The Journey of Truth: From Plato to Zola*

Western theater theory and criticism is generally considered to be set forth by the Greeks. Plato was “the first theater critic” with his negative comments about theater owing to his idealistic views about “the truth.” Then came Aristotle who used a different viewpoint from that of Plato, saying that there is “truth” in theater. However, hostile criticism on theater came back in the Middle Ages, championed by Tertulian before Aristotelian theory was revived by the neo-classicists such as Scaliger and Castelvetro. Theater theory and criticism discourse was then made more alive by the romanticists who disagreed with the neo-classicists’ rigid rules on theater. As the influence of science became dominant in the theater world, naturalism and realism emerged and became the mainstream of theater theory and criticism until well into the twentieth century.