Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk’s article O studiu děl básnických presents a concept for the study of art, with particular emphasis on poetry, set in opposition to metaphysical aesthetics. The author treats the work of art as a distinct form of knowledge of the world, equal in status to scientific knowledge, yet different in method: art operates through a direct, sensory, and concrete apprehension of reality, whereas science is based on abstraction, analysis, and generalization. Masaryk emphasizes the psychological dimension of creativity, pointing to the importance of imagination, emotions, will, and the artist’s thorough education, which, however, in the creative act should be subordinated to artistic intuition. A special place is occupied here by the poet, whose medium is language and whose task is to capture the human being and the world in an image-based, synthetic, and universal form. The author’s reflections are supplemented by numerous analyses of examples from European literature, intended to demonstrate the value of the poetic work.
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