Literary Response #7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literary Response #7 - Essay Example Indeed, a general perusal of Wright’s work reveals his interest in political concerns, but the most underlining features of his writing are the social and human concerns he addresses with great clarity. Consider his seminal poem ‘A Blessing’. In this poem Wright describes his encounter with two horses, and describes the meeting like he might an interaction with another person whom he cares dearly. In ‘A Note Left in Jimmy Leonard’s Shack,’ Wright continues his characteristic use of clear dialogue and concerns with daily human existence. For instance, he writes, â€Å"He’s drunk or dying now, I don’t know which,/ Rolled in the roots and garbage like a fish,/ The poor old man† (Perkins). While lacking stylistic complexity, it’s clear that the most unifying traits of Wright’s work is this ability to explore meaningful human concerns with great ease and clarity. In considering the poems of Edward Arlington Robinson one is drawn to the stark contrast his writing holds from that of James Wright. E.A. Robinson’s work has is more classically ‘poetic’ in that it is much more stylized, with some poems containing rhyming schemes and even iambic pentameter. While throughout the entire canon of Robinson’s work one is capable of identifying a plethora of themes, perhaps because of his upbringing that included the death of a brother to overdose and his largely solitary life. Consider poems like ‘Luke Havergal’ wherein Robinson largely utilizes iambic pentameter to convey the dark tone with a speaker that returns from the grave to implore Havergal to visit the western wall and speak with a mysterious individual. Another poem ‘Richard Cory’ continues Robinson’s use of iambic pentameter and while it begins in describing an individual with his outwardly happy, it concludes with the fateful words, â€Å"And Richard

Art and Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Art and Knowledge - Essay Example This positive tradition which follows the western philosophical thoughts loves to believe that art is largely emotive rather than informative. To illustrate, according to people like Ayer (1952, p.54), the sources of empirical knowledge should be synthetic propositions the truth value of which can be determined. In addition, logical relationships should be derived from analytic propositions which are open to manipulation (ibid). Does art provide knowledge? The historical discussion Admittedly, this traditional belief that art has nothing to do with epistemology arose from the fact that arts are mainly aimed at arousing emotion. In fact, people seek out arts mainly to get oneself lost into the imaginary world created by the arts. Thus, one can easily point out that arts are primarily meant to reach a natural high which is often the result of ones sensory responses. Thus, traditionally, arts and sensory experiences were interlinked and inseparable. Thus, Plato (1992, p. 113) argued tha t the sensory side of human experience is primary in the arts. According to Stolnitz (1992, p. 191), the argument is that senses are a hindrance to the achievement of the high state in which reality can be understood. In fact, the weights and chains of the prisoners incarcerated in Plato’s caves were really surrogates or proxies for the distractions that our senses imposed upon whatever our rational mind could possibly muster. Thus, one can see that the stimulation of senses, which takes place through arts, is rather misleading. As John (2001, p.330) reflects, instead of making one reach critical thinking and rationality, arts lead one away from truth which can only be derived through critical rationality. And as time passed, there arose two extremes in the cognitive triviality of arts (ibid). The opinion of Plato was contradicted by Aristotle (2008, p. 45) in Poetics through the argument that poetry is capable of conveying the knowledge of universals to people. Thus, there a rise two classes of thought; one that believes in the aesthetic value of art, and one that believes in the cognitive value of art. Admittedly, it is possible to develop a third class of thought; that is, aesthetic cognitivism. This class of thought claims that art can give knowledge, and also that this knowledge can enhance the aesthetic value of art. According to cognitivists, it is possible for art to impart knowledge. In order to substantiate their claim, cognitivists rely on philosophical knowledge as derived from various works of literature. The gist of their argument is that though moral philosophy manages to provide an outline of what is good; works of literature are useful and at times necessary to understand the application of the same in various situations. As McKeon (2001, p.241) comments, Aristotle comes up with three types of knowledge; theoretical, practical, and productive. The theoretical knowledge refers to the knowledge about things that are fundamental in nature ( ibid). An example of this knowledge is the products and processes of nature. Practical knowledge refers to the knowledge that teaches what to do to address certain contingencies. Thirdly, productive knowledge teaches one how to make new things. Admittedly, the question arises as to how art can introduce productive knowledge. Thus, one gains the insight that the meaning of the word ‘knowledge’ itself is likely to change according to the nature of the problem one pursues (ibid). Based on the traditional view of scientific knowledge, knowledge is supposed to come along with evidence regarding the truth. In other words, knowledge is the ability to provide warranted assertions. In other words, the term ‘