DOWNEY The Imaginal Reaction to Poetry UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN No. 2. The Imaginal Reaction to Poetry By JUNE E. DOWNEY PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY. UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN NO. 2 The Imaginal Reaction to Poetry The Affective and the Aesthetic Judgment BY JUNE E. DOWNEY, Professor of Psychology, University of Wyoming LARAMIE. WYOMING : THE LARAMIE REPUBLICAN COMPANY. PRINTERS AND BINDERS. TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 5 I. IMAGINAL REACTIONS TO POETIC FRAGMENTS 5 1 . Method 5 2. Frequency of 'Different Forms of Concrete Imagery 7 3. Characteristics of Different Forms of Imagery 9 a. Visual and Optical-Kinaesthetic Imagery 9 b. Auditory Imagery 1 1 c. Olfactory and Gustatory Imagery 13 d. Cutaneous Imagery 14 e. Organic and Pain Reactions 14 f. Kinaesthetic Reactions . . . . 15 4. General Characteristics of the Imaginal Reaction .16 a. Use of Memory Material 16 b. The Background 17 c. Imagination Types 18 d. Spontaneous and Voluntary Images 19 e. Self-Proj.ection 19 5. The Inner Speech 20 II. DEPENDENCE OF REACTION UPON MATERIAL 25 1 . Literary Suggestion 25 2. The Method of Style 27 III. THE AFFECTIVE REACTION TO POETIC FRAGMENTS 30 1. Imagery and the Affective Judgment . -3 2. The Variability of the Affective Judgment 36 3. The Aesthetic and the Affective Judgment 41 IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 46 APPENDIX. POETIC FRAGMENTS 49 The Imaginal Reaction to Poetry. INTRODUCTION. The present report cites, at some length, the imaginal and affective re- \ actions of a number of subjects to many poetic fragments. The experi- mental studies of imagery that have previously been made would seem to render such a study as this of slight importance unless enforced by presen- tation of some new method of control, the great need in imagery-investi- gation. No such control was utilized except that in such extensive reports as the following there is a continual checking of an earlier by a later report. The intensive nature of the test and the aesthetic material which was utilized in arousing the imaginal reactions must be pleaded as an excuse for the study. The reports to be presented in the following page? were gathered with the following purposes in mind : 1 i ) It was desired to test the images aroused by poetry as an aesthetic material in order to compare such results with those obtained by Professor Martin in the first series of her experiments "Ueber aesthetische Synaes- thesie" (10), in which pictures were used as the imagery-arousing situation. The test resulted in the gathering of an immense amount of material relative to the arousal of images by means of words. In this respect the study simply adds to the literature already current upon individual differ- ences in such arousal. Especial attention was, however, directed (a) to optical-kinaesthetic images in distinction to kinaesthetic reactions felt in the person, a distinction Miss Martin has urged; (b) to the projection of self into the imaginal situation; and (c) to the inner speech as aesthetic material. (2) It was desired to determine the. value of the Method of Style, and the criticism that there is little hope of getting insight into the imaginal predispositions of a given author by means of the images aroused by his productions in the mind of a particular reader because of the extreme di- vergence among individuals in the kind of images aroused by given phrases. (3) By the method of group-arrangement, an estimate was sought of the affective and aesthetic value of the different fragments and of the rela- tion of such value to the number and kinds of images. In brief, Miss Martin found that aesthetic pleasantness (or unpleasantness) was height- ened by rich imagery and that, in particular, images, or pseudo-sensations, from the so-called lower senses (touch, taste, and smell) played a by no means unimportant part in the aesthetic appreciation of pictures. Would the same statement hold true in the appreciation of poetic material? I. IMAGINAL REACTIONS TO POETIC FRAGMENTS I. METHOD. In the experiments on the imaginal reactions to poetry, two groups of subjects were used ; seven in the first, or Wyoming, group ; five in the second, or Chicago, group. Every reagent in the first group had had some training in introspective observation, particularly in the observation of imagery, but only one, D (the writer) had had extensive training. The 6 THK IMAOIN.M. RKACTION TO POKTKY. members of the Chicago group, graduate students of psychology, had had more extensive training than those of the first group. The subjects of the first group read one hundred and ten fragments of poetry and wrote out detailed reports on the imagery aroused by Midi read ing. These fragments were taken fr>m the poetical works <,f the following poets: Blake, Foe, Keats, Shelley, and Swinburne, and were selected so as to give variety in the kind of suggestion. The fragments were typewritten upon blank cards of the same quality and size and the following typed direc- tions were placed before the subject while at work : "Do you experience a posture or movement of an object in the descrip- tion as if it were your own posture or movement? If so, in what part or parts of the body is the posture or movement felt? And with what strength? "Do you see an object descrihed in the fragment in movement? Do you experience sensations or images of sound, color, light, smell, taste, pres- sure, temperature, pain, organic quality, while reading the fragment? 'Do you hear the fragment repeated in inner speech while reading it? If so, does the reading have auditory quality? Is it that of your own voice? "Pass a judgment upon the aesthetic value of the fragment as follows: +3, very pleasant; +2, moderately pleasant; +i, somewhat pleasant; o, in- different; ?, partly pleasant, partly unpleasant; I, somewhat unpleasant; 2, moderately unpleasant ; 3, very unpleasant." These directions followed those of Mi-s Martin's (10:6, 7), with the modifications necessitated by change of material. X.) time-limit was placed upon the work which required for com- pletion several hours at different sessions. The advantage in such procedure was that the time necessary for aesthetic absorption in the material was given; the disadvantage in the method was the shift in the attitude of the reagent from one day to another. Some weeks after the completion of this work, the subjects were asked to classify again these fragments according to their pleasantness-unpleas- antness as outlined above, and then to redistribute them into four groups according to the imagery, under the following rubrics : very vivid ; mod- erately vivid ; faint ; no imagery. These second records were used ( Part III) in determining the relation between the vividness of the imaginal reaction and the affective judgment. (io:i8f.) The Chicago group of subjects read over silently one hundred of the fragments, (see appendix) typed as before, and gave their report to the experimenter orally. The method was somewhat different from that used with the Wyoming subjects. Fifty fragments were read at a sitting and the reports on visual, auditory, and other imagery were obtained at dif- ferent sessions. The order of procedure was as follows : The reagent would first classify the fifty fragments into eight groups, according to their affective value, under the categories given above, very pleasant, mod- erately pleasant, somewhat pleasant and so on. After the experimenter had made record of the fragments in each group, a redistribution would be made relative to the vividness of a particular kind of imagery, such as the visual or the auditory, into the four groups, very vivid, moderately vivid, faint, or no imagery of the given kind. The experimenter in recording the fragments placed in each of these groups would get from the subject a detailed introspective report on the given imagery that had been noted on reading the fragment. In this case, it should be noted, the imagery is called back and reported from memory in contrast to the direct reports of the first group. In order to complete the reports on the one hundred fragments it required two experimental sessions each for the reports on (i) visual THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 7 imagery, (2) auditory imagery, (3) olfactory, gustatory, kinaesthetic and organic imagery. Each fragment was thus read three times, once each for the three different imagery reports. An interval of a week was allowed in every case to elapse before a fragment was reread. In spite of this lapse of time, one or two subjects reported that the imagery on rereading the fragment was less rich than on the first reading. So far as this is true, the reports on visual imagery have the advantage while those on olfactory, gustatory, organic and kinaesthetic images suffer to the great- est degree. It was sought to get very definite reports on the visual imagery called up by each fragment. To aid the report the following points were type- written and placed before the subject: Report on Visual Imagery. Character of the visual images? Color ? Form ? Background ? Movement seen? Size of Image ? Location relative to observer ? Fancy Image? Memory Image? If memory image, give date of original impression. 2. FREQUENCY OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF CONCRETE IMAGERY. The frequency with which the different forms of imagery occurred with visual reading for each reagent of both the first and the second group is shown in Tables I and III. It is interesting to compare these tables in an attempt to determine how far the difference in method influenced the reports. A comparison of the figures for each sort of imagery is instructive. Since there were seven reagents in the first group and five in the second, and the latter reported on one hundred fragments and the former on one hundred and ten, the frequency of each form of imagery in Table III should approximate 50/77 of its frequency in Table I, unless the individual differences or the difference in method have caused variation. If we compare the tables with this proportion in mind, we find that the number of auditory, olfactory, and gustatory images in Table III is proportionally much higher than that in Table I. To a certain extent the excess of such auditory images in the second table is due to individual differences, since all the subjects of the Chicago group reported auditory images with considerable frequency while at least one subject of the Wyoming group found auditory imagery a negligible quantity. Partly, however, the method is a determining factor, since, no doubt, the separate reports on visual and auditory imagery served to throw the latter into clear relief. L/s excessive number of olfactory images explains the discrepancy relative to olfactory imagery and individual differences that relative to gustatory imagery. The number of visual, optical-kinaesthetic, tactual, temperature, and pain images is, proportionally, very similar for the two tables. The excess of organic and posture images for the first group and of movement images for the second group is probably to be explained on the ground of individual differences. On the whole, considering the pos- sible divergency arising from individual differences, the agreement between the two tables is rather striking. A comparison of the number of images aroused in the same subjects by hearing forty fragments read aloud with the number aroused by visual reading (Tables I and II) shows that there is a slightly higher percent- age of certain kinds of images with visual presentation than there is with auditory presentation, a result to be explained by the fact that the greater s Tin: I M. \GINAL RK.UTIOX TO POETRY. time given to the visual reading favored the development of latent imagery. < >n the other hand, the auditory series showed the effect of practice, a fact which probably accounts for the relatively greater proportion <>t kinaesthetic and optical-kinaesthetic images reported in the auditory series. Relative to auditory images, it is to be noted that they are proportion- ately much fewer in number in the auditory than in the visual sent result that might have been anticipated since auditory sensation constitute. no doubt, a greater obstacle to the arousal of auditory imagery than does the auditory verbal imagery of inner speech. In one case only (B) i- there evidence of a reversal of this relation, an observation of particular interest, since B, to a higher degree than any other subject, reported pre- occupation with the auditory aspect of inner speech. (See I. 5.) A detailed comparison of these tables with that of Miss Martin'^ (10:7), which gives the frequency of the various forms of pseudo->m- sations aroused hy the contemplation of pictures would scarcely be of value, so different is the situation utilized. Two interesting observations are, however, evident. The first is the greater frequency of posture and kinaesthetic material when pictures are used as tiie aesthetic material ; the second is the greater frequency with which auditory images are reported when poetry is the art in question. Again, such a result might have been anticipated. In general, the investigation suggests a method by which we may determine the value of poetic suggestion in comparison with that of other art- forms. Apparently, more vivid pseudo-sensations were aroused by contem- plation of pictures than by reading poetry. As Miss Martin urges (10: 59), a number of transitional forms between sensations and images must be recognized, and many of the reactions reported by her subjects were more definitely sensational than imaginal. The reagents of the present test re- ported many organic and kinaesthetic sensations and an occasional auditory or olfactory hallucination. On the whole, however, their reactions were definitely imaginal in the accepted sense of the term. TABLE I. (Wyoming Subjects.) MMBKR OF IMAGES. 110 FRAGMENTS. READ SILENTLY, (VISUAL PRESENTATION). I Auditory t Gustatory Tactual Temperature a z Organic Klnaestbetlc * n 11 i= 1 I i A O D P 57 21 27 20 78 6 S 28 8 8 15 4 6 8 1 1 8 1 1 40 j 1 i: 10 8 16 21 s '! 10 3 2 1 7 2 8 85 20 8 28 12 18 22 18 18 8 85 IT 22 18 14 19 1(1 80 1 8 47 50 8 86 10 11 14 41 100 101 108 86 100 61 too 812 180 148 M 2 127 240 Total. . 261 81 12 M 21 141 118 110 105 1 664 1580 Note 1: Optfcal-klnaeMhetlc Image* are not Included In I he total number. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. TABLE II. (Wyoming Subjects.) NUMBER OF IMAGES. 40 FRAGMENTS, HEARD READ (AUDITORY PRESENTATION). Kinaesthetic ~ . K 3 * a e o 1 J5 "a 3 | "a S 1 3 si "3 i. i "3 1 a 3 O 1 5 1 . O O 1 I P JO 1 A 14 9 10 5 i 7 15 13 17 52 126 B 14 3 5 3 2 8 5 8 17 43 91 C 7 1 3 2 4 2 17 48 67 D 4 1 1 4 7 11 23 10 30 81 E 20 S 4 3 - 4 7 1 26 40 82 F 2 1 1 1 9 6 6 32 52 G -.7 5 6 6 5 4 5 28 41 89 Total. . 78 23 29 24 3 36 51 58 121 286 588 Note 2: Optical-kinaesthetic images are not included in the total number. TABLE III. (Chicago Subjects.) NUMBER OF IMAGES. 100 FRAGMENTS, READ SILENTLY, (VISUAL PRESENTATION). Kinaesthetic o 2 Reagent Auditory Olfactory Gustatory Tactual Temperatu a a & "5 o Posture Movement Optic a 1- Klnaesthe "3 s 00 > _ 1 E-i I 33 6 3 10 10 2 3 1 32 43 104 204 J 57 7 3 8 9 2 37 8 26 47 103 260 K 26 8 1 3 3 8 19 62 111 L 78 41 2 47 21 4 20 10 17 19 84 284 M 31 7 1 7 2 11 9 28 7 42 1S8 Total.. 225 69 10 75 40 10 74 28 111 135 395 997 Note 3: Optical-kinaesthetic images are not included in the total number. 