Mimesis and Narrative from Platonic Dialogues to Modern Closet Dramas

Even though in philosophical studies the Platonic dialogues have always been an area for investigation, little attention has been paid to their dramatic aspects. Since Plato was an opponent of the mimetic arts, in particular theatre and drama, narrative has been given priority in his works. Therefore, his dialogues can be measured against the criteria of narrative drama. In the modern period, narrative drama gained popularity in Europe and was recognized as closet drama. The present article studies the mimetic and narrative features of such dramas and compares them with Platonic dialogues. First, the concepts of mimesis and narrative are described and, then, Plato’s ideas on these concepts are explained. Plato’s views on tragedy and comedy have also been specifically studied. We have, then, concentrated on the place of theatre in the modern period and among non-mimetic arts – an outcome of which is closet drama. In interpreting closet dramas, Gertrude Stein’s Four Saints in Three Acts as well as the overall structure of the plays of Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett, two modernist playwrights, have been examined. Finally, by extracting the features of closet drama and comparing them with Plato’s dialogues, we arrive at the coordinates of Platonic dialogues as a dramatic type.