首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Many different meanings have been given to the word poetry. It would weary my readers if I were to discuss which of these defini
Many different meanings have been given to the word poetry. It would weary my readers if I were to discuss which of these defini
admin
2005-12-10
52
问题
Many different meanings have been given to the word poetry. It would weary my readers if I were to discuss which of these definitions ought to be selected; I prefer telling them at once that which I have chosen. In my opinion, Poetry is the search after, and the delineation of, the Ideal.
The Poet is he who, by suppressing a part of what exists, by adding some imaginary touches to the picture, and by combining certain real circumstances that do not in fact happen together, completes and extends the work of nature. Thus the object of poetry is not to represent what is true, but to adorn it and to present to the mind some loftier image. Verse, regarded as the ideal beauty of language, may be eminently poetical; but verse does not of itself constitute poetry.
I now proceed to inquire whether among the actions, the sentiments, and the opinions of democratic nations there are any which lead to a conception of the ideal, and which may for this reason be considered as natural sources of poetry.
It must, in the first place, be acknowledged that the taste for ideal beauty, and the pleasure derived from the expression of it, are never so intense or so diffused among a democratic as among an aristocratic people. In aristocratic nations it sometimes happens that the body acts as it were spontaneously, while the higher faculties axe bound and burdened by repose. Among these nations the people will often display poetic tastes, and their fancy sometimes ranges beyond and above what surrounds them.
But in democracies the love of physical gratification, the notion of bettering one’s condition, the excitement of competition, the charm of anticipated success, are so many spurs to urge men onward in the active professions they have embraced, without allowing them to deviate for an instant from the track. The main stress of the faculties is to this point. The imagination is not extinct, but its chief function is to devise what maybe useful and to represent what is real. The principle of equality not only diverts men from the description of ideal beauty; it also diminishes the number of objects to be described.
Aristocracy, by maintaining society in a fixed position, is favorable to the solidity and duration of positive religions as well as to the stability of political institutions. Not only does it keep the human mind within a certain sphere of belief, but it predisposes the mind to adopt one faith rather than another. An aristocratic people will always be prone to place intermediate powers between God and man. In this respect it may be said that the aristocratic element is favorable to poetry. When the universe is peopled with supernatural ’beings, not palpable to sense, but discovered by the mind, the imagination ranges freely; and poem, finding a thousand subjects to delineate, also find a countless audience to take an interest in their productions.
In democratic ages it sometimes happens, on the contrary, that men are as much afloat in matters of faith as they are in their laws. Skepticism then draws the imagination of poets back to earth and confines them to the real and visible world. Even when the principle of equality does not disturb religious conviction, it tends to simplify it and to divert attention, from secondary agents, to fix it principally on the Supreme Power.
Aristocracy naturally leads the human mind to the contemplation of the past and fixes it there. Democracy, on the contrary, gives men a sort of instinctive distaste for what is ancient. In this respect aristocracy is far more favorable to poetry; for things commonly grow larger and more obscure as they are more remote, and for this twofold reason they are better suited to the delineation of the ideal.
The purpose of the passage is to ______.
选项
A、explain the meaning of poetry and the art of a poet.
B、contrast poetry with a democratic and a aristocratic societies.
C、explain how poetry, democracy, and aristocracy intermingle.
D、contrast the inclination towards poetry in democratic and aristocratic societies.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/BXIO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
Lookatthestatementsbelowandthetextabouttheimportanceoflisteningtopeopleontheoppositepage.Whichsectionof
Readthetextbelowaboutpersonalbranding.ChoosethebestwordorphrasetofilleachgapfromA,B,CorD.Foreach
Readthearticlebelowaboutdevelopmentsatabank.Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegap
Readthearticlebelowaboutdevelopmentsatabank.Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegap
AlotofmanagersareanxiousaboutWebservicesbecauseAWebserviceapplicationwill
What’stheflightnumber?Whatwasthefinaldecisionaboutthemeeting?
AccordingtoMr.Hunt,whatisthemajorcauseofstress?Traderisastressfuljobbecauseit’shardto
Pedestrianzonesreducecitycenterpollution.
HowtosetpricesThemethodsadoptedinpricesettingarecrucialtoanybusiness.Whensettingprices,remembercostswill
We(areobliged)togrowupinskepticism,requiringproofsforeveryassertionaboutnature,(but)thereisnowayout(except)
随机试题
有限自由度体系用能量法求出的临界荷载就是精确解。()
关于熟石膏的凝固速度,以下正确的是
A头高足底位B去枕仰卧位C半坐卧位D倒卧位E头低足高位脾切除术后1天应采取的体位是
赵某拖欠张某和郭某6000多元的打工报酬一直不付。张某与郭某商定后,将赵某15岁的女儿甲骗到外地扣留,以迫使赵某支付报酬。在此期间(共21天),张、郭多次打电话让赵某支付报酬,但赵某仍以种种理由拒不支付。张、郭遂决定将甲卖给他人。在张某外出寻找买主期间,郭
根据我国相关规定,下列各项中属于重大事故的是()。
影响挖泥船时间利用率的因素有()。
公司分立的动机有()。
人口普查统计数据可能存在的误差来源有( )。
分权制是指同一层级的各机关或者同一机关的各部门,分属于两个以上的平行或双重的行政首长、行政领导机关的体制。()
简述共同犯罪的形式。
最新回复
(
0
)