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Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, literature is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction (Watling 2008). Literature can be grouped into classic, neo classic and modern among others depending mainly on the period in which it was produced. In practice, classical literature generally refers to the literature of Ancient Greece and the Golden and Silver Ages of Rome (Saunders 2008) and those who were doing it are known as classical theorist. Examples of classical theorist are Plato and Aristotle and those who came behind them are regarded as post classical and some of them are Horace and Longinus among others. Some scholars have argued that post classical literary theorist and critics have used Plato’s and Aristotle’s ideas in their understanding of literature and it is the aim of this essay to discuss the extent to which post classical theorist used the knowledge of Plato and Aristotle in understanding literature but before that the background of each theorist shall be provided (Saunders 2008) To begin with Plato he Plato was born in 428 bc in Athens to a family of long aristocratic lineage, a fact which must eventually have shaped his philosophy at many levels. At the age of 20, Plato, like many other young men, fell under the spell of the controversial thinker and teacher Socrates. The impact on Plato was profound: he relinquished his political ambitions and devoted himself to philosophy. Plato advocates an open and strict censorship of poetry on the grounds of, the falsity of its claims and representations regarding gods and men, its corruptive effect on character and its disorderly complexity and encouragement of individualism in the sphere of sensibility and feeling. Plato stresses that poets must not present the gods as deceitful since there is no lying poet in God. He also pointed out that all poets and poetry which brings harm to the society and those who portrays the gods as evil must be banished from the society (Habib 2005).

Secondly is Aristotle. He lived between 384 to 322BC. He was the most brilliant student of Plato he has contributed much in metaphysics, logic, ethics, politics, literary criticism, and various branches of natural science. In 343 BC He was invited by King Philip of Macedon to serve as tutor to his son Alexander at his court in Pella. Later on he opened his own school of rhetoric and philosophy, the Lyceum, in Athens. Unlike that of Plato who emphasized on mathematics, metaphysics, and politics, at Aristotle’s Lyceum natural science predominated. On poetry Aristotle pointed out that the genesis of writing is imitation. Unlike his presider Plato who denounced imitation Aristotle argued that some people are good in the society hence they have to be imitated. He viewed literature as a tool of improving morality among human beings. He advocated of universal truth where he stated that “poets presents things not as they are but how as they should be” (Bressler 1999 p:19) The extent which post classical theorist used Plato’s and Aristotle’s ideas in understanding literature. To begin with Quintus Horatius Flaccus also known as Horace, he lived between 65–8 BC, he defined literature in his work of Ars poetica. Horace is known primarily as a poet, a composer of odes, satires, and epistles. In the realm of literary criticism, he has conventionally been associated with the notions that “a poem is like a painting,” that poetry should teach and delight, as well as the idea that poetry is a craft and it do not need to be tied itself to actual facts he also argued that poets have the license of invention hence but they must use it to create a unified whole which requires effort. In his work he provided advises or guiding principles which writers must follow in producing poetry. He also pointed out that poetry must work on knowledge and not on books. He said that imitation is an important tool in poetry and poets must imitate other poets particularly of the past and literature should be used as a tool of teaching people besides entertaining them (Horace (1974). Basing on his arguments Horace used Plato’s and Aristotle’s Ideas in such a way that just like his predecessors Horace also agrees with them that poetry is a product of reason and imagination. He also viewed literature should be used as a tool of teaching people which is also in line with Plato who said that poetry should poetry gods as upright and it should teach good morals on the society. (Habib 2011) p:44 points out that “Horace’s call for literature to be socially useful as well as pleasing was vastly influential as was his insistence that a poem not only charm the reader but also offer moral advice . Horace also used knowledge of Aristotle of imitation in understanding literature. Just like Aristotle Horace pointed out that imitation is an important tool of literature hence poets must imitate the work of others. Therefore to this extent it might be concluded that Horace used the work of Plato and Aristotle in understanding literature in terms of imitation and use literature (Habib 2011). On the other hand Horace is not in line with Plato and Aristotle for instance he do not agree with Plato and Aristotle, for instance on imitation both Plato and Aristotle argued that poets must imitate from nature only, but Horace extend it by saying that poets and poetry must imitate other poets particularly those of the past (Bressler 1999). Habib points out that Horace argued against Plato, who had regarded the poet as necessarily distorting reality by offering a mere imitation of it, Horace insists that the principal fountain head of writing correctly is wisdom and he sees poetry as a repository of social and religious wisdom which is parallel to Plato who viewed poetry as evil not a source of religious wisdom. In addition to that Horace was less concerned with metaphysics unlike his predecessors Plato and Aristotle. Therefore to this extent Horace also used his own knowledge in understanding literature and he didn’t relay on Plato and Aristotle alone. (Bressler 1999) Secondly is Longinus. He lived in the first century. Both his place of birth and nationality remain uncertain he gained his important position in the industry of criticism