What is Imitative Poetry and Why is it Bad?1
Jessica Moss
Plato's argument against poetry in Republic 10 is perplexing. He condemns not all
poetry, but only "however much of it is imitative (hosê mimêtikê)" (595a). A
metaphysical charge against certain works of poetry that they are forms of imitation, "at
a third remove from the truth" is thus used to justify an ethical charge: that these works
cripple our thought and corrupt our souls. Unfortunately, it is not at all clear how to
understand the connection between the two charges. We can see how they are related in
a loose way: imitators are concerned with images far removed from the truth about what
they represent (596a-598b); many people are too foolish to distinguish imitation from
reality and thus accept ignorant imitators as experts and guides (598c-602b); imitation
appeals to and thereby strengthens an inferior part of the soul unconcerned with truth
(602c ff); worst of all, the charms of imitation can......
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