3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF CONCRETE IMAGERY. a. Visual and Optical-Kinaesthetic Imagery. Although for every reagent visual images were more frequent than any other kind of image, the excess of such images varied greatly from subject to subject. Thus the proportion of visual images to the whole number of images ranges from 30.4 per cent, for M to 71 per cent, for C. Even more noticeable than individual differences in the frequency of the visual image were the individual differences with respect to its vivid- ness, determination, detail, concreteness, particularity, and localization. The vivid visualizations of A, E, K, and J were in striking contrast to the vague fleeting visual images of D, F, L, and M. A's visual imagery was vivid and concrete, but neither particularized nor detailed. Very often she reported a rapid shift from one picture to another. A fragment that she was unable to visualize was apt to remain unmeaning. Repeated suggestion of imagery was fatiguing and unpleas- ant. Her images appeared with a rich background, of which more will be said later. B's visual imagery on occasion became exceedingly vivid. Its striking characteristic was its unexpectedness, very often its grotesqueness. For example, "The visual imagery in this fragment consisted in seeing a blade of grass with many other blades about it and a large bee who had a tiny skirt which hung from his waist." (Fragment 19.) io THK IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. Color and light were prominent features of B's visualization. Such adjectives as sparkling, starry, glimmering, gleaming, shimmering, gloomy, dark occurred with great frequency in his report- C's visual images were highly particularized. He would image, for example, not a river in general, but the Mississippi or Laramie river in particular, although nothing in the context would suggest such specialization. A definite localization occurred with great frequency. Often C utilized features of his present environment in particularizing such localization. An imaged person was, for example, placed in given room in the building where the tests were carried on. For landscapes, C utilized as setting two favorite canyons near his home. A fixation of visual images which then become material to be used in many connections is characteristic of C's mental processes. The images constructed, for instance, on a first reading of "Ben Hur" or "The Lady of the Lake" have become a per- manent possession used for mental illustration of many situations. D's visual images were not only proportionately less frequent, but also much less vivid and detailed than those of the majority of reagents. The type, not the individual, characteristics were pronounced in the image. Landscapes were, however, visualized in greater detail than were persons and colors were vividly seen. Localized and particularized images were rare. Often a visual image was reduced to a mere flash or glimmer. For example: "With 'sigh' there was a suppressed tendency to sigh. Then I saw the 'moans' flying above me. They. are round like O's and grey. They 'sort of fall and vanish at the last. Very fleeting optical- kinaesthetic imagery." (Fragment 4.) Probably the most characteristic feature of D's visualizations was the amount of movement seen. Visual imagery almost always involved the seeing of movement. Very often the visual imagery appeared to be merely an objectification of a movement, so attenuated was the visual content, and yet the movement was distinctly felt to be visual as distinguished from felt movement. Thus the wind was visualized as an undulatory move- ment flashing past at the level of the eyes. Consciousness of the eyes and of eye-movement was very pronounced and, apparently, the latter was often objectified and gave optical-kinaesthetic imagery. This visual objectification of movement by D distinguishes her optical- kinaesthetic imagery from that of other subjects. A's optical-kinaesthetic imagery is most pronounced where there is distinct shift from one scene to another. For C, movement enters the visualized scene slowly and with deliberation and may be confined to small portion of the imagery. Thus, he may see a man slowly drawing on a glove or the fall of a leaf. The same observation holds true for E and G. Both E and G reported visual imagery of considerable vividness. G's images were remarkable for the amount of detail reported. F's visual images were frequently mere visual schema which she de- scribed as abstract and general rather than specific. Usually, when they were of moderate vividness and precision, they were identified as mem- ory images. With I, visual imagery was both frequent and vivid. A noticeable feature of his imagery was the fact that it appeared in a series of frag- ments. A situation was usually visualized bit by bit rather than as a whole. These images were frequently seen in black and "white. K's visual images were very vivid. She reported that she was abte to project visual images so clearly as to be able to draw them and that she has a remarkable visual memory. K frequently made use in her vis- ualization of a memory of a picture. Sometimes the picture would be THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. n seen in picture fashion ; sometimes it would be converted into a life-sized reproduction. J's visual images were nearly as vivid as those of K's and even more precise. The most distinctive feature of his report was, however, the defi- niteness with which he was able to state the localization of his images and the frequency with which he projected himself visually into the imaged scene. The distance at which J conceived his imaged objects to lie varied from a few feet to several hundred yards. Reduced figures were asso- ciated with long distances but figures exaggerated in size occurred with near localization. J's localization of his visualized self was also very definite ; so, too, was his orientation as observer of this visualized self. L's visual imagery was meagre, faint, and of much less importance than her imagery from the other senses. The latter imagery usually pre- ceded and called out the visual image. In visualization, a whole scene rarely took form ; detached visual bits appeared in flashes. In L's visual- ization, color was of much greater consequence than was form. A flash of isolated color may constitute the whole visual content. For example : "Color yellow ; no banner. Optical movement in air at roof-height, but no roof." (Fragment 14.) Of all the subjects of both groups, M's visual images were most attenu- ated. He would, for instance, report a visual image which was identified as visual only because of a feeling of objectivity. At times a flash of color would constitute the whole visual material. Form was usually given in kinaesthetic terms. b. Auditory Imagery. The individual variation in frequency of auditory images was very great, ranging -numerically from 5 to 78 and in proportion of number of auditory images to total number of images from about 4 per cent. (F) to 30 (E). As was true for visual images, the characteristics of such imagery are more significant than its frequency. Vivid auditory images were reported by B, E, J, and L. F's auditory images were few in number and doubtful in quality. C and D also had difficulty in identifying such images. B's auditory images, although not great in number on account of his pre-occupation with the auditory aspect of inner speech, were of great vividness. B is musical and very much interested in auditory content. Things heard impress him much more than things seen. During the ex- periment concrete auditory images of hallucinatory vividness were reported. In illustration, we have the following: "I caught the sound of a voice singing and although it vanished immediately I was sure that I had heard a real voice and I listened again." (Fragment 30.) Also, "I saw a little brown man sitting at the base of an oak tree moan- ing 'full drearily.' I am quite sure that I heard his moaning for it startled me as if someone had really moaned." (Fragment 33.) Sometimes B would hear a whok fragment read to an auditory ac- companiment, an accompaniment which would persist even after the close of the reading. B shows a pronounced case of colored gustation (6), but so far as he could recall he had never experienced colored audition. It was, therefore, to his surprise that during these tests he several times experienced a fusion of auditory and color content, always, it should be noted, on the imaginal level, in contrast to his colored gustation which is a matter of percept- ual fusion. 12 Tin: l.