poetics-第9章

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metaphors；　strange　（or　rare）　words；　or　any　similar　forms　of　speech；



would　produce　the　like　effect　if　used　without　propriety　and　with　the



express　purpose　of　being　ludicrous。　How　great　a　difference　is　made



by　the　appropriate　use　of　lengthening；　may　be　seen　in　Epic　poetry　by



the　insertion　of　ordinary　forms　in　the　verse。　So；　again；　if　we　take



a　strange　（or　rare）　word；　a　metaphor；　or　any　similar　mode　of



expression；　and　replace　it　by　the　current　or　proper　term；　the　truth　of



our　observation　will　be　manifest。　For　example；　Aeschylus　and　Euripides



each　composed　the　same　iambic　line。　But　the　alteration　of　a　single



word　by　Euripides；　who　employed　the　rarer　term　instead　of　the　ordinary



one；　makes　one　verse　appear　beautiful　and　the　other　trivial。　Aeschylus



in　his　Philoctetes　says：







　　　　　phagedaina　d'he　mou　sarkas　esthiei　podos。



　　　　　The　tumor　which　is　eating　the　flesh　of　my　foot。







Euripides　substitutes　thoinatai；　'feasts　on；'　for　esthiei；　'feeds　on。'



Again；　in　the　line；







　　　　　nun　de　m'eon　oligos　te　kai　outidanos　kai　aeikes；



　　　　　Yet　a　small　man；　worthless　and　unseemly；







the　difference　will　be　felt　if　we　substitute　the　common　words；







　　　　　nun　de　m'eon　mikros　te　kai　asthenikos　kai　aeides。



　　　　　Yet　a　little　fellow；　weak　and　ugly。







Or；　if　for　the　line；







　　　　　diphron　aeikelion　katatheis　oligen　te　trapezan；



　　　　　Setting　an　unseemly　couch　and　a　meager　table；







we　read；







　　　　　diphron　mochtheron　katatheis　mikran　te　trapezan。



　　　　　Setting　a　wretched　couch　and　a　puny　table。







Or；　for　eiones　booosin；　'the　sea　shores　roar；'　eiones　krazousin；



'the　sea　shores　screech。'



