Plato on Poetry

The article discusses Plato's views on poetry and art. There is a certain historical background in which his great quarrel with poetry took place. The article follows several main theses from Plato’s Republic, his most notable work, focusing specifically on the importance of the relationship between imitation and truth, emotions, and virtues. Furthermore, as suggested in the Symposium dialogue, love poetry serves as a proposed model for intellectual creativity in general. In the Phaedrus dialogue, new perspectives on the relationship between philosophy and poetry are considered. Unequivocally, Plato's philosophy strives for harmony and wholeness in everything it reflects.