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By
Adenle Adepeju
Leo Tolstoy‟s essay “What is art?” is a treatise that sets out to state parameters for judging a
work of art for the primary purpose of universality, focusing more on the content or subject
matter over form and beauty (ornamentation) in any art, its accessibility and comprehensibleness.
The major parameter for judging art to him is the prevailing religious perception of the time in
which the art (poetry) is written. Religion therefore plays a very crucial factor in the appreciation
and relevance of poetry. By the word „universal‟ Tolstoy means brotherhood, love, harmony and
unity of mankind. He equates art (poetry) more to speech as it is a means of communication. The
message then becomes important in Tolstoy view as the purpose of art is the promotion of
feelings of unity; that which unite all men together without division or class, this he calls
exclusive art. To him, art (poetry) „…remains what it was and what it must be: nothing but the
infection by one man of another or of others with the feelings experienced by the artist.‟ In
effect, the poet, message and the audience all are a function of the kind of art produced. Tolstoy
argues what good and bad art is in this essay. He describes three kinds of art and its implication
on the audience and the world at large and stated the criterion on which these sets of art should
be judged. He advocates for the condemnation of all bad art that does not promote feelings of
universality.
The ideal (morals: tolerance, just, love, fairness) is important to Tolstoy, to him the ideal is the
religious perception of the time and he uses the Christian perception as an example to explain
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what he meant. Poetry is a means of communication which has a message that is progressive and
it must function from generation to generation. By progressive, Tolstoy means that there must be
development, changes or shift in poetry and it should relate to the religious perception of that
age. The purpose of poetry is feelings, that is, the feelings form the subject matter of the poems
and these feelings should be one which are for the well being of mankind. These sets of feelings
are there to replace those that are less kind and harmful for man. Feelings that promote
brotherhood among men which focuses more on the ideals of humanity, good virtues and delight
Tolstoy prescribes three kinds of poetry; good, bad and „neutral‟. A good poem is that which has
as its subject matter feelings flowing from a religious perception of man‟s position in the world
in relation to God and to his neighbour (mankind) that is, transmits ecclesiastical ideals with the
use of words that are simple ( accessible and easily understood by everyone notwithstanding the
class, trade or area). A bad poem is one which runs contrary to the subject matter of a good
poem, which tries to make use of superfluous details and language and these hinders the
transmission of emotions as well as restricts accessibility of the poem to just a few and not all
„exclusive poem‟. By „neutral‟ poem, it means one which has as its subject matter simple
feelings of common life such as merriment, pity, cheerfulness and tranquility. Through this
prescription, Tolstoy admits that there is a difference between the religious perception of past
and present day. He uses the Christian faith to exemplify his statement by looking at both the old
and new concepts of what Christianity is, he is able to show the element of relevance, that is, one
is now relevant while the former is not. The subject matter of former poems needed heroes
(ideal) for example, the greatness of Pharaoh or of a Roman emperor but that of present day
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poems does not need heroes but focuses more on humility, purity and compassion as in the case
with Lazarus.
How then can we judge or decipher what good or bad poetry is? What are the criteria? Tolstoy
Is it real or a counterfeit?
Does this poem belong to the category of bad exclusive poetry as opposed to religious
Does it transmit feelings flowing from love of God and man, or merely the simple
These questions which he calls verification helps in selecting good from bad art and through this
verification it would be easier to get rid of the pernicious results of harmful poetry and avail the
audience of a beneficent action which is the purpose of true and good art indispensible for the
spiritual life of man and of humility. Tolstoy emphasizes that appraisal should be dependent on
the age it was produced and the religious ideal of the time.
Imagery, melody and ornament are important aspect of what makes a good poetry; images that
promotes accessibility and conveys admiration and delight (lines and colours). Modern poets to
Tolstoy are empty and insignificant as they try to strengthen the impression produced by their
empty poem and melodies piled up with complex modulations. When the poem is stripped of all
these impressions or ornaments, it is better understood and accessible and creates harmony
“…the use of trivial and exclusive melodies to make them attractive, are laden with harmonic,
rhythmic complication making it far from being universal.”, “… melody he says is free and may
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be understood of all men, but as soon as it is bound up with a particular harmony, it ceases to be
accessible except to people trained to such harmony and it becomes strange, not only to common
men of another nationality, but to all who do not belong to the circle whose members have
On the whole, Tolstoy focuses more on the content of poetry and less emphasis on the form or
imagery of the poem. To him, poetry must transmit highest religious feeling and have the quality
of uniting all men in one common feeling. Poetry therefore becomes a vehicle for peace, love
and harmony of all mankind portraying feelings common to mankind according to the religious
perception of the age in which it is composed. This therefore is good art and others contrary to
Work Cited
Tolstoy, Leo. “What is Art”. Criticism: Major Statements. Eds. Kaplan, C. and William, D.