EDEBİYAT ELEŞTİRİSİ TARİHİ

1. Plot
2. Character
3. Thought: The correlation between a character's
action and personality
4. Diction: A poet's particular use of language
5. Song: The relation of music to the plot
6. Spectacle: The visual element of performance

Tragedy: "An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain

magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the
several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not
of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these
emotions" 

 A tragedy is first and foremost the representation of human action;

 The actions represented have serious, often dire consequences, and the
characters represented are of elevated social status;
 The plot is a complete, coherent whole, lasting long enough to represent
adequately the reversal of the hero's fortune;
 The language in which a tragedy is composed employs tropes and other
heightened or unusual uses of speech and a mixture of different poetic
meters; 
 The mode of imitation in a tragedy is drama as opposed to the narrative;
 The tragedy arouses pity and fear in the viewer and brings about catharsis.

Mimesis:  Plato and Aristotle spoke of mimesis as the re-presentation of nature.

According to Plato, all artistic creation is a form of imitation: that which exists
(in the “world of ideas”) is a type created by God; the concrete things man
perceives in his existence are shadowy representations of this ideal type.
Therefore, the painter, the tragedian, and the musician are imitators of
an imitation, twice removed from the truth. Aristotle, speaking of tragedy,
stressed the point that it was an “imitation of an action”—that of a man falling
from a higher to a lower estate. Shakespeare, in Hamlet’s speech to the actors,
referred to the purpose of playing as being “…to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up
to nature.” Thus, an artist, by skillfully selecting and presenting his material,
may purposefully seek to “imitate” the action of life.
THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

Discussions of how humans perceive reality and whether there is any higher
truth to existence. Plato uses this allegory as a way to discuss the deceptive
appearances of things we see in the real world. Through it, he encourages people
to instead focus on the abstract realm of ideas.

The Cave
The cave symbolizes the world we live in. Nobody wants to think about this
grim truth, but it is apt to describe our reality. The cave symbolizes limiting and
restriction.

The Prisoners
The prisoners represent human beings.

The Light
Light illustrates in-depth knowledge of the reality of life outside the cave. The
reality of a small ray of light gives a possibility of freedom to the prisoners. But
this freedom is available to those who pursue the path of enlightenment.

Basking in the Light

After a prisoner has gained freedom, he has a more significant task to
accomplish. He must become a beacon of light to his family and friends. His
new goal in life is to get as many people as possible to see the reality of living
outside the cave by a conscious effort to become knowledgeable. Beyond this
task, he must protect himself from falling back into the trap of ignorance, as this
will make other prisoners question his knowledge of the truth. This could be a
philosopher in our life.

Conclusion
The Allegory of the Cave gives credence to the concept of human existence
based on knowledge instead of beliefs. Just like Socrates and Plato believed that
life should be subject to intellectual insights. Though most people have been
born and raised in this false reality, the small tunnel of light is all they need to
discover the truth about life.

Irrespective of how long a prisoner stays in the cave, he has the sole
responsibility of seeking the true meaning of his existence. Although he might
need help from others who have escaped from the cave, he must put in the effort
to obtain knowledge.