\i \t.i\\i. KKUTION TO I'OKTKY. For example: "This fragment called before my mind the color blue and as I read it I -aw clouds with Heecy rifts through which I could see the blue, not of the sky, hut of the music." i Fragment 75.1 (cf. with K's report-, i < >f all the subjects. K reported the greatest proportion of auditory images \\hich were often of considerable vividness, ;i> shown by the fol- lowing report : "The image of a heavy storm approaching. indicated by the still dark day and by the black clouds in the sky. Auditory images of the roaring wind far-off and of loud claps of thunder. The thunder is so vivid that 1 actually blinked my eyes." (Fragment 68.) The most distinctive feature of E's imaginal world was. however, the frequency with which she translated sound into visual terms. This tend- ency, as that described for B, exemplifies synaesthetic* fusion at the imaginal level. The following examples show the character of E's translation : "Visual image of an angel just disappearing in the heavens. Auditory image of music which seems to be following the angel in a stream of light." (Fragment 91. ) "Visual image of the interior of a large church with a pipe-organ. Auditory image of the music which is first soft and seems like a white streak of light just above the organ: then the loud thunderous music, which changes into a dark cloud." (Fragment 103.) In every case but one the translation is from music into light. In the one exception the color changes into music. "Through the open door are streaming waves of white, blue and pink light, which I hear as sweet, soft music." (Fragment 105.) J has vivid auditory images which are, however, subordinate to hi- visual images. The latter give the former localization and setting. J wa- able to describe particular auditory images with great precision. He was able, for instance, to show, by whistling, the difference between two wind images. L's auditory images were much more vivid than her visual images but these auditory images were often preceded by cutaneous images which gave them localization. L was more apt to image noises such as the crackling of leaves and of ice. the clang of armor and the rustle of starched skirts than to image tones. The tests left the ears tingling; innervation was evident, with noticeable strain localized in the drum. M's auditory images were more vivid than his visual images. At times. he reported, such images attain great vividness but such vividness is not to be attained by voluntary effort. In the case of imaged music, especially, he must wait the whim of the moment. Auditory images were not localized, although a number of times particularized and given a memory setting. Once or twice. M was puzzled in attempting to determine whether or not true auditory quality was given in a particular content which had auditory significance. He reports, "Abstract image of auditory content. No particular image. Auditory experience, just quality without intensity. N'o localization. Hard to describe." ( Fragment 46. ) K. C, and H found their auditory images in no way comparable to their visual images for vividness or importance. Such images occurred in a visual setting which gave them their localization. A's auditory images although of considerable vividness were also definitely subordinated to her visual images. Not.- 4: Sjrnaenthesla and the adjeetlve *jrnae-<]ualJtr Into another, and not m br HIM Martin In "t>ber aenthrtlwtw for the arousal of an auditory or other paeudo-wot itlon a* part of a visual percept. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 13 D is highly interested in auditory content and is much more sensitive to the auditory than to the visual arts, but except for the auditory aspect of inner speech, auditory content does not play a great part in her reactions to poetry. An auditory suggestion would almost invariably bring on the attitude of auditory attention with distinct consciousness of strain in the ears, but usually would develop little true auditory 'content. With the induction of auditory attention, consciousness would at once be besieged in the most distressing way by sounds in the immediate environment, such as the hissing of the steam-pipes, the ticking of a watch, or the murmur of the wind. In listening to a speaker, D is often obsessed in a similar way by the sheer auditory quality of the voice. Auditory images F experiences with great in frequency and then appar- ently only spontaneously, as she was unable to call them up by effort. F often reported a failure of auditory imagery with a definite consciousness of auditory meaning. Sometimes she inferred sound from the visual pre- sentation. Thus the movement of the lips of a speaker or the waving of handkerchiefs on the part of a cheering multitude were sufficient to convey the auditory meaning. Again, auditory content was translated into kin- aesthetic terms. L reported that she does not imagine music in auditory terms but she "feels" that she has just heard music. * She writes : "I do not hear it thunder, but I have a distinct feeling that it has thundered." (Fragment 68.) On one occasion F reported that she heard the echo of a trumpet rather than the trumpet itself. A rather odd statement of the feeling of auditory- attention without definite auditorv quality is found in the following state- ment: "I have just heard a funeral dirge but I do not hear it now. I never have an auditory image at the present moment." c. Olfactory and Gustatory Imagery. Olfactory imagery was important only in the case of A, E, and L. A's olfactory images were both profuse and vivid. Such images she ranks in vividness next to her visual and cutaneous images. The odor of grass and leaves and flowers is for A an essential part of every landscape, perceived or imagined. She ranks such images high on the aesthetic side. Frequently in the test she experienced a mixture of many odors and in at least one instance an olfactory hallucination. E's olfactory images were also frequent and vivid. They possessed, however, much less aesthetic value than those of A. By means of such images, matter of fact details were often introduced into scene. Thus in a banquet scene the odor reported by E is that of roast-beef ; and in another scene it is the smell of cooking cabbage ! The frequency with which L reported olfactory imagery was surprising. For L such imagery was an essential part in the aesthetic and affective reaction. Of the other subjects, B found difficulty in distinguishing olfactory from organic content. The oppression that accompanies the heavy odor of hyacinths is, for example, more easily identified than the true olfactory imagery. Four of D's olfactory images occurred on the same day, were similar in quality, and of hallucinatory vividness. It was thought that the apparent images must be due to the presence of some slight stimulation which be- came evident whe.n once the olfactory attention was induced. Many weeks later, however, on rereading these fragments, D experienced the same hal- lucination. In general, D is unable to image odors voluntarily, although such images when they occur spontaneously are of great vividness. 14 Tin: I .\i.\r.i x.\i. Kru rio.v TO POETRY. Gustatory images were of little significance in these reactions, since only 22 were reported by both groups, during the whole course of the ex- periment. d. Cutaneous Imagery. Such imagery was significant for A, D, E, G, and L. L showed a pre- occupation with cutaneous material that, in the writer's experience, i> very unusual. A, it is true, gave nearly as great a number of cutaneous images, but such images in A's case were subordinated to visual images, while in the case of L, cutaneous images constitute the core of the imaginal reaction. Thus L reported that flowers were imaged primarily in cutaneous terms, the felt texture of the flower-petal, the felt roughness of the stem being the essential factors. These tactile images of L's seemed capable of being ob- jectified in a most peculiar way. Subsidiary to cutaneous images there appeared, in imaging a flower for instance, olfactory images, while the visual side might be reduced to a mere flash of color. Even auditory content was subordinated to cutaneous. The cutaneous image of the wind precedes and arouses the auditory image. A "rustling curtain" is first fingered, then heard. The nature of L's imagery is shown by the following report : "Odor of sunflower. Cutaneous feeling of roughness on face and hand. Warmth of sun felt; coolness from snow. Contrast between warmth and cold makes one shiver. Contrast too strong to be pleasant." (Fragment 37. i With A the cutaneous image of the wind is a favorite image. In the course of the experiments she reported eighteen images of the wind. Her backgrounds are enlivened by its presence. A also reported empathic cu- taneous images, such as the feeling of plunging her hand into cool clover or dewy grass. D showed some tendency to translate touch-content into visual terms. She is the only reagent of either group who makes the translation suggested by Keats in the phrase, "Touching with dazzled lips her starlight hand." The report on this fragment reads: "Vague image of a dark form sinking to its knees. Then a feeling of light on the lips which burn and visual picture of a white and bright hand. I actually seem to touch light with my lips. Throughout there is a feeling of visual dazzle, localized on lips." (Fragment 10.) c. Organic and Pain Reaction. Miss Martin (10:11) classified the organic sensations reported by her reagents into two groups : ( I ) Those aroused directly through suggestions given by the picture; and (2) Those that express the affective reaction to the picture as a whole, the pleasure or repulsion that it arouses. Such a distinction in the organic reactions was also possible in the present test. C, for instance, often spoke of an organic thrill accompanying the reading of certain very pleasurable fragments or of a shiver of repulsion induced by the arousal of some exceedingly disagreeable object of thought. The most frequent organic reaction reported by J was that of organic chokiness, a sensation significant of his emotional reaction to the whole fragment rather than a matter of reaction to a specific suggestion. The same may be said of his tendency to increased salivation. The organic sensations most easily aroused by suggestion were those of drowsiness, nausea, and dizziness. Such suggestions were effective for all but one or two reagents. They were particularly effective for D. D reported also respiratory quickening and a peculiar feeling of lightness, of ascension, of floating. A feeling of trance, also reported frequently, was, apparently, due to uncon- THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 15 verged eyes. In her case, cardiac consciousness was made acute by every reference to the heart, however unemphatic that reference might be ; while an emphasized reference of this kind induced a distinct feeling of suffocation. G and L, also reported frequent consciousness of cardiac sensations. With L, these cardiac reactions were too strong to be pleasant. B's most characteristic organic reaction was that of actual perspiration of hands ; he also reported feelings of suffocation. Sensations of pain were frequently aroused by suggestion, most notice- ably in the case of D. Miss Martin found that such pain was often localized in some weak or formerly injured part of the body (10:10). Several instances of such localization were noticed in the present investigation. Pain localized in the eyes was frequently reported by D, whose eyes are weak, and, very noticeably, on one occasion by C at a time of temporary eye- trouble. B localized pain at the back of the neck where he was troubled with an abscess ; , and L Ipcalized pain in the heart-region and reported that she had experienced previously serious cardiac trouble. /. Kinaesthetic Reaction. Kinaesthetic reactions either in the form of an imaginal posture or imaginal movement or in the form of actual sensation of movement or pos- ture was a very significant factor in the reports of D (over 32 per cent, of the total number of images) ; F (over 25 per cent, of the total number of images) ; and of M (over 26 per cent, of the total number). For D the reaction to a fragment was, frequently, chiefly in the form of kinaesthesis, imaginal or actual. For example, " 'On' is the key-word. The inner speech dwells on it. I strike a posture, breath held slightly. There seems to be a slight move- ment in the eyes as if accommodating themselves for distant vision. Also a slight visual streak from the eyes out. 'Flared' involves a kinaesthetic feeling of the mouth cavity being extended and distended as with light. With 'stately' there is a fleeting posture; then a kinaesthetic feeling of moving on and on. The last line gives a feeling of opening the eyes wide. There is release of tension and respiratory expansion." (Fragment 6.) Consciousness of eye-movement was very pronounced for D and other movements were frequently localized in the eyes. Kinaesthetic content is, in general, very essential in F's reactions. At times, movements, easily perceivable by an observer, fail to come to con- sciousness and under such circumstances F finds difficulty in reporting her reaction. During silent reading articulatory movements were very apparent and often the rhythm of a fragment was beat with the hand. M's meaning is frequently carried by kinaesthetic material. Kinaes- thetic empathy was frequently reported by him. He identified himself kin- aesthetically with waving flowers, jumping grasshoppers, palpitating trees and the like. Miss Martin observed that difficult or novel movements were more apt to be represented visually than felt kinaesthetically. Most reagents see the movements of an animal rather than feel them in person. This ob- servation which held for other subjects of the present test did not apply to M, whose capacity for sympathetic imitation was very extensive. Miss Martin (10:13) has emphasized the temperamental difference shown in a tendency, on the one hand, to experience localized kinaesthetic images or sensations, and, on the other hand, to objectify such imagery in optical-kinaesthetic form. The person characterized by the former tendency is thought to live in a subjective world; the latter, to live in an outer objective world. A comparison of the figures in the tables (I, II, III) shows optical- kinaesthetic imagery in excess of felt kinaesthesis (both movement and 16 THE IMACINAL REACTION TO POKTKY. posture) in the case of K, J, C, E, G, and, very slightly, in the case of B and I ; A, D, F, L, and M show an excess of felt posture and movement. Of these persons, it is very evident that K, for example, is exceedingly objective-minded and very unemotional, while L is exceedingly emotional and more personal in her attitude toward her environment. D and F would definitely be classed as subjective in type. D's case is of particular interest, since she gives a very high number of both kinds of images. Apparently, however, the optical-kinaesthetic are translations of the true kinaesthetic images since with auditory presentation, where less time is given for the development of latent imagery, the optical- kinaesthetic images are greatly reduced in number. (See Table II.) 4 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IMAGINAL REACTION. During the course of the experiment, some general characteristics of the imagery of different reagents became pronounced. These temperamental characteristics of the imaginal life as a whole must be of utmost importance in the determination of the affective and aesthetic reaction. a. Utilisation of Memory Material. The extent to which memory-material in an unmodified form is utilized is one of such characteristics. Probably the most characteristic feature of K's imaginal life Is the extent to which she employs memory material, particularly memory of very recent experiences. She would seem to live very much in the present. The visual and auditory images called up during the course of the experiment were in nearly half the cases memory images with a very definite time locali- zation. Nearly two-thirds of such memory images were of recent experi- ences, usually dating back but two or three days. Every one of the eight olfactory images reported possessed a definite memory-setting, although in this case only three of the eight images represented recent experiences. J also made much use of memory material. Thus 35.9 per cent, of his visual images were reported to be definite memory-images. But in contrast to K. J's memory-images were reproductions of old experiences, referred, that is, to a date more than a year back. I also furnished a large number of memory images, 26.1 per cent. Re- cent experience was here important. But unlike K, who reproduced the recent experience in detail, I's recent memories were often generic rather than specific, that is, I was aware that the image was a reproduction of one or more recent experiences but he did not localize the memory definitely in time. C gave a definite place-localization of imagined scenes, as has already been stated, and showed a tendency to stereotype imaginal material. Often in the reports from different subjects the reconstruction of mem- ory material was apparent ; the subject reported that the original experience had been consciously modified. Now the utilization, to any extent, of unmodified memory material or of stereotyped images must be very significant of the type of mind. The extent, also, to which one uses old, habitual, or recent experience must also be of great importance. Binet (3:1851") found in his tests upon his daughters that the utilization of recent experiences was characteristic of the practical observing type such as his daughter Marguerite, while the utilization of old or of fluid material characterized the more poetical, more subjective type, as exemplified by his daughter Armande. In the present test K, who made precise use of recent experience, was exceedingly matter-of-fact and practical. THE IMAGINAL. REACTION TO POETRY. 