| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of Man by Oscar Wilde: theatre-going public like the obvious, it is true, but they do not
like the tedious; and burlesque and farcical comedy, the two most
popular forms, are distinct forms of art. Delightful work may be
produced under burlesque and farcical conditions, and in work of
this kind the artist in England is allowed very great freedom. It
is when one comes to the higher forms of the drama that the result
of popular control is seen. The one thing that the public dislike
is novelty. Any attempt to extend the subject-matter of art is
extremely distasteful to the public; and yet the vitality and
progress of art depend in a large measure on the continual
extension of subject-matter. The public dislike novelty because
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Youth by Joseph Conrad: and from the cone of flame the sparks flew upwards, as
man is born to trouble, to leaky ships, and to ships that
burn.
"What bothered me was that the ship, lying broadside
to the swell and to such wind as there was--a mere breath--
the boats would not keep astern where they were safe,
but persisted, in a pig-headed way boats have, in getting
under the counter and then swinging alongside. They
were knocking about dangerously and coming near the
flame, while the ship rolled on them, and, of course, there
was always the danger of the masts going over the side
Youth |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: personification of innocence and love as she sat, now bending her
head, now gazing up at the very tall and handsome man who was
speaking to her with particular tenderness and self-restraint, as
if he feared by word or gesture to offend or sully her angelic
purity.
Kasatsky belonged to those men of the eighteen-forties (they are
now no longer to be found) who while deliberately and without any
conscientious scruples condoning impurity in themselves, required
ideal and angelic purity in their women, regarded all unmarried
women of their circle as possessed of such purity, and treated
them accordingly. There was much that was false and harmful in
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