Analysis #1

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Poetry and Arousing Emotions

Plato had a very strong hostility toward poetry and felt “determined to resist its spell” (xxiii). He felt the want to ban poetry due to its ability to arouse emotions in people that should be kept inside. He wanted the society to be able to use poetry and singing, but only if it were turning “the soul towards virtue” (xxv). In Plato’s opinion because poetry was able to stimulate the emotions of people it is “psychologically damaging, for it appeals to an inferior element in the soul, and encourages us to indulge in emotions which ought to be kept firmly in check by the control of reason” (xxv). In my opinion and as a poet myself, I think it is perfectly acceptable to have something such as poetry (or any art in general) to evoke our feelings, or desires. I think that Plato thought some emotions should be kept inside and that they aren’t moral and acceptable to be shared within society. There is a song that I think proves Plato’s point called “Thinking of You” by Katy Perry. This song explains a girl who is in love with one person but is dating someone else, while thinking of the one she is in love with. The problem with this song is that it indirectly promotes an immoral behavior of thinking it’s acceptable to lie to your partner. As much as I absolutely love this song, I think it is a prime example of the reason why Plato believed that poetry shouldn’t have been used to promote our feelings or arouse other’s feelings. Yet, even though the song advertises an immoral behavior, it offers its audience an example of someone who may be feeling the exact same way they are. I think it’s an amazing privilege to have poetry surrounding us. A lot of people aren’t able to write poetry and they are very thankful that others are able to put peoples thoughts into song and poetry. It’s a great feeling to hear a song or read a poem and be able to relate to it, even if you had no prior relationship with the author. So, even though I understand Plato’s revolt against poetry and it’s promotion of immoral feelings, I still think that personal expression is important and poetry (and song) gives us that option.

Works Cited

Classical Literary Criticism. Trans. T.S. Dorsch and Penelope Murray. London: Penguin
Books, 2004.



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