MAE601-eL2

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2 M.A.English Literary Criticism and Literary Criticism and Critical Critical Approaches- I Approaches- I Course Code: MAE 601 Semester: First e-Lesson: 2 SLM Unit: 2 www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) https://www.google.com/search?q=Greek+theatre All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO OBJECTIVES 33 Student will be introduced to social background INTRODUCTION of Plato In this unit the student will be able to Student will be introduced to the literary understand the great philosopher, Plato background of Plato Student will be able to understand Plato’s Student will be introduced to Plato’s Book X of contribution as a great thinker The Republic Student will also be able to understand what had written in his Book X of The Republic www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) INSTITUTEAOllF rDigIShTtAaNrCeEreAsNeDrvOeNdLwINitEhLCEAUR-INDIONLG

TOPICS TO BE COVERED 4 Plato : Social Background Literary Criticism and Critical Plato : Literary background Approaches- I Plato : Book X of The Republic Analysis www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO 5 Plato: The Republic - Book 10 Summary ... www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO Born around the year 428 B.C. in Athens 6 His father died when he was young All right are reserved with CU-IDOL Plato’s birth name was Aristocles (not to be confused with Aristotle) and he gained the nickname “Platon” because of his broad build When he was young, his basis of study was music and poetry Plato was in the military service from 409 B.C. to 404 B.C. and then joined a group called the Thirty Tyrants, but ended up leaving it because of the violence. Socrates was Plato’s disciple and Plato started to adopt his philosophy & style of debate. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601)

PLATO 7 All right are reserved with CU-IDOL  After Socrates’ death in 399 B.C., Plato left Athens with some friends and travelled for the next 12 years while studying geometry, geology, astronomy, and religion. Plato’s studies were directed toward the question of virtue & the formation of noble character When Plato returned to Athens in 387 B.C., he started a school of learning called the Academy, which was eventually described as the 1st European University At the Academy, he taught his subjects astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601)

PLATO 8  He had 36 dialogues (books) and 13 letters - “The Republic” Give readers a sense of philosophy as a living and unfinished subject, to which they will need to contribute to finish Modern scholars doubt the authenticity After writing, his works were “lost” until the Renaissance They have been steadily studied since Big influence in math and science Difference between arithmetic and logistic www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO 9 He believed that ideas were far more real than the natural world. He advised that astronomers not waste their time observing the stars and planets. It was better he believed, just to think about them” - Carl Sagan www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 10 Socrates has now completed the main argument of The Republic; he has defined justice and shown it to be worthwhile. He turns back to the postponed question concerning poetry about human beings. In a surprising move, he banishes poets from the city. He has three reasons for regarding the poets as unwholesome and dangerous. First, they pretend to know all sorts of things, but they really know nothing at all. It is widely considered that they have knowledge of all that they write about, but, in fact, they do not. The things they deal with cannot be known: they are images, far removed from what is most real. By presenting scenes so far removed from the truth poets, pervert souls, turning them away from the most real toward the least The Republic by Plato : Revi www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 11 Worse, the images the poets portray do not imitate the good part of the soul. The rational part of the soul is quiet, stable, and not easy to imitate or understand. Poets imitate the worst parts—the inclinations that make characters easily excitable and colorful. Poetry naturally appeals to the worst parts of souls and arouses, nourishes, and strengthens this base elements while diverting energy from the rational part. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 12 Poetry corrupts even the best souls. It deceives us into sympathizing with those who grieve excessively, who lust inappropriately, who laugh at base things. It even goads us into feeling these base emotions vicariously. We think there is no shame in indulging these emotions because we are indulging them with respect to a fictional character and not with respect to our own lives. But the enjoyment we feel in indulging these emotions in other lives is transferred to our own life. Once these parts of ourselves have been nourished and strengthened in this way, they flourish in us when we are dealing with our own lives. Suddenly we have become the grotesque sorts of people we saw on stage or heard about in epic poetry. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 13 Despite the clear dangers of poetry, Socrates regrets having to banish the poets. He feels the aesthetic sacrifice acutely, and says that he would be happy to allow them back into the city if anyone could present an argument in their defense. Socrates then outlines a brief proof for the immortality of the soul. Basically, the proof is this: X can only be destroyed by what is bad for X. What is bad for the soul is injustice and other vices. But injustice and other vices obviously do not destroy the soul or tyrants and other such people would not be able to survive for long. So nothing can destroy the soul, and the soul is immortal www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 14 Once Socrates has presented this proof, he is able to lay out his final argument in favor of justice. This argument, based on the myth of Er, appeals to the rewards which the just will receive in the afterlife. According to the myth, a warrior named Er is killed in battle, but does not really die. He is sent to heaven, and made to watch all that happens there so that he can return to earth and report what he saw. He observes an eschatalogical system which rewards virtue, particularly wisdom. For 1000 years, www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

PLATO’s BOOK X OF THE REPUBLIC 15 People are either rewarded in heaven or punished in hell for the sins or good deeds of their life. They are then brought together in a common area and made to choose their next life, either animal or human. The life that they choose will determine whether they are rewarded or punished in the next cycle. Only those who were philosophical while alive, including Orpheus who chooses to be reborn as a swan, catch on to the trick of how to choose just lives. Everyone else hurtles between happiness and misery with every cycle. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 16 1. When was Plato born?? c) 426 B.C. in Athens a) 428 B.C. in Athens d) 425 B.C. in Athens b) 427 B.C. in Athens c) Sophocles 2. What was the birth name of Plato? d) Aristocles a) Aristotle b) Meander c) Herculeus d) Socrates 3. Who was the disciple of Plato? a) Tagore c) Sir Philip Sydney b) Jupiter d) Plato 4.Who is called the founder of the First European University? a) Newton b) Albert Einstein Answers: 1.a) 2.d) 3.d) 4.d) www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

SUMMARY 17 Plato had 36 dialogues (books) and 13 letters - “The Republic” Give readers a sense of philosophy as a living and unfinished subject, to which they will need to contribute to finish Modern scholars doubt the authenticity After writing, his works were “lost” until the Renaissance They have been steadily studied since Big influence in math and science Difference between arithmetic and logistic Poetry corrupts even the best souls. It deceives us into sympathizing with those who grieve excessively, who lust inappropriately, who laugh at base things. It even goads us into feeling these base emotions vicariously. www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 18 1.Q Write a small note on Plato’s social history. 2. Q Write a small note on Plato’s contribution to subjects like philosophy 3. Q Critically evaluate the summary of Book X of The Republic? www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions ... All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

REFERENCES 19 David Daiches : Critical Approaches to Literature, 2nd ed., Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2001. M. H. Abrams : A Glossary of Literary Terms, Singapore: Harcourt Asia Pvt. Ltd., 2000. Rene Wellek : A History of Modern Criticism: 1750-1950, Vols. I-IV, London: Jonathan Cape, 1958. M.A.R. Habib : A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present, Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Patricia Waugh : Literary Theory & Criticism: An Oxford Guide, Delhi: OUP, 2006. The Republic: Book X - SparkNotes www.sparknotes.com › philosophy › republic › section10 www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

20 THANK YOU www.cuidol.in Unit-2 (MAE601) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL