature to the
exemplary craftsmanship of the ancient great. In his Art of Poetry,
Horace unreservedly shows his great love for Greek literature and a eager mind
to instruct his contemporaries. Just like Aristotle, he believes that poetry is
not a mere imitation but it is creative. Poets are free to be creative and
imaginative but they must not be overdone because it will result absurdity. Poets
must seek their models in nature, life and manner. And they must true to nature
even when they are being creative and imaginative while writing stories and
fictions. Horace's critical theory which is the Ars Poetica is related to Aristotle's notion about mimesis. In this
theory, he talks about the poetry can be well structured and excellent by
referring to the three parts of poetry which are the poesis, poema and poeta. Aristotle suggests the mimesis
will enhance the human's potential in their lives as they have within them the
urge to rise upward.
In Renaissance
period, the theory of imitation also has been applied by Sir Philip Sidney in
his criticism, “An Apology for Poetry”. Philip Sidney in his “apology for
Poetry” reacts against the attacks on poetry by the puritan, Stephen Gosson. To
Sidney, poetry is an art of imitation for specific purpose which it is imitated
to teach and delight. According to him, poetry is superior to philosophy.
Sidney prefers imaginative literature more than history and philosophy. Sidney
focuses on the importance of poetry which is it is the centre of learning. Because
of poetry, men are able to read and understand learning of other kinds. This is
why the poets must be respected because they are considered as father of
learning. Besides that, Sidney also develops this theory of mimesis according
to Aristotle where he supports poetry as the most valuable things that human
have to conduct them morally in their lives. Sidney believes that poetry can
shape the society into better human in terms of everything especially moral and
attitudes of them. Even though he is applying the mimesis which was originated
from Plato, he states that Plato was not against poetry but Plato was more concerned with the abuse of poetry. Plato,
who was a poet himself, regarded the true poet as being divinely inspired.
In conclusion, although Plato
condemns poetry by saying that the use of mimesis in producing the art is not
beneficial as it shows lacking of the poets in term of their credibility and their
ignorance of the knowledge. However, Aristotle believes the art is not mere
mimesis and that it is a creative process in shaping the society. It is for
sure a representation of the reality however it makes human improvises them to
lead better life. The theory of mimesis likewise has been developed to Graeco -
Roman period where Horace connected the mimesis and enhances the craftsmanship
delivered together with the poets. With respect to Sir Philip Sidney amid
Renaissance period, he likewise connected this theory of imitations and supports
Aristotle's view in regards to mimesis. He clarifies everything about poetry's
commitments towards the man and how would it influences them.
Influence of Horace
upon the Prevalent Attitude towards Literature at the Time
The
essay discusses the influence of Horace upon the prevalent attitude towards
literature during the Victorian era. Horace lived in the magnificent Augustan
Era which was the time of Roman human progress and culture. Poetry prospered in
his age and was considered something great and respectable and not something
malicious and unhealthy. His Ars Poetica, is in verse. It is a poetic letter written to his
friend Piso as a piece of advice on poetic composition. Horace called it Epistle
to the Pisos but it was Quintilian who names it Ars Poetica.
Horace influences the Victorian critic, Matthew
Arnold in term of Unity of Action. Horace
accepts the basic theories of the Greek scholars especially Aristotle but he
limits and narrows them down. Aristotle emphasizes the Unity of Action in drama. According to him, plot for
tragedy must be fatal and must contain the organic unity. Action is process of
change from happiness to misery or vice versa. In the plot of drama, Horace
states that “Either follow tradition of
invent a story which is consistent”. He means that the plot of the drama
should be borrowed from familiar material, which is he prefers from the
well-known Greek. However, if the poet chooses a new theme, he has to remain
consistent. Horace says that the chain of event must be consistent. The story
should have undivided structure. The middle should harmonize with the beginning
and the end with the middle. He also stated that if you show Achilles, he must
be spirited, hot tempered, fiery and must disowns law and must claim that the
world is a prize of arms. Horace
supports this view. However, he narrowed it down and states that only
appropriate will be presented on stage. He also states that the event which is
unacceptable to our eyes should be reported rather than held it on the stage.
