Comparison; The ideas of Plato, Aristotle, and Sidney on the function and significance of the artist (the poet) and art

·       Artwork and reality: Art is an imitation, a representation of reality

Plato: the artist does not know art or a skill. He is someone like a madman or someone possessed by a god. Gods speak through artists. Homer cannot find these beautiful words on his own. The muse put them in his mind by putting him in a state of frenzy or madness that we call inspiration. - function

For Plato in The Republic, artists have to imitate reality from the point of view of his dictatorship. The content of the poems or literature is to be determined by the state. Otherwise, he will punish them, and exile them. An artwork needs some special tools to better reflect and comment on reality. Every artist learns this through the literary tradition, through his knowledge of previous artists or works. The duty of the artist and criticism is not to judge the work according to the content but according to formal beauty: the relationships between parts and whole, use of language, choice of rhyme scheme, characters, etc. – the artist

There are genres of poetry: epic, hymns to gods, tragedy, comedy, and lyric poetry. Each has a specific subject matter and form. Epic is too long and about wars and lives of heroes, the lyric is short and personal, tragedy and comedy and dramatic works to be performed on the stage, etc.

Aristoteles: the artist is the creator of beautiful works of art. He can learn and must learn and think about every formal detail of literature. He has to become a master of his subject.

The critic must see whether the artist has chosen the right form for his subject, whether he used the right mood and rhyme scheme and music proper to his subject, and whether the characters are lifelike or true to life.

In terms of imitation, things should be within the possibilities of reality. They need not be real, not an exact copy of real life, but they should be

possible to happen, things that are familiar to us.

Method of Aristoteles: a classification, an exhausting definition, and classification of the art of literature and other arts with all elements.

Similar to the beginning of linguistics: the structure of a language, the structure of artwork, structure of a society (which social classes, what are the differences in their material and spiritual lives, what are their behavioral patterns, family lives, and education)

Tradition: Plato and Aristoteteles: had dwelt on the importance and function of imitation and the function of art and the genres and characteristics of poetry or poetic works.

Sydney refocuses on the same issues from the point of view of a Renaissance man.

He emphasizes the power of poetry of inspiration and claims that it enables the poet to surpass philosophers and historians to better serve society and morality.

The artist is made by the heavenly maker (god). He made man to his likeness (God created man in his image)and set him beyond and over all the works of that second nature (art).

“Poesy, therefore, is an art of imitation, (Aristo)