| LITERARY CRITICISM

MIE 227-N

hor ac e'
ars po et ica
NATURE OF POETRY
FUNCTION AND

Prepared by Celly C. Templonuevo

horace ars poetica poetry

Author's Parts and Its Function and

Background Brief Analysis Nature
about HORACE
Horace was one of the great poets of
Roman Augustan Age
Horace was a master of the short lyric
and the very embodiment of wit.
Horace became a model of the courtly
poet who could move around in high
society without prostituting his talents
or his art.
 “Ars Poetica”

ARS POETICA
(“The Art of Poetry” or “On
the Nature of Poetry”)

A treatis

(The Art of
Poetry)
e or liter
on poetic ary essay
s by the
poet Hor Roman
ace, publ
around 1 ished
original title, “Epistula Ad Pisones” (“Letters to the Pisos”) 8 or 19 B
CE.
 Synopsis
The poem takes the form of a letter of advice on the
pursuit of literature, addressed to a father and two sons,
known only as the Pisos, whose identity is uncertain. The
work is often split up into sections as follows (although
other splits have also been suggested):
Lines 1 – 37: On unity and harmony.
Lines 38 – 72: The writer’s aims.
Lines 73 – 118: What the tradition dictates (decorum).
Lines 119 – 152: Invention vs. imitation (be consistent if you are original).
Lines 153 – 188: On characterization (the four ages of man).
Lines 189 – 219: On the gods, chorus and music (in tragic drama).
Lines 220 – 250: On style (especially in satyr plays).
Lines 251 – 274: On metre and versification.
Lines 275 – 294: Tragedy and comedy, Greek and Roman poets.
Lines 295 – 332: How to be a good poet (talent versus art).
Lines 333 – 365: Combine instruction with pleasure.
Lines 366 – 407: Avoid mediocrity (errors are permissible if there are compensating pleasures).
Lines 408 – 437: Study and talent are both needed, but beware of the flattery of critics.
Lines 438 – 476: Know your faults and keep your wits.
 introduction
In the letter,
It is a verse epistle Horace is The letter is a
addressed to the purportedly giving none-to-subtle
Pisco family. This advice to the two appeal to the boys
family was Pisco boys on to give up poetry.
Horace's patron. how to write
great poetry.
introduction
With much irony and Horace, a master of the
wit, Horace advice the ironic prose, expresses
boys to put their contempt in his letter for
poetry in a closet for critics who flatter their
nine years before patrons instead of telling
showing it to the public. them the truth.
 key points

A critic is a whet The purpose of the

whetstone is not itself
stone against
to write a great
which poets can
poetry, but to teach
sharpen their the proper duty and
work. office of the poet.
 key points

It includes censuring The laws that dictate

and editing poetry what is not appropriate
that either uses the for poetry constitute the
wrong material or central and foundational
handles that material notion of all neoclassical
in an appropriate way. art: decorum.
horace and the rules of decorum
Decorum is the stipulation not to mix unlike things.

He illustrates this rule by scornfully lampooning the image of the

mermaid; such images, he declare, are the work of the feverish minds.

Specifically, Horace attacks poets who mix genres, who use comic
subjects as the basis of a tragedy or vice versa.

Each genre should have its own style that is natural to it. There
should be an unbroken, clearly defined unity of action, character and
mood.
horace and the rules of decorum
Decorum is the stipulation not to mix unlike things.

Each given genre should have its own specific meter, a meter with
rhythmic sounds that closely mimic to the sense of the poem.

When writing on a traditional subject, modern poets must be faithful

to the literary precedents set by their poetic forebears.
 What is fit/proper to be shown
publically?

Gory and explicit

scenes must be kept Such rule was not
off the stage: such followed in the theatre
scenes of suffering of Shakespeare.
should be related by
a messenger.
 Decorum Horace's comparison of
poetry and painting

As with painting, some

poems are best viewed In later neoclassical
close up while others theory, this notion
are better when seen took on greater
from a distance: some
significance.
best in shadows,
others in light.
 FUNCTION OF POETRY

The proper end

Poetry should
of poetry is to
please and
be both concise
teach. and realistic.
 NATURE OF POETRY

It should include
It should please
the truth, truth
the reader or
of life and
audience.
beauty.
 nature and duties of the poet

The true poets Like an The best

combine athlete, he The artisan poets make it
genius and needs both poet must look easy;
art; he is an native ability labor, never their works are
inspired and rigorous to mediocre. so perfect and
craftsman. training. unified.
the role of the poet
He must please an often-vulgar crowd while staying
true to his art.

He must make a living without letting the love of money

taint his soul.

The poet is the great civilizer to humanity. He tamed the best

within and established cities, laws, and moral rules of conduct.

He is a divine oracle to whom honor and fame are due.

 references

Literature Simply. (n.d.). Literaturesimply.com. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from

https://literaturesimply.com/page-details?
id=37#:~:text=Function%20of%20Poetry%3A%20Horace%2C%20basically

Poetry Foundation. (2009). Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69381/ars-poetica

Rooml, C. (n.d.). ARS POETICA - HORACE - Ancient Rome - Classical Literature. Ancient
Literature. https://www.ancient-literature.com/rome_horace_ars.html