From Part I, Prose 2:
Seeing his desperate condition, Philosophy speaks more gently and promises to cure him.
"There is no danger. You are suffering merely from lethargy, the common illness of deceived minds. You have forgotten yourself a little, but you will quickly be yourself again when you recognize me. To bring you to your senses, I shall quickly wipe the dark cloud of mortal things from your eyes." (p. 4)
One would think that immersing oneself in the language and fancies of poetry would bring relief in times of woe, double the joy in good times. And yet, what Philosophy is saying is that it is almost a form of fooling oneself at a time when one should look to truth and meaning in philosophy that can offer contentment.
I would say that if this is what Philosophy is saying, I would tend to agree. Any writing or creative output that comes from emotion would indeed be as Aristotle claims, an imitation of life, and therefore, not helpful to oneself in understanding and accepting either joy or sorrow, but rather extends it in voice. Think teenage angst and all those poems that pour out from our youth. It is just emotion, a reaction to truth, not truth itself.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology