Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

[[Greek]] ''didaktikos'', from ''didaskein'' to [[teach]]

[[Greek]] ''didaktikos'', from ''didaskein'' to [[teach]]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1658]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1658]

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1a : designed or intended to teach  

*1a : designed or intended to teach  

*2: making [[moral]] [[observations]]  

*2: making [[moral]] [[observations]]  

==Description==

==Description==

'''Didacticism''' is an artistic [[philosophy]] that emphasizes [[Pedagogy|instructional]] and informative [[qualities]] in [[literature]] and other types of [[art]]. The term has its [[origin]] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek Ancient Greek] word διδακτικός (''didaktikos''), "related to [[education]]/[[teaching]]." Originally, signifying [[learning]] in a [[fascinating]] and intriguing [[manner]].

'''Didacticism''' is an artistic [[philosophy]] that emphasizes [[Pedagogy|instructional]] and informative [[qualities]] in [[literature]] and other types of [[art]]. The term has its [[origin]] in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek Ancient Greek] word διδακτικός (''didaktikos''), "related to [[education]]/[[teaching]]." Originally, signifying [[learning]] in a [[fascinating]] and intriguing [[manner]].

Yet the [[intention]] of didactic art was to present a [[profound]] lesson, not merely to [[entertain]]. Didactic plays, for instance, were intended to convey a [[moral]] theme or other rich [[truth]] to the [[audience]]. An example of didactic writing is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope Alexander Pope]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_Criticism ''An Essay on Criticism''] (1711), which offers a range of [[advice]] about critics and [[criticism]]. An example of didactism in [[music]] is the [[chant]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ut_queant_laxis ''Ut queant laxis''], which was used by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_of_Arezzo Guido of Arezzo] to teach [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge solfege] syllables.

Yet the [[intention]] of didactic art was to present a [[profound]] lesson, not merely to [[entertain]]. Didactic plays, for instance, were intended to convey a [[moral]] theme or other rich [[truth]] to the [[audience]]. An example of didactic writing is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope Alexander Pope]'s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Essay_on_Criticism ''An Essay on Criticism''] (1711), which offers a range of [[advice]] about critics and [[criticism]]. An example of didactism in [[music]] is the [[chant]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ut_queant_laxis ''Ut queant laxis''], which was used by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_of_Arezzo Guido of Arezzo] to teach [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solf%C3%A8ge solfege] syllables.

Around the 19th century the term didactic came to also be used as a [[criticism]] for work that appears to be overly burdened with instructive, [[factual]], or otherwise [[educational]] [[information]], to the detriment of the enjoyment of the [[reader]] (a [[meaning]] that was quite foreign to [[Greek]] [[thought]]). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe Edgar Allan Poe] even called didacticism the worst of "heresies" in his essay [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Principle ''The Poetic Principle''].

Around the 19th century the term didactic came to also be used as a [[criticism]] for work that appears to be overly burdened with instructive, [[factual]], or otherwise [[educational]] [[information]], to the detriment of the enjoyment of the [[reader]] (a [[meaning]] that was quite foreign to [[Greek]] [[thought]]). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe Edgar Allan Poe] even called didacticism the worst of "heresies" in his essay [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Principle ''The Poetic Principle''].

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]

[[Category: Languages and Literature]]