Mohamed R. answered • 11/15/22
Professional Tutor
When it comes to the way the ancient World conceives a poet or poetry, in general, we will encounter two different views: The Platonian view that perceives arts, including poetry, as an imitation of the Forms (the World of Architypes). In that case, a good piece of arts is the one that contemplates the unchanging, eternal World as opposed to the unstable, temporary material World in which we live.
The second view is the Aristotelian one that perceives arts as a self-expression. Exemplary arts are those that portray all the aspects of the artist/poet's personality.
Painting and sculpture are among the arts that reveal the artists inner world, which explains why poetry in the ancient world can enjoy a higher status when it is accompanied by paintings and sculptures.
