Reflection: Week#1, 1/25/11-2/1/11

English 436 Reflection Week #1 1/26/11-2/1/11, by Bernie Sapir

Last Tuesday’s class helped me realize that I had a lot of studying to do: My response to Dr. Wexler’s clip was limited compared to other students’ responses. The ones most indelible to me were the critiques from the Feminism point of view, reflecting the restrictions and the lack of freedom of the female puppet.  After reading our Anthology’s Introduction, the ensuing discussion is clearer to me now, and I deliberate whether to put a Marxism critique’s slant on the clip, as the characters reflect the class disparity between the performers and the royalty, perpetuating an absurdity.

Over the weekend I read our Anthology’s Introduction followed by Gorgias and Plato; however, it clicked more for me after rereading  the Introduction’s “Classical Theory and Criticism” a second time, being that I then realized more that Gorgias’ and Plato’s discourse was from a critique’s point of view; thus, the objective of this course became clearer to me. As far as their content, Gorgias of Leontini appreciates excellence in language as a tool for rhetorical and persuasive matters. His philosophy is compatible with Sophistry as he makes a great lawyer’s case for Helen.

 On the other hand, Plato criticizes sophistry; he is more interested in truth and protecting Greek society,which may be a contradiction, as occasionally they are mutually exclusive. Furthermore, Plato’s advocating censoring parts of The Iliad and The Odyssey because of the negative images of the Gods is troubling to me. Actually, he seems more concerned with the state of the city and the corrupting influence on society than with creative freedom of poets and playwrights. In addition, Plato’s disapproval of poets mimicking nature—mimesis—appears inflexible. He seems intolerant at times for creative expressionism as just a copy. The Introduction to The Norton Anthology of  Theory & Criticism expresses that Aristotle has even less toleration for sophistry than Plato, which to me is positive position and stimulates my interest in reading Aristotle this week.