Neoclassical Thinkers Flashcards
Longinus, Sidney, Horace
What issue does Poetics address about “literariness”?
Poetics raises the issue of “literariness”, the
nature of poetic discourse that sets it apart
from other discourses.
What Poetics explores?
Poetics explores both
1) the theoretical premises of poetics as a
metadiscursive activity and
2) the art of poetry as a set of conventions.
What is the origin of Neoclassicism?
Neoclassicism derives from a deliberate, selfconscious desire and attempt to imitate the
Classical world.
What is imitation?
Imitation is a way of transforming the “original”
into a recognisable set of conventions.
Neoclassical framework and imitation
The neoclassical framework posits imitation as the
origin of tradition.
Horace is/wrote
Horace was one of the great poets of Rome’s
Augustan age., wrote Ars Poetica
To whom is Ars Poetica addressed, and what literary form does it take?
Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) is a verse epistle
addressed to the sons of Horace’s patron family.
three conceptual parts of Ars Poetica
1) general poetic principles;
2) rules for drama;
3) the poet’s moral code.
How is literary imitation viewed in terms of cultural stability and aligning the Roman world with the Greek past?
Literary imitation is conceived as a mechanism
for cultural stability and a means of synching
the Roman world with the Greek past.
What role does the Underworld play as a scene of imitatio, and how does it relate to the hero’s interaction with his predecessors in epic poetry?
The Underworld is a scene of imitatio, where the
hero speaks with his forerunners, where the epic
poets join their work to a tradition (cf. Dante,
Milton).
How does neoclassical imitatio relate to the modern concept of intertextuality?
The neoclassical imitatio anticipates the
modern concept of intertextuality
Intertextuality
Intertextuality suggests that all cultural
products participate in and derive from a
shared cultural memory articulated through
narratives.
What is Horace’s perspective on imitation in relation to creative transformation?
Horace argues that imitation without creative
transformation is fatal.
Role of the Critic - Horace
For Horace, the critic is a whetstone against
which poets can sharpen their work.
The purpose of the whetstone is not to write great
poetry, but to teach the proper duty and office
of the poet.
Decorum
a standard of appropriateness by
which certain styles, characters, forms, and
actions in literary works are deemed suitable to
one another within a hierarchical model of
culture bound by class distinction. / 1. propriety, esp in behaviour or conduct
2. a requirement of correct behaviour in polite society
Neoclassical art ranks literary genres in
“high”,
“middle” and “low” stations.
Tragedy and epic are…
“high” genres (grand style,
high ranking characters performing great deeds).
Comedy is a
“low” genre (humble characters and
events presented in a colloquial style).
what is indecorous
Mixture of styles (mixing tragedy and comedy for example) is indecorous.
Rules of decorum
A work of art is cohesive, where
each part works in relation to one
another and the whole of the play. Decorum stipulates not to mix
unlike things.
What elements are demanded by the distinction of genres, according to Horace?
Distinction of genres demands a specific style that is
natural to each genre and an unbroken, clearly
defined unity of action, character, and mood.
What requirement does Horace propose for each genre in terms of its meter?
Each genre should have its own specific metre, a
metre with rhythmic sounds that closely mimic
(“fit”) the sense of the poem.
What are the two key aspects of tragic heroes that Horace reiterates from Aristotle’s rule, and how does he incorporate this rule within an established tradition, akin to neoclassicism?
Horace 1) reiterates Aristotle’s rule that tragic
heroes must be both appropriate and consistent;
and 2) inscribes this rule within an accepted
authority or tradition, a common trait of
neoclassicists. (cf. T. S. Eliot’s “Tradition and
Individual Talent”: all writers measure
themselves against tradition, which is
language)
Dulce et utile
to please and teach