17 b. The Background. Another interesting individual peculiarity was the variation in the rich- ness of the background upon which the various images appeared. C, as mentioned above, made extensive use of a background, -usually an habitual one or one suggested by his environment of the moment. A, however, laid greatest stress upon her imaginal backgrounds. They were in a sense stereo- typed but are noteworthy for their poetic form and richness of tone-color. A description 'at some length in A's own words seems worth while.* "There are a few definite visual backgrounds. The foreground or center of the picture I fill in new every time, but the surroundings are the same and include about as much as I could really see if I were looking at such a scene. The colors, sizes, and distances are very realistic. I call them (the back- grounds) visual, but, as a matter of fact, I think there is none that does not have some regular accompaniment of warmth or coolness or wind or rain ; almost all include olfactory images and some call up sound. The strongest images are in the order given, visual, tactual, olfactory, and auditory. I think there is always a feeling of my position and sometimes there are kin- aesthetic images. "Any clear or definite picture either calls up one of these backgrounds, or else makes a new one of its own. A confusing description, or one that it is hard to image, has no background at all, and breaks up quickly. "(a) The most common background is a meadow or meadows filled with flowers, usually white clover. There are a few rail-fences, and a good many little woods or clumps of trees in the rear part of the picture. The coun- try is slightly hilly, and there is a blue sky with some light clouds. Every- thing is bright with sunshine, and there is a little cool breeze that sets all 1 the flowers nodding. Sometimes I hear the trees rustling. This is usually an early morning picture. [Utilized for fragments 2 (plus rain), 3, 8 (plus rain), 49, 71, and 84.] "(b) This is a variation of (a), much the same except that I am facing in a different direction. There are steeper hills and the woods come down almost to where I am standing. A little brook flows out of the wood and down past me, through the meadow. There are many more flowers than in (a) ; it seems to be earlier in the spring and much later in the day. [Utilized for fragments 16, 19, and 78.] "(c) Every sunrise or dawn image fits into a picture of wild hills and blue mountains under a great rosy sunrise. I am looking straight east, where the sun comes up over the highest mountain. There is a kind of 'mack- erel' sky, and the clouds are all on fire with color. Everything is cool and hushed but after I have thought about it for a minute or two, a little breeze comes up, and the colors seem to grow more and more vivid. I cannot make this background last so long as the others. [Utilized for fragments 67 (with variations), 79, and 92.] "(d) When I read about sunset, I usually see a sky full of rosy clouds, above a country of low green hills. After a while, the color contracts until it is all in one place, and there is a great dusky coolness over everything, so sweet that I can taste and smell it, it is a kind of vague image that a real sunset usually calls up. [Utilized for fragments 57, 68, and 89.] "(e) This is a picture of bare brown hills and hollows, very stony, with a great wind rushing over them. It is very sunny, but the picture is mostly one of wind, with tactual, temperature and auditory images and a very pleasant Cmotional coloring. [Utilized for fragments 28 and 29.] "(f) This is a queer picture that I get when the description is too ab- stract for any other background and yet definite in the one image that it *Note 5: I wish to express my thanks to Miss Katherine Taylor for her kindness in writing out these backgrounds. i8 TIIK IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. calls up. I seem to be looking at something in space, with great depths of air behind it, and this last picture is full of wind. [Utilized for fragments 17, 20, 21, 27, and 105.] "(g) A picture of yellow wheat-fields with much sunshine and wind. (Utilized for fragments 14 and 97.) "(h) The interior of a church or cathedral, undoubtedly composed of memory elements which are built up into new combinations, for I have never seen a church exactly like it. I am standing in the aisle not far from the chancel. All visual; beautiful light and shadow effects. [Utilized for frag- ments 6 and 90.] "(0 A thunder storm in the mountains. [Utilized for fragment 74.] "(j) Another storm picture, very odd. I seem to see the storm up in the clouds somewhere; there are great dark depths of cloud and sudden illuminations of lightning. A great deal of sound (thunder), wind, and rain, and many tactual and thermal images. [Utilized for fragments 12, 45, 8o.l "(k) An image of hills very far below me, with a great crowd of people singing and shouting. Auditory images, much sunshine, and great depths of air. [Utilized for fragment 41.] "(1) An autumn picture much like (b), very highly colored and sunny. Tactual and olfactory images. [Utilized for fragment 33.] "(m) A frosty morning. Visual, temperature, tactual, and auditory images. [Utilized for fragment 86.] "(n) A mediaeval picture, first imagined when I read Mark Twain's 'Joan of Arc,' eight or nine years ago. One end of a hall blazing with sun- shine, people in mediaeval dress, heralds with trumpets. [Utilized for fragment 88.] "(o) In a great evergreen forest; dusk, warmth, the odor and rustle of trees. [Utilized for fragment 90.] "(p) A wood of young trees just leafing out in the sunshine, with little brooks flowing through it. Olfactory, tactual, and auditory (children's voices)." [Utilized for fragment 102.] The records show that imaginal reactions for which there were no back- grounds were rarely pleasant. The majority of such reactions were indif- ferent. Twenty-five fragments called forth new backgrounds ; these new backgrounds were less frequently associated with pleasantness than were the old backgrounds. Backgrounds (a) and (c) occur with particularly pleas- ing fragments. c . Types of Imagination. The degree and kind of imagination revealed in the different reports is also interesting. A possesses considerable literary ability and her reports show much imagination. Her imagination must, however, to use Ribot's term, be called "plastique" (13:1530, since her visualizations are vivid and concrete and the spatial relationships and tactile values are definite. She demands clear and vivid imagery from the poet; definitely realizable meanings. Far-fetched analogies or synaesthetic comparisons of sights to sounds are either disagreeable or ridiculous. In contrast to A's plastic images are those of D, which also show im- agination but are of the "diffluente" type, to use Ribot's term again (13: 1630. D's flowing fleeting images enable her to appreciate certain meta- phors and peculiar analogies that A finds disagreeable. F's imagery is also vague with contours washed away, as is D's. The aesthetic preferences of these two subjects are often similar. Both find mood poetry delightful.