Essay Questions

In what sense was human reason and poetry helped over the mountain by a unicorn in the poem "Incantation’’?

According to the narrator, the two were helped by a unicorn in their passage over the mountains. Poetry and human reason needed help and thus they had to be aided by some form of supernatural power. The unicorn is used in this context to symbolize just that. The unicorn is used as a magical creature that has the power to regenerate and create wonderful things. Because of this, the unicorn is used in this context.

Why does the narrator claim poetry is the result of the power of a daimonion?

A daimonion is a demon, an evil force capable of influencing those living a righteous life. For a long time, many people believed poetry and art in general to be the result of the influence manifested by daemons and evil spirits. The reason behind this is that poetry and art in general had the power to influence people. Because of this, many believed that something that comes from God can’t produce such an effect and thus they reached the conclusion that this influence must be the result of the influence evil spirits have on those on earth.

Explain the meaning behind the lines "There was a time when only wise books were read/helping us to bear our pain and misery.’’

The lines appear in the poem "Ars Poetica’’ and in this poem the narrator analyzes the way poetry changed in time. The narrator argues that as time passed, more bad literature started to appear. He compares the present time with the time from the past when only wise books were read. The wise books were either religious books or books accepted by the church. Thus, they were religious books that had the purpose of teaching a person how to become a better man. As time progressed, books became an entertainment form and the ideas transmitted were not always pure and religious. Because of this, the narrator claims that the books from the past were wise books.