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
2013-01-28
43
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 stone 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 idem 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 are 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 may be 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 poets, 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 a democracy, the imagination is used to reach realistic goals.
答案
A
解析
根据第四段第一句the taste for ideal beauty... are never so intense or so diffused among a democratic as among an aristocratic people,可知A项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/QwqYFFFM
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
ThemilitaryaspectoftheUnitedStatesCivilWarhasalwaysattractedthemostattentionfromscholars.Theroarofgunfire,
Fastfood,amainstayofAmericaneatingfordecades,mayhavereachedaplateauintheUnitedStatesasthematuringbaby-boom
Fastfood,amainstayofAmericaneatingfordecades,mayhavereachedaplateauintheUnitedStatesasthematuringbaby-boom
Concernwithmoney,andthenmoremoney,inordertobuytheconveniencesandluxuriesofmodernlife,hasbroughtgreatchanges
Concernwithmoney,andthenmoremoney,inordertobuytheconveniencesandluxuriesofmodernlife,hasbroughtgreatchanges
Concernwithmoney,andthenmoremoney,inordertobuytheconveniencesandluxuriesofmodernlife,hasbroughtgreatchanges
Montaigne’sholdonhisreadersarisesfrommanycauses.Thereishisfrankandcuriousself-delineation.Thatinterests,becaus
"Popularan"hasanumberofmeanings,impossibletodefinewithanyprecision,whichrangefromfolkloretojunk.Thepolesare
Malnutritionandtheresultingimpairedgrowthanddevelopmentinchildrenofweaningageindevelopingcountriesresultsnoton
AsDrSamuelJohnsonsaidinadifferenteraaboutladiespreaching,thesurprisingthingaboutcomputersisnotthattheythink
随机试题
中共统一战线思想的形成和在抗战中的贡献。(兰州大学2016年历史学综合真题)
互联网中服务器提供信息处理服务的方式有两种:C/S模式和____________。
(共用备选答案)A.发现药品质量问题B.药品审批上市前风险评估C.发现与规避假药流入市场D.发现处方问题修改药典标准E.发现药品使用环节的用药差错如2006年的“齐二药事件”
下列各类资产发生减值后,相关资产减值准备允许转回的有()。
长江公司2007年1月1日,从B公司购买一项商标权,由于长江公司资金周转比较紧张,经与B公司协议采用分期付款方式支付款项。合同规定,该项商标权总计3000000元,每年年末付款1000000元,3年付清。假定银行同期贷款利率为5%,未确认融资费用采用实际
中国农业银行于2010年7月15日和16日正式在上海和香港两地上市,至此,中国四大国有商业银行全部实现上市,中国金融改革开始新的一页。根据上述材料,回答下列问题:在我国上市公司的股份按投资主体可以分为()。
从我国历史和现实的国情出发,社会主义道德建设要坚持以()为中心。
良好测验标准中显示测验能测到预先想测到的知识和能力程度的指标是()。
在社会政治经济等活动中,各类人员对有关信息的了解是有差异的,一些成员拥有其他成员无法拥有的信息,由此造成信息的不对称。掌握信息比较充分的人员,往往处于比较有利的地位,而信息贫乏的人员,则处于比较不利的地位。根据上述定义,下列不属于信息不对称的是:
SevenWaystoCreateaHappyHouseholdA)Everyfamilyisdifferent,withdifferentpersonalities,customs,andwaysofthin
最新回复
(
0
)