　　Again；　Ariphrades　ridiculed　the　tragedians　for　using　phrases　which



no　one　would　employ　in　ordinary　speech：　for　example；　domaton　apo；



'from　the　house　away；'　instead　of　apo　domaton；　'away　from　the



house；'　sethen；　ego　de　nin；　'to　thee；　and　I　to　him；'　Achilleos　peri；



'Achilles　about；'　instead　of　peri　Achilleos；　'about　Achilles；'　and　the



like。　It　is　precisely　because　such　phrases　are　not　part　of　the　current



idiom　that　they　give　distinction　to　the　style。　This；　however；　he



failed　to　see。



　　It　is　a　great　matter　to　observe　propriety　in　these　several　modes



of　expression；　as　also　in　compound　words；　strange　（or　rare）　words；　and



so　forth。　But　the　greatest　thing　by　far　is　to　have　a　command　of



metaphor。　This　alone　cannot　be　imparted　by　another；　it　is　the　mark



of　genius；　for　to　make　good　metaphors　implies　an　eye　for　resemblances。



　　Of　the　various　kinds　of　words；　the　compound　are　best　adapted　to



dithyrambs；　rare　words　to　heroic　poetry；　metaphors　to　iambic。　In



heroic　poetry；　indeed；　all　these　varieties　are　serviceable。　But　in



iambic　verse；　which　reproduces；　as　far　as　may　be；　familiar　speech；　the



most　appropriate　words　are　those　which　are　found　even　in　prose。



These　are　the　current　or　proper；　the　metaphorical；　the　ornamental。



　　Concerning　Tragedy　and　imitation　by　means　of　action　this　may



suffice。



POETICS｜23



　　XXIII







　　As　to　that　poetic　imitation　which　is　narrative　in　form　and　employs　a



single　meter；　the　plot　manifestly　ought；　as　in　a　tragedy；　to　be



constructed　on　dramatic　principles。　It　should　have　for　its　subject　a



single　action；　whole　and　complete；　with　a　beginning；　a　middle；　and



an　end。　It　will　thus　resemble　a　living　organism　in　all　its　unity；



and　produce　the　pleasure　proper　to　it。　It　will　differ　in　structure



from　historical　compositions；　which　of　necessity　present　not　a



single　action；　but　a　single　period；　and　all　that　happened　within



that　period　to　one　person　or　to　many；　little　connected　together　as　the



events　may　be。　For　as　the　sea…fight　at　Salamis　and　the　battle　with　the



Carthaginians　in　Sicily　took　place　at　the　same　time；　but　did　not



tend　to　any　one　result；　so　in　the　sequence　of　events；　one　thing



sometimes　follows　another；　and　yet　no　single　result　is　thereby



produced。　Such　is　the　practice；　we　may　say；　of　most　poets。　Here　again；



then；　as　has　been　already　observed；　the　transcendent　excellence　of



Homer　is　manifest。　He　never　attempts　to　make　the　whole　war　of　Troy　the



subject　of　his　poem；　though　that　war　had　a　beginning　and　an　end。　It



would　have　been　too　vast　a　theme；　and　not　easily　embraced　in　a



single　view。　If；　again；　he　had　kept　it　within　moderate　limits；　it　must



have　been　over…complicated　by　the　variety　of　the　incidents。　As　it



is；　he　detaches　a　single　portion；　and　admits　as　episodes　many　events



from　the　general　story　of　the　war…　such　as　the　Catalogue　of　the



ships　and　others…　thus　diversifying　the　poem。　All　other　poets　take　a



single　hero；　a　single　period；　or　an　action　single　indeed；　but　with　a



multiplicity　of　parts。　Thus　did　the　author　of　the　Cypria　and　of　the



Little　Iliad。　For　this　reason　the　Iliad　and　the　Odyssey　each　furnish



the　subject　of　one　tragedy；　or；　at　most；　of　two；　while　the　Cypria



supplies　materials　for　many；　and　the　Little　Iliad　for　eight…　the　Award



of　the　Arms；　the　Philoctetes；　the　Neoptolemus；　the　Eurypylus；　the



Mendicant　Odysseus；　the　Laconian　Women；　the　Fall　of　Ilium；　the



Departure　of　the　Fleet。



POETICS｜24



　　XXIV







　　Again；　Epic　poetry　must　have　as　many　kinds　as　Tragedy：　it　must　be



simple；　or　complex；　or　'ethical；'or　'pathetic。'　The　parts　also；　with



the　exception　of　song　and　spectacle；　are　the　same；　for　it　requires



Reversals　of　the　Situation；　Recognitions；　and　Scenes　of　Suffering。



Moreover；　the　thoughts　and　the　diction　must　be　artistic。　In　all



these　respects　Homer　is　our　earliest　and　sufficient　model。　Indeed　each



of　his　poems　has　a　twofold　character。　The　Iliad　is　at　once　simple



and　'pathetic；'　and　the　Odyssey　complex　（for　Recognition　scenes　run



through　it）；　and　at　the　same　time　'ethical。'　Moreover；　in　diction



and　thought　they　are　supreme。



　　Epic　poetry　differs　from　Tragedy　in　the　scale　on　which　it　is



constructed；　and　in　its　meter。　As　regards　scale　or　length；　we　have



already　laid　down　an　adequate　limit：　the　beginning　and　the　end　must　be



capable　of　being　brought　within　a　single　view。　This　condition　will



be　satisfied　by　poems　on　a　smaller　scale　than　the　old　epics；　and



answering　in　length　to　the　group　of　tragedies　presented　at　a　single



sitting。



　　Epic　poetry　has；　however；　a　great…　a　special…　capacity　for　enlarging



its　dimensions；　and　we　can　see　the　reason。　In　Tragedy　we　cannot



imitate　several　lines　of　actions　carried　on　at　one　and　the　same



time；　we　must　confine　ourselves　to　the　action　on　the　stage　and　the



part　taken　by　the　players。　But　in　Epic　poetry；　owing　to　the



narrative　form；　many　events　simultaneously　transacted　can　be



presented；　and　these；　if　relevant　to　the　subject；　add　mass　and　dignity



to　the　poem。　The　Epic　has　here　an　advantage；　and　one　that　conduces



to　grandeur　of　effect；　to　diverting　the　mind　of　the　hearer；　and



relieving　the　story　with　varying　episodes。　For　sameness　of　incident



soon　produces　satiety；　and　makes　tragedies　fail　on　the　stage。



　　As　for　the　meter；　the　heroic　measure　has　proved　its　fitness　by



hexameter　test　of　experience。　If　a　narrative　poem　in　any　other　meter



or　in　many　meters　were　now　composed；　it　would　be　found　incongruous。



For　of　all　measures　the　heroic　is　the　stateliest　and　the　most　massive；



and　hence　it　most　readily　admits　rare　words　and　metaphors；　which　is



another　point　in　which　the　narrative　form　of　imitation　stands　alone。



On　the　other　hand；　the　iambic　and　the　trochaic　tetrameter　are　stirring



measures；　the　latter　being　akin　to　dancing；　the　former　expressive　of



action。　Still　more　absurd　would　it　be　to　mix　together　different



meters；　as　was　done　　by　Chaeremon。　Hence　no　one　has　ever　composed　a



poem　on　a　great　scale　in　any　other　than　　heroic　verse。　Nature　herself；



as　we　have　said；　teaches　the　choice　of　the　proper　measure。



　　Homer；　admirable　in　all　respects；　has　the　special　merit　of　being　the



only　p