Plato and the "Critique" of Poetry

Catalog description

Plato's relationship to poetry is notoriously problematic. Despite the seeming banishment of poetry from the ideal polis in Plato's Republic, the Platonic dialogues evince a sustained engagement with poetry and poetic models. Proclus famously declared that the same reasoning in the Republic "would require us to banish not only Homer but Plato himself from the state . . ." In this course we will concentrate in depth on those sections from Plato's dialogues that consider poets and poetry, focusing especially on Plato's Republic, Protagoras, Gorgias, Phaedrus, Ion, and Apology. We will also examine the power of poetry and the significant role it played in ancient Greek culture and educational practices, reading selections from a number of poets, including Homer, Hesiod, and Pindar.