ARISTOTLE― THE POETICS-Introduction

 By Common consent, Aristotle the great philosopher of fourth c.entury B.C. is considered the father of literary criricism, even thqugh criticism of various kinds existed in fragments before him. . In fdct, his most significant literary pronouncements as preserved in "Th6 Poetics" are replies to his own master's views on fine arts in ggneral and poetry in particular .

 Plato's objections to poetry are to be found in the second, third and tenth books of his celebrazted utopian work, "The Republic". A'triart of his idealised vision of life, with emphasis on , political and moral protection; he fibds poetry more of a hindrance Ithan a help,.in the moulding of an ideal society. Using the word . "mimqsii" whichis loosely translated as imitation, he attempts to prove.that poetry by which was meantthe whole of literature those days is an illusion. For this purpose he makes good use of his lowridEory of ideas or Universals.

 Ideas, according to Plato, are the ultimate reality. Every object is a concentrated form of an idea ror it is an idea incarnate. Therefore, it is once removed from' ,r-eality or and is a copy. Slnce art deals with objects, including the living ones, it is twice rernoved from truth or it copies a copy. : Plqto unfortunately does not find in art anything that can mould . charaiter or promote the welfare'of the state. So he denounces all art as initiative, and thereforl ur,.u", and as immoral since it breeds bad examples set before people in the form of narratives about crime and wicked acts. 

Aristotle's magnumopus, The Poetics, is a fitting reply to Plato's charges against art, especially the art of literature. Since it is in the form of loosely structured lecture notes which he used for his lectures ar Lyceum,. his own school, it lacks in clarity and comprehensiveness. It is an acrobatic book a book to be understood with the help of other books. Though Piato andl . istotle have basically the same approach to Poetry (for L;rerature) as something to be evaluated in terms of its relevance to the whole human living, Aristotle believes that poetry has to be admired and judged as a thing having its own unique character and independent existence.