Bibliography
| Title: The structure of Plutarch's De audiendis poetis Secondary Title: Mnemosyne Volume: 35 Pages: 60-71 Type: Journal Article Year: 1982 Abstract: Rather than discussing its place in ancient philosophical discourse on poetry, Schenkeveld proposes to look at the De audiendis poetis as a work in its own right, especially in an attempt to elucidate its structure. He looks to a deeper structure to explain the alternation between theoretical and practical chapters in the treatise. Since Plutarch intended that the educator’s son read the treatise, Schenkeveld identifies the practical chapters as most important. These chapters display a progression of skill on the part of the student, from simple passages to complete works, and from simple reading to more complex analytical interpretation. More significantly, this progression takes the reader from statements and actions, through the analysis of characters, to a consideration of vices and virtues, or philosophy. The first theoretical and practical sections focus on the wrong opinions in poetry, and how to counter them. The second theoretical and practical sections focus on the mixture of good and bad in poetry. The theoretical chapters provide the underlying principles for each section, while the practical chapters provide the actual tools for reading, for which no theoretical analysis is provided. Keywords: Plutarch, poetry |