* Not* 8: It I* reUtlre to the "diffluent" type of lmf Initlon that the writer flndi difficulty In ac- eeptlnt Perky'i experiment* M adequate (IS). THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 19 B's images were often unexpected and whimsical, with fantastic ele- ments. Probably the word "fanciful" rather than the word "imaginative" characterizes the nature of his imagery. M's reactions were also imaginative, but with an emphasis on the kinaesthetic side. His images were diffluent and his preference was for the mystic in art. The mystic he described as the vague, with contours washed away ; there is an opening up of perspective, a lack of control of all mean- ing, a sense of the cosmic. More than any other subject, M cited aesthetic associations as part of his reaction to the fragments read. This rise of associations, he reported, gives bigness to the world ; personal relationships are enlarged. For ex- ample we may take his report on fragment 34: "Turrets mirrored in lake. Towers of Camelot. Mediaeval emotional tone. In thought, the mediaeval period." d. Spontaneous and Voluntary Imagery. The degree to which imagery is under conscious control would seem to be an individual characteristic of some importance. B frequently reported that his images were wholly unexpected and that they were as novel to him as to the experimenter. He showed, however, considerable capacity in call- ing up voluntarily images suggested. One morning he appeared for work in a very feverish condition which preluded a serious sickness. On this occa- sion, he experienced rich visual imagery of extraordinary vividness, charac- terized by brilliancy of light and color and by its imaginative value. These images were novel and uncontrollable. More than once B expressed curi- osity as to the course of an image and was disappointed if the image vanished without effecting a solution of a problem-situation. During the same ses- sion, auditory images were hallucinatory in their vividness. Of all the subjects, D and M appeared to have least power of voluntary ; imaging. M reported that at times he experiences auditory imagery of j great vividness but that he is not able to call such images up voluntarily. For D, the lack of control over imagery is very pronounced. Spontaneous imagery is both very much more varied and more intense than is voluntary imagery. On occasion, both visual and olfactory images become extraor- dinarily vivid, but no amount of effort can bring this about. In this con- nection, the importance for both D and M of kinaesthetic material may be emphasized and brought into connection with the conjecture that the types of invention characterized by Ribot (13:129^ as combinative and intuitive may represent a dominance of sensory control for the one and of motor control for the other. It would be interesting to test, on the one hand, the manner of invention of M and D and, on the other, that of A. The ob- servation of the writer would be that M and D are strongly intuitive in type and that A is combinative. In this connection it should be recalled that A's type of imagination is plastic ; D's and M's are diffluent. e. Self-Projection. An individual difference, probably of very great significance, is to be found in the varying frequency with which reagents projected themselves into the fragments and the form assumed by such self -projection. The writer has described in some detail in a forthcoming article in the "Psycho- logical Review" the forms that such self-projection may assume. The prin- cipal forms are as follows: (i) Visual self -projection, more or less de- tailed, without kinaesthetic self-reference; (2) Visual self -projection, with kinaesthetic self -reference, the kinaesthetic factor sometimes coalescing with the visual self, sometimes referred to the actual body, sometimes alter- nating with the visual self; (3) Kinaesthetic self-reference, either localized 20 Tin: IMAC.INAL REACTION TO POETKY. or projected objectively. In the latter case the projected kinaesthetic self may coalesce with a visualization of some object or person described in the poetic fragment; (4) Organic or emotional identification of self with ><>mc object or person described. The most noticeable cas> of frequent and detailed visual self -projection was found in the case of , who appeared in characteristic poses appropri- ately dressed. Social consciousness was often evident in these reports of the visualized self. Visual self -projection also occurred with great fre- quency in the case of J, whose orientation as the visualized self and as observer of this visualized self was often so definite as to constitute a double self-reference. I's visualization of self was imagery of bits of the body in isolation; his visual self often alternated with a kinaesthetic self. A break between the visual and the kinaesthetic self was also reported by F and C. Visual self-projection was rare and very schematic and vague for B, A, D, L, and K and altogether lacking for M. B, A, D, and M reported nnu-h kinaesthetic and organic self-reference, while A and L also employed considerable cutaneous reference. The question raised above as to the relation of kinaesthetic and optical- kinaesthetic imagery to temperament may be raised a second time relative to the kinaesthetic and visual self. The latter certainly appears a more ob- jective, less intimate experience than the former. So far as literary Einftih- lung is concerned, it would appear especially in those cases of kinaesthetic self -reference which are objectified in some object or person. Such objecti- fication of kinaesthesis was often reported by M. 5. THE INNER SPEECH. An analysis of the aesthetic effects of poetry demands consideration of the inner speech as the medium of expression, the sensuous side of the art. Mueller-Freienfels (n) has distinguished two forms of aesthetic re- action, the sensorial and the imaginative. In the first form, interest is cen- tered in the sensuous medium of expression ; there is delight in pure color, bare auditory quality, sheer rhythm. In the imaginative reaction, the rep- resentative factors are of higher importance; one enjoys the portrayal of emotion, the imitation of nature and of human life, the intimation of spir- itual truths. Poetry, on the sensuous side, employs rhythm and the auditory-motor content of external or of inner speech. It is an auditory-motor art allied to music. Its sensuous content may be employed mainly as a carrier of meaning, visual or other imagery, or may have value in itself and for itself alone. There are, for example, forms of lyric poetry in which the auditory content and the rhythm are its chief reason for being. There are poets who aim at creating sheer word-music, who use words not indirectly as symbols of meaning but immediately as musical notes. In general, however, poetry is conceived as an imaginative art, with individual variation in the degree of interest manifested in the auditory and rhythmic content. A high degree of interest in the latter content is shown by delicate susceptibility to asso- nance and alliteration, to rhyme and rhythm, with enjoyment of pitch, tone- length, tone-color. The imaginative reaction to poetry varies with the imagery of the reader. There may be an attempt at complete visual translation of the words on the part of the visual-imaginative reader, while the reader of the auditory- imaginative type may reproduce the cadence and speech of the speaking person and rejoice in associations called up through similarities and analogies of sound. The onomatopoetic possibilities of poetry, however subtle, are appreciated by such readers. Not only the imitation of the sounds and THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 21 rhythms of nature by words appeals to them but also the attempt to repro- duce by words the timbre of the human voice when dominated by a given emotion. From the reports gathered in the present investigation, an effort was made to determine the value of the inner speech for the aesthetic reaction of each reagent, the extent, that is, to which each found himslf absorbed in mere auditory or kinaesthetic verbal content, or, if he belonged to the imaginative-auditory type, the extent to which he surrendered to onomato- poetic effects or yielded to the dramatic possibilities suggested by the fragments. ' In any case, the form of the inner speech of any given individual is significant. In general, the auditory, the visual, and the vocal-motor form, with or without auditory accompaniment, may be distinguished. Variations in the form of the inner speech with variation in the given situation and peculiar complications of one