217 Semester – II
NAAC ACCREDITED Reference Material for Three Years Bachelor of English (Hons.) Code : 217 Semester – II DISCLAIMER :FIMT, ND has exercised due care and caution in collecting the data before publishing tis Reference Material. In spite of this ,if any omission,inaccuracy or any other error occurs with regards to the data contained in this reference material, FIMT, ND will not be held responsible or liable. COPYRIGHT FIMT 2020 Page 1 BA ENGLISH (HON) SEM IV PAPER CODE 202 LITERARY CRITICISM Q1. What are Aristotle's views on mimesis? Ans: Mimesis is a Greek term that means imitation. The first step in understanding Aristotle's account of mimesis is remembering that he spent many years studying at Plato's Academy. In Platonic thought, the things we encounter via our senses, the phenomena, are imitations of ideal forms. Art (whether poetry or painting), in imitating the phenomena, is thus merely an imitation of an imitation. Plato also divides imitation by medium (words, paint, marble, etc.). He further divides the verbal techniques of imitation into pure imitation or mimesis, in which an actor impersonates a character on stage, and diegesis, or narration, in which a narrator speaks in the third person about events. Epic is a mixed form, using both impersonation and narration when performed by a rhapsode. Plato tends to condemn imitation as degrading, because (1) impersonation can inculcate bad or non-rational habits and (2) because it focuses attention on mere phenomena. Aristotle accepts the Platonic distinction between mimesis and diegesis, but finds both valuable as modes of training and educating emotions.
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