I had the impression that his argument was more focused on his theory of forms, imitation and divine possession. After my second time, as I skimmed and skimmed the text, I realized the passage and it stuck. Plato, being such a logical thinker, hates it when there are large numbers of people who cannot think logically and are fixated on things that are not real and true to reality. Despite the fact that his argument has some flaws, Socrates hits the nail on the head by explaining why art is technically a lie. The artist did not invent or build the sofa he painted and the poet is not the character he portrays, so they are deceiving society. I disagree, however, with his argument about the skill required to produce a single work of art. He claims that artists just imitate skills. I think the opposite, because for art to truly be appreciated, the skill imitated must be executed skillfully, so craftsmanship is required. Poets need an insane amount of skill to take on a role and evoke emotion in the audience. Artists need skills to produce realism that gives audiences that athetic experience. So yes, art may not be truthful, but it is produced with