after his treatise on sublime. He was the first comparative literal critic is such a way that he integrated works of various cultures in his work, he quoted Hebrew work and wrote both in Latin and his native language Greek. He focused on a work’s essence the constituent parts of work and literary taste. He concentrated on single element of a text and he was the first person to define literary classic. He argued that one cannot perfectly judge literary work without reading exceedingly well. According to Longinus a well great read critic is the one who can evaluate and recognize a sublime. He also argued that human beings are active learners who are capable of recognizing a sublime that has touched their souls. From his argument it can be deducted that he used Plato’s and Aristotle’s work in understanding literature in such a way that he agrees with Plato that poetry is a fruit of inspiration. In his work Plato states that poets are able to write because they were or are inspired by something hence it is from this knowledge where Longinus drew his argument from. Longinus also used Plato and Aristotle in understanding literature in such a way that he viewed imitation as an important aspect of poetry and he too argued that poet’s imitation must be based on nothing else but nature. Therefore to this extent Longinus used Plato’s and Aristotle’s ideas for instance he argued that literature should imitate on nature which was already argued by Plato and Aristotle. On the other hand, in parallel to Plato and Aristotle who focused respectively on work’s essence, the constituent parts  and literary taste, Longinus concentrates on single element of a text and he was the first critic to define a literary classic and he argued that one cannot accurately judge a literary work unless one is exceedingly which Plato and Aristotle never mentioned. Therefore to this extent it might be pre mature to conclude that Longinus used Plato and Aristotle’s ideas because not some of his arguments differ from that of Plato and Aristotle. (Aristotle 1944) Lastly is Sir Philip Sydney. He lived between 1554 to 86. During this period the paucity of literary criticism, and theory was made up of the abundance of critical activity and it was coined as the renaissance period. Sir Philip Sydney is regarded as the best critic of his time. He was a representative scholar, writer and gentleman of renaissance and wrote his book entitled “An apology for poetry” sometimes called (Defence of poetry) and it marked the beginning of English poetry. He argued that poetry is an art of imitation and its aim is to teach and delight moral values. Sydney valued poetry over history, law and philosophy and argued that only science embodies the truth. He ranked several genres of literature and declared all to be instructive and he declared poetry to excel all. He mocked other genres such as tragicomedy basing on unity of action, time and place. Then he widen up by defending poetry from those who viewed it as immoral and cursed all who hate poetry. (Sir Philip Sidney 1996) As evidenced in an art of apology for poetry, Sidney electric borrowed and often amended the theories of Plato and Aristotle. Just like his latter presider he viewed literature as a product of imitation which is in line with Aristotle who also viewed literature as a product of imitation. Sidney was also influenced by Aristotle’s notion of poetry as moral education through brilliant embodiment of characters in a way that let viewers develops morally by experiencing indirect situations and undergoing some form of cleansing. The Platonic influence is actually neo-Platonic. He also used Plato’s knowledge that the poet directly imitates the forms and thus can help the reader understand the noumena underlying the phenomena. To this extent it is clear that sir Philip Sydney used the Plato and Aristotle‘s ideas in understanding literature. There are disagreements between Plato and Sydney on literature. A major one involves imitation. Is art's sole function to be imitative? Plato believes that poetry and mythology are, in some cases, wholly imitative. According to Sydney though, the poet is a maker, yet all art is based in nature. Plato and Sydney also differ on the subject of imitation in the regard that Plato believes that imitation is wrong, and Sydney believes it is good giving the example that man is made in the image of God. Man is an imitation, therefore art as imitation is pure. Sydney believes that poetry is an art of imitation, and Plato believes that imitative poetry must not to be received. Another view on imitation by Plato is that there are three arts which are concerned with all things one which uses, another which makes, a third which imitates them. Also, according to Plato no one man can imitate many things. While on the other hand Sydney gives a room for a person to imitate more than one thing in such a way that a person can have many roles in a play. Therefore to this extent Sydney also had his own way of understanding literature. In conclusion though some of the post classic theorist differs in some way with Plato and Aristotle in one way or another but it is undeniable that their understanding of literature was much influenced by Plato and Aristotle.

REFERENCES Aristotle, The Metaphysics I–IX, trans. Hugh Tredennick, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press/Heinemann, 1947), p. 147. Hereafter cited as Met. I–IX. Adams, hazard (1997)ed. Critical Theory Since Plato. Harcout New York Con Davis, Robert and Laura Morrow (1989) eds. Contemporary Literary Theory. Universty of Massachusetts Press Amherst Corinne Saunders (2004) A Companion to Romance: From Classical to Contemporary (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture). Gabrielle Watling (2009) Cultural History of Reading Greenwood Press. Horace (1974) The Art of Poetry. Trans. Burton Raffel. New York, M. A. R. Habib (2005) A History of Literary Criticism From Plato to the Present, Blackwell Publishing Rice, Philip, and Patricia Waugh (1992)eds. Morden literary judgement. Longman. New York Sir Philip Sidney, A Defence of Poetry, ed. J. A. Van Dorsten (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966), pp. 60–61. Watson, George (1973). The Literary Critics. Woburn Press, London