Plato (427–347 B.C.), a foundational figure of Western philosophy, was a disciple of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. He founded the Academy near Athens in 387 B.C.(Asked in Exam), which is recognized as the first great Western learning institution.

His philosophical inquiries are captured through dialogues. While his early works include Apology, Meno, and Crito, his major dialogues are the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, and Timaeus(Asked in Exam). Notably, the Republic, Phaedo, and Symposium form his central philosophical canon(Asked in Exam). Through these texts, he proposed the immortality of the rational soul, introduced the Demiurge and the World Soul, and explored themes of justice, truth, and the cosmos.

Central to his thought is the famous theory of eternal Forms or Ideas. Within this framework, he fundamentally argued in the Republic and Ion that art is imitation(Asked in Exam), firmly holding that art was an imitation of reality(Asked in Exam). He deeply feared that art appeals to emotions and corrupts the rational mind.

Centuries later, Neo-Platonists reconciled Plato and Aristotle(Asked in Exam), arguing that art could actually guide the soul to truth. This movement of Neo-Platonism was founded by Plotinus and Porphyry(Asked in Exam).

Furthermore, in the Timaeus, the concept of khora was introduced(Asked in Exam). This concept has echoed through modern literary theory: the post-structuralist Jacques Derrida wrote a short text titled Khôra(Asked in Exam), and psychoanalytic theorist Julia Kristeva proposed that khora bridges the semiotic and symbolic(Asked in Exam).

Plato’s Republic is a monumental philosophical dialogue where the main speakers are Socrates, Glaucon, and Adeimantus. It is famously structured as the 36th Dialogue with Glaucon and Adeimantus(Asked in Exam). Driven by the central question, "Why should I be just?", the text explores the intersections of politics, education, art, and metaphysics, positing that the Ideal State mirrors the harmony of a just soul.

The philosophical core of the text is the Allegory of the Cave, which illustrates the arduous ascent from ignorance to truth. The allegory vividly demonstrates “the effect of education (παιδεία) and the lack of it on our nature.”(Asked in Exam) In the cave, prisoners mistake mere shadows for reality. Upon being freed, a prisoner eventually sees the sun, the ultimate symbol of truth.

To explain this, Plato divides reality into the visible and intelligible(Asked in Exam) realms. The visible realm is defined by flux, multiplicity, and imperfection, whereas the intelligible realm is changeless, unified, and eternal. Physical objects merely partake in eternal Forms of reality (e.g., an object is beautiful only because it partakes in the Form of Beauty). Because virtue requires harmony between the soul and these Ideas—apprehended by reason alone—Plato severely critiques art.

Because art is seen as a copy of a copy, twice removed from the eternal Forms, poetry is banished from the Ideal State(Asked in Exam). In the context of literary representations, the exam often tests the neoclassic/Platonic principle that “Nothing can please many and please long but just representations of general nature.”(Asked in Exam) Plato believed art appeals to base emotions and corrupts the soul.

As the foundational root of literary criticism, Plato’s views on mimesis are unyielding. He argues that poetry is twice removed from reality(Asked in Exam), imitating only the imperfect shadows of the true Forms. Therefore, it provides illusion, not eternal truth. He definitively categorized poetry as “an imitation of reality”(Asked in Exam) and inherently “distant from reality”(Asked in Exam).

He distrusted the creative process, noting that poets write by sudden, irrational inspiration akin to madness. Because it bypasses reason, he argued that poets stir emotions and weaken reasoning(Asked in Exam), leading to the conclusion that poetry offers no true knowledge or wisdom(Asked in Exam). Labeling it the "mother of lies" that can corrupt both citizens and society, he saw three main objections to poetry:

• Objection one: It appeals to emotion rather than reason.
• Objection two: It treats virtue and vice equally, blurring moral lines.
• Objection three: It does not cultivate the intellect.

Plato maintained that poetry is valuable only if serving truth and guiding the soul toward moral education. This strict moral view sparked centuries of debate. During the Renaissance, Sidney’s Apology for Poetry refutes Plato(Asked in Exam). Defending the imaginative power of the writer, Sidney stated: “the poet nothing affirms, and therefore never lieth”(Asked in Exam), insisting that poetry both teaches and delights souls. Later, Shelley’s Defence of Poetry champions moral progress, arguing that poetry refines sensibility. The initial battle of Plato versus Sidney created a critical opposition that shaped centuries of literary debate.

For Plato, the highest principle is the Good, which he directly compared to the sun. Just as the sun makes sight and growth possible, the Good makes knowledge and existence intelligible. Because grasping the Good requires rigorous intellect, Plato argued that only philosophers should rule the state, as their rule aligns with cosmic universal harmony.

Applying this rational standard to public performance, Plato was highly critical of theatre. Drama, as a branch of poetry, relies heavily on public reaction. Dramatists manipulate audiences using quarrels and lamentations.

“Drama dissolves rational control into collective emotional responses.”

He argued that plays should show noble characters only. Instead, tragedy indulges grief and pity, while comedy provokes laughter at flawed characters. He believed eloquence without truth is always dangerous. Ultimately, Plato’s four objections to poetry(Asked in Exam) center on the fact that it misleads the mind and excites the wrong emotions.