He says “You will not allow Atreus cook human flesh on stage, nor Procne turned
into a bird, Cadmus into a snake”.
Matthew Arnold also agrees with Aristotle and Horace
to stress on action. Arnold rejects his poem Enpedocles on Atena to be included in the new collection because it is lack of action although he had
esteemed it highly earlier. The hero suffered, be brooded and brooded over his
suffering and finally committed suicide. According to him, poetry of highest
order requires a suitable action, an action sufficiently serious and weighty.
Action is everything; all depends upon the choice of a right subject. Arnold is
a classicist in his insistence on the importance of action as the proper theme
of poetry. In order to write a good piece of poetry, Arnold suggests referring
back to the past poets and studying how they write. He has provided us with an
excellent example of how to use the comparative method and enables us to see
how fruitful the past poet is.
Another Victorian critic is Walter Pater who
faithfully follows his own theories in practice with admirable results without
being influenced by Horace. Pater is associated with a literary and artistic
movement in England that is known as the Aesthetic movement. The followers
believed in the doctrine “Arts for Art’s
sake”, and they regarded the worship
of Beauty as the highest goal of life. According to him, the only test of art lies in
its ability to evoke beauty; the moral test or the test of utility is
absolutely irrelevant for literary judgment. Unlike Horace who embraces the
rules of poetry, Pater rejects all abstract and philosophical theories, all
principles and rules for measuring the excellence of a work. He supports the
theory of first impressions, the pleasure which one derives from the beauty of
a work of art. It is contrasting with Horace in his Ars Poetica because in Ars
Poetica, the subject matter clearly falls into three well-marked divisions
which are the poesis, poema and poeta. Each of the divisions has the certain rules to be followed
to make an excellent work. Besides that, Pater states that poetry is not
functioned to teach but to withdraw the thoughts for a while from crude, harsh
reality, and impart the highest quality to your moments. He adds that “Life is beautiful, it is splendid, but it
is brief. Therefore, do not waste your time in building abstract theories”.
Thus, he suggests enjoying the pleasure moment, the sensation, and the
experience that derived from the beautiful whether in art or nature. It is contrasting
with Horace’s theory that poetry should both teach and delight. He stresses
more on teaching than delight. According to him, the function of poet is to
teach or delight or to combine both. Despite being contrast with Horace, there
is similarity in term of choice of words according to Pater and Horace although
Pater insisted that he follows his own theories. In Poesis part of Ars Poetica, Horace states that a wise discretion
must be exercised in the use and choice of words. Similar with Pater, he also
suggests using the right choice of words in plea for high standards. He states
that a writer should select words carefully and observe those distinctions
between word and word. It is his tact or sensibility, and painstaking labour
that help him to make a choice.
In conclusion, Horace influences Matthew Arnold in
term of the Unity of Action. He agrees to Horace and the ancient Greek scholar,
Aristotle regarding the stress on action. The plot for tragedy must be fatal
and in the same time must contain the organic unity. However, Horace did not
influence Walter Pater a lot because Pater had his very own theory in term of
teaching in poetry. Although there are a lot of different opinion between both
Horace and Walter Pater, there is one similarity of the theory. Both of them
agree that the right choice of word is important and must be taken care
carefully in order to have an excellent work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Ars Poetica (-15)." Poetry
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Neoenglish. "Give a Critical Summary of Ars
Poetica." NeoEnglish. Www.NeoTrainings.com,
16 Dec. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Tilak, Raghukul. History and Principles of
Literary Criticism. N.p.: Rama Brothers, New Delhi, 1984. Print.
Wei, Chen, and Xiong Wangmei. "The Concept of
Mimesis: Evolution From Plato to Longinus." Cscanada.
N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
