Book X

In book X, Socrates banishes poets from the city, but afterwards offers room for a reasonable argument to take place to allow poets back into the city. Although this is not a valid argument, I have been thinking about this in my head. Poetry is seen to weaken us because it is on the emotional side. And if the people who are driven by their emotions lack reason, then Socrates would be right in not letting them in his city. It has been a while, but if I remember correctly, then it is just the guards that Socrates wanted to protect from crying too much, laughing uncontrollably, or just being too emotional in general. If that is the case, I do not see why the common people wouldn’t be allowed to read or write poetry. Arts help express one’s self and define their personality, and I do not feel that it would be possible to keep that out of a city.