Re-Arguing Plato's "Republic X"

Paper Summary:

This paper re-examines Plato's "Republic X" as it attempts to denounce the poets from Plato's "perfect" republic. It argues for the expulsion of poetry that is not of lyric or historical importance and in doing so attacks some of the very important ideals that modern poetry is founded upon. The paper takes Plato's arguments that the poet does not actually "create" in his craft and is therefore, basically, a liar, and attempts to further this argument by using quotes from James and Wordsworth in an attempt to re-argue Plato's point.

From the Paper:

"In the Republic, Book X, Socrates, through the pen of his brilliant pupil Plato, argues for "our refusal to admit the imitative kind of poetry, for it certainly ought not to be received." (p. 21) However, although Plato is widely regarded as a man of unquestioned genius, and his Republic a work of infinite possibility, this single phrase that sums the whole of the tenth book up has become the topic of heated debate in western literary criticism."

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