Didacticism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
(Difference between revisions)
| Revision as of 14:10, 10 June 2009 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''Petrus Alphonsi''' (also spelled ''Alfonsi'', ''Peter''; born '''Moses Sepharadi''') (1062-1110) was a [[Jew]]ish [[Spain|Spanish]] [[writer]] and [[astronomer]], and [[polemic]]ist, who converted to [[Christianity]]. He is best remembered for ''[[Disciplina Clericalis]]''. | ||
| - | ===''Disciplina Clericalis''=== | ||
| - | Alfonsi's fame rests chiefly on a collection of thirty-three tales, composed in [[Latin]]. This work is a collection of oriental tales of moralizing character, [[Latin translations of the 12th century|translated]] from [[Arabic literature|Arabic]], [[Persian literature|Persian]] and [[Sanskrit literature|Sanskrit]]. Some of the tales he drew on were from the ''[[Panchatantra]]'' and ''[[One Thousand and One Nights|Arabian Nights]]'', including the "[[Sinbad the Sailor]]" story cycle and "[[The Tale of Attaf]]". It established some [[Didacticism|didactic]] models that would be followed by other medieval authors. | ||
| - | The collection enjoyed remarkable popularity, and is an interesting study in [[comparative literature]]. It is entitled ''Disciplina Clericalis'' (A Training-school for the Clergy), and was often used by clergymen in their discourses, notwithstanding the questionable moral tone of some of the stories. The work is important as throwing light on the migration of [[fables]], and is almost indispensable to the student of medieval folk-lore. Translations of it into French, Spanish, German, and English are extant. [[Joseph Jacobs]] discovered some of the stories at the end of [[William Caxton|Caxton]]'s translation of the fables of [[Æsop]], where thirteen [[apologue]]s of "Alfonce" are taken in fact from the ''Disciplina Clericalis''. | + | '''Didacticism''' is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in [[literature]] and other types of [[art]]. Didactic art intends ''not primarily'' to "[[Entertainment|entertain]]" or to pursue subjective goals. The opposite of "didactic" is "'''non-didactic'''." If the artist is more concerned with artistic qualities and techniques than with conveying a message, then the work is considered to be non-didactic, even if it serves instructive or educational purposes. |
| - | An outline of the tales, by [[Douce]], is prefixed to Ellis' "Early English Metrical Romances." Nearly all the stories are adopted in the ''[[Gesta Romanorum]]''. Chapters ii and iii were done into [[Hebrew]] and issued under the title, ''[[Book of Enoch]]''. An early French translation of this [[Hebrew language]] extract was made prior to 1698 by [[Piques]], and [[August Pichard]] published another version in Paris, 1838. | + | An example of didactic writing may be found in [[Alexander Pope]]'s ''[[An Essay on Criticism]]'' (published 1711), which offers a range of advice about critics and criticism. |
| - | [[Friedrich Wilhelm Valentin Schmidt]] produced a scholarly edition in 1827. | + | The term "didactic" also refers to media that are "burdened" with instructive, factual, or otherwise "educational" information, sometimes to the detriment of a reader's (or viewer's) enjoyment. |
| + | |||
| + | Some have suggested that nearly all of the best [[poetry]] is didactic. Contrarily, [[Edgar Allan Poe]] called didacticism the worst of "[[Heresy|heresies]]" in his essay ''[[The Poetic Principle]]'' (before 1850). | ||
| + | |||
| + | Other examples of didactic literature include: | ||
| + | |||
| + | * ''[[Works and Days]]'', by [[Hesiod]] (700 BCE) | ||
| + | * ''[[De Rerum Natura]]'', by [[Lucretius Carus]] (1st century BCE) | ||
| + | * ''[[Georgics]]'', by [[Virgil]] (29 BCE) | ||
| + | * The ''[[Jataka Tales]]'' ([[Gautama Buddha|Buddhistic]] literature, 5th century CE) | ||
| + | * ''[[Hayy ibn Yaqdhan|Philosophus Autodidactus]]'' by [[Ibn Tufail]] (12th century) | ||
| + | * ''[[Theologus Autodidactus]]'' by [[Ibn al-Nafis]] (1270s) | ||
| + | * ''[[The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian]]'' (1480s) | ||
| + | * ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]'', by [[John Bunyan]] (1678) | ||
| + | * ''[[The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes]]'' (anonymous, 1765) | ||
| + | * ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom|The Adventures of Nicholas Experience]]'', by [[Ignacy Krasicki]] (1776) | ||
| + | * ''[[Queen Mab (poem)|Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem]]'', by [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] (1813) | ||
| + | * ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'', by [[John Steinbeck]] (1939) | ||
| + | * ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', by [[Ayn Rand]] (1957) | ||
| + | * ''[[Sophie's World]]'', by [[Jostein Gaarder]] (1991) | ||
| + | |||
| + | Didactic plays teach the audience through the use of a moral or a theme. | ||
| + | |||
| + | A good example of didactism in music is the chant ''[[Ut queant laxis]]'', which was used by [[Guido of Arezzo]] to teach [[solfege]] syllables. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *Contrast [[Art for art's sake]] | ||
| + | *[[Moral lesson]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Didacticism is an artistic philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. Didactic art intends not primarily to "entertain" or to pursue subjective goals. The opposite of "didactic" is "non-didactic." If the artist is more concerned with artistic qualities and techniques than with conveying a message, then the work is considered to be non-didactic, even if it serves instructive or educational purposes.
An example of didactic writing may be found in Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (published 1711), which offers a range of advice about critics and criticism.
The term "didactic" also refers to media that are "burdened" with instructive, factual, or otherwise "educational" information, sometimes to the detriment of a reader's (or viewer's) enjoyment.
Some have suggested that nearly all of the best poetry is didactic. Contrarily, Edgar Allan Poe called didacticism the worst of "heresies" in his essay The Poetic Principle (before 1850).
Other examples of didactic literature include:
- Works and Days, by Hesiod (700 BCE)
- De Rerum Natura, by Lucretius Carus (1st century BCE)
- Georgics, by Virgil (29 BCE)
- The Jataka Tales (Buddhistic literature, 5th century CE)
- Philosophus Autodidactus by Ibn Tufail (12th century)
- Theologus Autodidactus by Ibn al-Nafis (1270s)
- The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian (1480s)
- Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan (1678)
- The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (anonymous, 1765)
- The Adventures of Nicholas Experience, by Ignacy Krasicki (1776)
- Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1813)
- The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (1939)
- Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand (1957)
- Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder (1991)
Didactic plays teach the audience through the use of a moral or a theme.
A good example of didactism in music is the chant Ut queant laxis, which was used by Guido of Arezzo to teach solfege syllables.
[edit]
See also
- Contrast Art for art's sake
- Moral lesson
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Didacticism" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
