Epic Poetry Exhibits Life In Some Great

Poetry Is The Work Of Poets, Not Of Peoples Or Communities; Artistic Creation Can Never Be Anything But The Production Of An Individual Mind.

The World Knows Of A Vast Stock Of Epic Material Scattered Up And Down The Nations; Sometimes Its Artistic Value Is As Extraordinary As Its Archaeological Interest, But Not Always.

Traditional Matter Must Be Glorified, Since It Would Be Easier To Listen To The Re-creation Of Familiar Stories Than To Quite New And Unexpected Things; The Listeners, We Must Remember, Needed Poetry Chiefly As The Re-creation Of Tired Hours.

There Is Only One Thing Which Can Master The Perplexed Stuff Of Epic Material Into Unity; And That Is, An Ability To See In Particular Human Experience Some Significant Symbolism Of Man's General Destiny.

The Balance Of Private Good And General Welfare Is At The Bottom Of Civilized Morals But The Morals Of The Heroic Age Are Founded On Individuality, And On Nothing Else.