Platos Repubulic- Music, Art, Literature Essay -- essays research pap

In The Republic, Plato uses many different aspects in Books II, III, and X including: art, literature, and music. These aspects play a huge part in the building of the â€Å"ideal city†. Plato includes what can and cannot be used and what is good and what is bad for the city. While building the city, everything is broken down and analyzed by Plato. Art as an imitation of real things, three types of imitation, the types of literature, art, and music allowed and not allowed in the city, and the impact of art on the people of the city will all be analyzed in this paper. Books III and X contain information on art as an imitation of real things. â€Å"Imitation, we say, imitates human beings performing forced or voluntary actions, and, as a result of the action, supposing themselves to have done well or badly, and in all of this experiencing pain or enjoyment† (287). Plato also describes art as the imitation of real things as a copy of an object. A painter paints a picture of a couch. The couch in the painting looks the same as the couch that was used for the painting, but the couch in the picture is a copy of the original couch. Plato makes it seem that art imitates the objects and events of real life. Plato furthers his point by introducing his theory that a copy of a copy of an object is imitation. For example, carpenters build a bed which they did not originally event. The carpenter’s bed was built by the carpenter but it was based off another bed that was originally created by God. This makes the carpenter’s bed a copy of another bed. When a painter is painting he also creates a copy of an object. If he paints the carpenters bed, it is a copy of a copy of an object. Plato includes, â€Å"imitation is surely far from the truth, and, as it... ...s that the people are very important to Plato. If degrading artwork, stories, or poems enter the city it could make the people weak, unhappy, and very depressed. On the other hand, if positive artwork is introduced the whole mood of the city changes. They could be come strong, happy, and vivacious. Plato made sure that there was no literature or music that sad or discouraging in the city. As seen in Books II, III, and X, art, literature, and music played a large part in putting the ideal city together. The imitation of art had a large impact on everyone in the city, each type of music had to fit the personality or job of each person in the city, and the literature had to be watched closely so that the women, children, and even men were not distraught by it. While building the ideal city Plato had to make sure everything was perfect so that everyone was happy.