Aesthetics Vis-A-Vis Didacticism With Special Reference to the Books of Isaiah and Jonah
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Date
1999-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study is concerned with the relationship between 'aesthetics' and
'didacticism' in literature. How these concepts are used in criticism and their coexistence
are dealt with concisely. It is an attempt to show how 'aesthetics' and
'didacticism' can go hand in hand in a work of art to have an impact on readers. Both
the concepts, in their appealing and instructive natures, can help a literary work
achieve its purpose when joined pertinently.
On the whole, the research's attempt is to obviate the separation and
accentuate the harmony between 'aesthetics' and 'didacticism'. Following this, how
the aesthetics helps the didactic serve its purpose is also discussed in the paper. The
concepts are entertained in relation to passages selected from the prophetic sections
of the Bible. Excerpts from The Book of Isaiah and Jonah are analyzed in line with
the concomitant relationship between the two concepts. The analyses are worked out
to show how 'didacticism', instruction, becomes more effective when accompanied by
'aesthetics' or artistic beauty.
It is in the manner of this research, then, to finally show on the ground of
the analyzed passages that the two concepts are also intertwined in literary works, of
which the Bible is considered one. It is attempted in the study to indicate evidently
that, no matter how much distinction is put between 'aesthetics' and 'didacticism',
there is an ample 'room' in the literary world to accommodate both as complementary
to each other.
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Vis-A-Vis Didacticism