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1 | |
Why did Plato banish the poet from his ideal state? |
| | A) | poetry makes an artificial distinction between form and content |
| | B) | poetry deals with form, to the neglect of content (and, therefore, to the neglect of truth) |
| | C) | in representing the sensual aspects of reality, the poet fails to discern the transcendent reality behind mere appearance |
| | D) | the poet can never produce a completely accurate replica of the reality it seeks to represent, and (moreover) the purpose of art is not to describe reality but to change it |
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2 | |
Which of the following theses is an example of mimetic criticism? |
| | A) | the epic poem cannot fully embody the pluralistic values of a democratic culture |
| | B) | Shelley's preference for the lyric form reflects his belief in democratic ideals |
| | C) | it is impossible to translate the full meaning of a poem into any other form |
| | D) | Tennyson's adherence to Victorian values explains his decision to write "Idylls of the King" |
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3 | |
In the 14th century, Christine de Pisan wrote a strikingly modern piece of "feminist" criticism in which she protested the way women had been represented in medieval poems like The Romance of the Rose. Upon what basis might a mimetic critic regard Christine de Pisan's critique as a misreading? |
| | A) | these poems are not "about" women at all; they are about the temptation to generalize with respect to women, and they play upon the reader's own penchant for seeing the world through stereotypes |
| | B) | these poems are not realistic representations of women but, rather, parodies of past representations |
| | C) | these poems have as their subject matter the artificial dichotomy of gender and do not refer to any reality outside that language itself |
| | D) | these poems were accurate representations of certain classes of women who existed prior to the Renaissance, and they should be evaluated only according to the subject matter to which they limited themselves |
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4 | |
Which interpretation of Keats' "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" best represents the mimetic perspective? |
| | A) | the author's arbitrary imposition of order upon the chaotic impressions of reality constitutes the only "truth" in a work of art |
| | B) | the line is an ironic quotation; the equation of "beauty" and "truth" as "all we know on earth" suggests that reality is an illusory concept and that the primary function of art is to construct a world with an aesthetic reality of its own |
| | C) | those aspects of reality which we perceive to be "beautiful" are the only worthy subject matter for the artist, and it is the artist's job to observe closely and isolate those sublime elements from the flux of the mundane |
| | D) | a work of literature is "beautiful" insofar as it offers an accurate representation of its subject matter, with fully realized characters and vivid description of events |
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education