The Purpose of Poetry?

While reading many of these philosophers, thinkers, and critics, I have (naturally) questioned what the fundamental purpose of poetry is, and if there is a universal answer to this question. Perhaps these aren't the most beneficial questions for me to be concentrating on as I continue reading for this class. From my perspective, these questions possess great importance because in order to be a good critic of any sort of art, you must understand what the piece of art should or shouldn't be doing.


I've tended, thus far, to side most with those thinkers who have suggested that the primary purpose of art (poetry) is to point its audience to truth and universal absolutes. Specifically, I think that Sydney and Hegel have the most intriguing notions of the purpose of poetry out of everyone we've read in class to this point. To an extent, I also think that both of them have very similar views of the purpose of poetry. On the index finger you have Sydney, who suggests that poetry is the best representation of the eidos, because it is the best model of human expression. On the ring finger you have Hegel, who suggests that the dialectic is in opposition to history and is actually working upwards towards the ideal/universal truth, and that poetry (any form of art) serves to be a vehicle to point towards this universal truth.


The problem I see with Sydney and Hegel is the issue of establishing what "universal truth" actually is. I think this refers back to Plato and the question of whether there actually is an ideal "chair-ness" or "god-ness." Since our ideas of perfection are finite, we are that much more likely to mistake the truth for something that is still just a mere representation. However, even though we are only exposed to representations in this universe, it's important to recognize that there are hints of universal truth in all representations, and we must not let Plato's theory of "degrees of truth" make us cynical to the truth we can encounter in poetry and other forms of art.