Imitation is the highest form of flattery
by shaylyn motter
Aristotle had a different view on art than most philosophers in his time. He believed that imitation and repetition was an important aspect of art and that “good” art displayed these qualities. According to Aristotle, humans have a natural love of imitation. He believed that was how we learned and how we were comfortable. Therefore, when we make music, clearly we use previous experiences and emotions, whether it be lyrical or instrumental. Musical imitation is more than just repeated history; it’s done in a way that allows the receiver to feel what the author or artist felt. As a philosopher, Aristotle believes that, “poetry is more philosophical and more elevated than history.” Modern music also uses repetition and imitation to relay feelings or a true idea.
Music is poetry. It is lyrical poetry and instrumental poetry; the rhythm and the words blend together to form something beautiful that represents a true feeling or an idea. If the person who is writing the music is sad, then the lyrics or music itself will reflect that. For example, modern love songs are usually written from the artist’s previous experiences whether they are tragic or have fairy-tale endings. This type of music would be agreeable to Aristotle because it is an imitation of a real situation.
Imitation can be used no matter what the situation is. It can be a serious love song or it can be a comical parody. Although, Aristotle wouldn’t care either way as long as it relayed some real life story and or happening. Comedy is the imitation of the worse examples of humanity that we, as humans, get through by making a joke out of it. A lot of modern rap songs have real life horrible situations turned into a parody.
Tragic music, or in other words sad or depressing music, is a huge part of modern music. When we’re sad we listen to a sad song. Music like this usually imitates a person who is going through a rough time and gets through it. This gives us, as humans, inspiration. It is an imitation of another person’s life to help you through yours. Aristotle would say that tragedy is the representation of a serious or meaningful action.
Furthermore, the newest and most modern type of music is EDM, or dubstep. EDM doesn’t have many lyrics. A lot of times, on the rare occasion that there are lyrics, they are comical. Aristotle would have mixed feelings about this type of music. It has imitation, but not of humanly actions or feelings. It imitates electronic noises and technology. EDM also has a lot of repetition. Repetition is another part of art that Aristotle liked and believed greatly in.
All in all, most modern music these days would be agreeable to Aristotle because it is a lot of imitation of real life situations that are meant to have you feel the way the artist felt. It gets in to your emotions in a safe way without you actually having to go through these actions or situations yourself. A question I have though is whether or not some of the music accurately displays the emotion that it should. Do you some people get comedy out of tragedy and happy out of sad? How is one to know that they are portraying their emotions and feelings clearly?
Music is poetry. It is lyrical poetry and instrumental poetry; the rhythm and the words blend together to form something beautiful that represents a true feeling or an idea. If the person who is writing the music is sad, then the lyrics or music itself will reflect that. For example, modern love songs are usually written from the artist’s previous experiences whether they are tragic or have fairy-tale endings. This type of music would be agreeable to Aristotle because it is an imitation of a real situation.
Imitation can be used no matter what the situation is. It can be a serious love song or it can be a comical parody. Although, Aristotle wouldn’t care either way as long as it relayed some real life story and or happening. Comedy is the imitation of the worse examples of humanity that we, as humans, get through by making a joke out of it. A lot of modern rap songs have real life horrible situations turned into a parody.
Tragic music, or in other words sad or depressing music, is a huge part of modern music. When we’re sad we listen to a sad song. Music like this usually imitates a person who is going through a rough time and gets through it. This gives us, as humans, inspiration. It is an imitation of another person’s life to help you through yours. Aristotle would say that tragedy is the representation of a serious or meaningful action.
Furthermore, the newest and most modern type of music is EDM, or dubstep. EDM doesn’t have many lyrics. A lot of times, on the rare occasion that there are lyrics, they are comical. Aristotle would have mixed feelings about this type of music. It has imitation, but not of humanly actions or feelings. It imitates electronic noises and technology. EDM also has a lot of repetition. Repetition is another part of art that Aristotle liked and believed greatly in.
All in all, most modern music these days would be agreeable to Aristotle because it is a lot of imitation of real life situations that are meant to have you feel the way the artist felt. It gets in to your emotions in a safe way without you actually having to go through these actions or situations yourself. A question I have though is whether or not some of the music accurately displays the emotion that it should. Do you some people get comedy out of tragedy and happy out of sad? How is one to know that they are portraying their emotions and feelings clearly?