Literary Criticism

A New History
By: Gary Day

Chapter 1: Greeks and Romans

(Summary)
 In ancient times, Greek and Roman society were pioneers when it came
literature and the arts. Although they had frequent sequences of crisis, Graeco-
Roman influence shaped the way people go about when it comes to politics and
how arts relate to the very systems man applies to his daily living.
Criticism is a word from the Greek term “krisis” which denotes judgment,
decisions and ways of thinking. Criticism is a valuable concept as it has guided,
continues to guide and will guide societies for year and even generations to come.
Its just interesting how we take this concept for granted in our day to day lives.
At first, both Greeks and Romans were inspired by Muses and gods to
fabricate works of art in the forms of poems. Eventually these literary and musical
works became the vehicle for their monarchy to be built. From there, episodes of
turmoil, oligarchy and tyranny grappled with their thriving metropolises. In all of
these events, both Greek and Roman Societies used Crisis as a way to shape who
they were as an artistically political class.
The first facets that molded their Societies were their love for Comedy,
Theater and the Student and Mentor relationships which produced the greatest
minds in the history of human civilization. In a festival in a Greek city of Dionysia
vibrant displays of arts which explores the realm of intellect and at the same time
honor their gods who serve as the foundation of their society. The mentoring of
one generation to the next was also instrumental to keep the ways of society alive
and at the same time help the traditions of old keep up with an ever-changing
society.
Another Important aspect that helped the Greek and Roman societies
succeed was their masterful use of songs, allegories, and symposiums. These
were great tools to make people see, feel, understand and appreciate how a
beautiful disaster such as crisis can become a great way of thinking and define a
great people such as theirs. Poetry in both societies also became an important
guide for many generations in reminding them what a good life that is thought of
has to look like. Many writers, politicians and great minds have all pointed to the
need to follow what is good and to reject what is evil to have a life which is worth
living.
In the context of striving for the good, politics and religion played very
important roles. Both have given their own takes on how society should be doing
to reach the stratosphere they want to go to. However, we can see that in years
leading up to the present age, politics and secularization have taken flight as
religion declined and somewhat took a back seat as times changed. This can be
seen in both Greek and Roman literary works as time progressed.
Despite all of this, a prevalent theme of being noble was always the aim of
everyone. However, history and the many works of literature would tell us that
criticism would be a process everyone has to go through in order to become
noble. This is somewhat true as people’s criticisms of our works and actions can
be a way to change us for the better.
Other observations historians and literary geniuses can make about Greco-
Roman literature is that both represent a high social class equitable to being rich.
Sometimes this can be true since most of the literary artists had a source of living
back then. Some of them even possessed royal blood.
Nevertheless, it is paramount to see and point out that the literary works
and artifacts left behind by the Greek and Roman Civilization is a treasure that
everyone in the world should know, appreciate and most of all cherish because
times may change but values don’t. Characters may change but the goal of
achieving the noble and good life for generations to come is still the focal point
any criticism must and will face. That’s the point Graeco-Roman Literary Criticism
wants us to see always because if we don’t, history will criticize and judge us
greatly for our failures and shortcomings.