Books and reading -- Great Britain; English literature -- History and criticism
Nos. (2), (3), (4). _To act_--our author calls this the
'dramatic instinct': _to draw, paint and model_--this the
'artistic instinct'--_to dance and sing_--this the 'musical
instinct.' But obviously all these are what Aristotle would call
'mimetic' instincts: 'imitative' (in a sense I shall presently
explain); even as No. (2)--acting--like No. (1)--talking and
listening--comes of craving for sympathy. In fact, as we go on,
you will see that these instincts overlap and are not strictly
separable, though we separate them just now for convenience.
No. (5). _To know the why of things_--the 'inquisitive instinct.'
This, being the one which gives most trouble to parents, parsons,
governesses, conventional schoolmasters--to all grown-up persons
who pretend to know what they don't and are ashamed to tell what
they do--is of course the most ruthlessly repressed.
'The time is come,' the Infant said,
'To talk of many things:
Of babies, storks and cabbages
And--
--having studied the Evangelists' Window facing the family pew--
And whether cows have wings.'
The answer, in my experience, is invariably stern, and 'in the
negative': in tolerant moments compromising on 'Wait, like a good
boy, and see.'
But we singled out this instinct and discussed it in our last
lecture.
No. (6). _To construct things_--the 'constructive instinct.' I
quote Mr Holmes here:
After analysis comes synthesis. The child pulls his toys
to pieces in order that he may, if possible, reconstruct
them. The ends that he sets before himself are those which
Comte Set before the human race--_savoir pour prevoir, afin
de pouvoir: induire pour deduire, afin de construire._ The
desire to make things, to build things up, to control ways
and means, to master the resources of nature, to put his
knowledge of her laws and facts to practical use, is strong in
his soul. Give him a box of bricks, and he will spend hours
in building and rebuilding houses, churches.... Set him on a
sandy shore with a spade and a pail, and he will spend hours
in constructing fortified castles with deep encircling moats.
Again obviously this constructive instinct overlaps with the
imitative ones. Construction, for example, enters into the art of
making mud-pies and has also been applied in the past to great
poetry. If you don't keep a sharp eye in directing this instinct,
it may conceivably end in an "Othello" or in a "Divina Commedia."
II
Without preaching on any of the others, however, I take three of
the six instincts scheduled by Mr Holmes--the three which you
will allow to be almost purely imitative.
They are:
Acting,
Drawing, painting, modelling,
Dancing and singing.
Now let us turn to the very first page of Aristotle's "Poetics,"
and what do we read?
Epic poetry and Tragedy, Comedy also and dithyrambic poetry,
and the greater part of the music of the flute and of the
lyre, are all, in general, modes of imitation....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account