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
77
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.
How do those of an aristocracy and those of a democracy differ in the use of their imaginations?
选项
A、For those of an aristocracy, the imagination is boundless, and for those of a democracy, the imagination is used to reach realistic goals.
B、For those of an aristocracy, the imagination is used to reach realistic goals, and for those of a democracy, the imagination is boundless.
C、For those of an aristocracy, the imagination is boundless, and for those of a democracy, the imagination is used to reach unrealistic goals.
D、For those of an aristocracy, the imagination is bound to be practical, and for those of democracy, the imagination is used to reach realistic goals.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/IXIO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
—Readthearticlebelowaboutpublicimage.—Choosethebestwordtofilleachgap,fromA,B,CorD.—Foreachquestion19—33,
Readthearticlebelowaboutcrisismanagement.ChoosethebestwordtofilleachgapfromA,B,CorDontheoppositepage.
Lookatthestatementsbelowandthecommentsoffourexpertsonasurveyaboutcoachingontheoppositepage.Whichexpert’
Readthearticlebelowaboutacompanythatsellshouseholdproducts.ChoosethebestwordtofilleachgapfromA,B,Cor
Readthearticlebelowaboutdevelopmentsatabank.Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegap
Thecompanyismostworriedabouthow______.Employeesshouldanswerthephoneafter______.
ThepurposeofaresumeisMr.Schumanthinksthataresumeshould
BethHatfieldlostherjobbecausethecompanysheworkedforWhichaspectofsettingupJumpstartwasmostdifficultforBeth?
CONTINENTAIRLINEFlightReservationFormDESTINATION:【A1】______CONTACTNAME:【A2】______FLIGHTNUMBER:【
Inaperfectlyfreeandopenmarketeconomy,thetypeofemployer—governmentorprivate—shouldhavelittleornoimpactonthe
随机试题
在涉及人的研究中,为了获得IRB的认可,研究者必须确保哪些内容?
中西药联用的特点是
事故隐患泛指生产系统中()的人的不安全行为、物的不安全状态和管理上的缺陷。
根据下列所提供的信用证条款的主要内容及有关资料,审核集装箱托运单、海运提单、商业发票和保险单中填写不正确的项目,并予改正。(注意:仅对已填写项目的内容进行审核;将错误的项目划掉,并填写卜正确的内容)Irrevocabledocumentary
《中华人民共和国证券投资基金法》规定,基金托管人由依法设立并取得基金托管资格的()担任。
甲公司—家上市公司,属于增值税—般纳税企业,适用的增值税税率为17%。甲公司2009年至2012年与固定资产有关的业务资料如下。(1)2009年12月1日,甲公司与乙公司签订资产置换合同,资料如下。甲公司换出专利权X和设备Y。①专利权X于2002年12
甲开了一家汽车维修公司,在维修汽车时,甲夸大汽车损毁程度,向保险公司多报汽车修理费用,骗取保险公司12万余元,甲的罪名应该()。
安全地进行体育活动是()领域目标的内容之一。
某研究所对该所上年度研究成果的统计显示:在该所所有的研究人员中,没有两个人发表的论文的数量完全相同;没有人恰好发表了10篇论文;没有人发表的论文的数量等于或超过全所研究人员的数量。如果上述统计是真实的,则以下哪项断定也一定是真实的?Ⅰ
Cultureshockmightbecalledanoccupationaldiseaseofpeoplewhohavebeensuddenlytransplantedabroad.Likemostailments,
最新回复
(
0
)