form with another are to 'be noticed. Town (16:127) nas been able to describe such complications by the relief into which they are thrown by their exaggeration in abnormal cases. There are cases of internal soliloquy or revery in which probably there are strong kinaesthetic elements ; there are cases of internal dialogue in which varied relations may exist between the different characters, depending upon the form of the inner speech. For both characters the inner speech may be motor, but more strongly motor for the first person of the dialogue with whom the subject identifies himself. Or an auditory form of the inner speech may interplay with the kinaesthetic, in which case the subject may identify himself with the motor factor and treat the auditory as an intruder. Again, the inner speech may be wholly auditory, with the possibility given by such form for the intrusion of many voices, with one or none of which the subject identifies himself. The significance of such varieties of inner speech for literary creation and appreciation must be very great. Thus the auditory inner speech sug- gests freedom for manifold dramatic impersonations, while the vocal-motor inner speech possesses a personal warmth and intimacy more closely related to the lyric outcry. Inner speech in visual form is very infrequent. That, to some extent, it is important in the aesthetic reaction is shown in those cases where poets or prose-writers depend much upon the appearance of a written sentence or of a verse-form for their cues in composition, not to mention their dependence upon the graphic form of inner speech. Such writers find great difficulty in composing by dictation. Victor Hugo has been cited as greatly dependent upon visual verbal form, as keenly sensitive to the "physiognomy" of written words. And Gautier says : "For my part, I think that, above all, the phrase demands ocular rhythm." (13:157.) Kakise in his study of understanding found that the reading of a word in inner speech was general when the word was exposed, that is when there was visual representation of it, while it was infrequent when the word was heard spoken, unless there was difficulty in understanding it. Visual repro- duction of a stimulus word when exposed scarcely ever occurred and such visual reproduction was infrequent when the stimulus word was spoken. (8:i 9 f.) Kakise's reagents found difficulty in making a distinction between the auditory and motor elements in inner reading, although in reading difficult words and phrases most observers noted motor elements. The conclusion is reached that auditory reading, that is, reading without the "consciousness of the innervation or movements of the organs of speech", seems "universal and necessary for the understanding of exposed words or phrases", while motor reading in the sense of "consciousness of the innervation or move- 22 Tin IM .\..I\AL REACTION TO POETRY. UK-MI of the organs of speech is not universal hut is limited to s<>m< individuals only and with average individuals, to the reading of difficult words." (8:21.) The distinction between auditory and moter inner speech is no doubt a very difficult one to make. In the present investigation it has been con- ceived somewhat differently from what it was by Kakise. An attempt was made introspectively to distinguish between auditory and motor content. Frequently, of course, both aspects were present in inner speech, which i> auditory-vocal-motor. A sense of personal agency seemed to distinguish kinaesthetic inner speech from pure auditory inner speech, while pure vocal- motor speech may definitely lack auditory quality. The distinction is a diffi- cult one to make and one which leaves open chance for error. In the present investigation an attempt was made to place the seven subjects of the first group as regards the form of the inner speech. Intro- spective reports were sought on the one hundred ten fragments which were read silently and the forty fragments that were heard read aloud. In agreement with Kakise's finding, all seven reagents reported motor or auditory-motor inner speeh during visual reading. Three of these re- agents discovered no auditory tone to the inner speech ; four found the auditory aspect dominant. With auditory presentation of the fragments, there is found on the part of certain subjects considerable tendency to repeat or to hear echoed in the reader's voice parts of the fragments, either those that are not immediately understood or those that give pleasure, because of verbal beauty. Visual inner speech, which did not occur during visual reading, became pronounced for one subject while listening to the fragments read aloud. The individual reactions deserve, however, careful consideration as an important part of the aesthetic reaction. Of all the subjects tested, B is most preoccupied, during visual reading, with inner speech. This inner speech is for him the most important phase of poetry. Other imagery is definitely subordinated to it. If attention be concentrated upon it, it usurps the place of all other imagery. B lays great emphasis upon rhyme and sometimes accents the rhyming words in an un- comfortable fashion. In general, however, his reactions are of the imagina- tive-auditory type since he hears each fragment recited in the appropriate voice with very little, or, frequently, with no vocal-motor accompaniment. Frequently the voice heard is his own ; frequently it is one suggested by the phrasing of the fragment or one proceeding from some visualized char- acter introduced by B to do the reading. In the one hundred and ten frag- ments read visually, fifty were heard read in B's own voice which was variously modulated ; forty-six were definitely stated to be in voices other than his own. Fourteen times the voice was said to be a feminine voice; fourteen times described as a masculine voice not his own. Once there was a distinct shift from a woman's to a man's voice; once a shift from a child's voice to a man's. There were only two cases of pure visual reading and only eight cases where there was no voice or a voice not attended to. Such a grouping of results gives, however, little idea of the infinite variation in auditory quality that B introduces into his silent reading. Thus he may modify his own voice so as to make it more melodious. He describes the voices as sweet or plaintive or cruel ; nasal or sonorous ; matter-of-fact, or measured and dead. Sometimes the effects produced are grotesque as in a fragment from Swinburne in which he hears a child's lisp until he comes to the phrase, "Terrible, full of thunders," at which the voice becomes that of an angry man. One fragment which is read in a dead tone was accompanied by a "piercing wail which rose and fell," and in another fragment, read by a woman, there is a cry at the end of each THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 23 line. Often, for B, the visual imagery aroused by a fragment is that of the speaker of the lines heard recited. B sometimes complained that the intensity of the auditory inner speech obliterated concrete auditory imagery, which is his preferred form of imagery. The question was raised whether with an auditory presentation there would be an increase in the number of concrete auditory images. Such seemed to be the case. B reported, proportionally, a larger number of concrete auditory images in listening to the fragments read than when reading them to himself. It would seem, then, that B found the auditory quality of inner speech a greater hindrance to the arousal of other auditory imagery than was an objective auditory stimulation. Of no other reagent can the same statement be made. While listening to the fragments read aloud, B got much less auditory inner speech than when reading the fragments silently. In one-fourth of the trials, however, he reported a peculiar echoing of the reader's voice, word by word, an echo which B described as similar to hearing the same note struck at once on two different strings. Such an echoing occurred when B had difficulty in catching the meaning or where there was no translation of the words into concrete imagery. In two or three cases, this echoing became overpowered toward the close of the reading by concrete auditory imagery aroused by the words of the fragment. Thus, in one case, the imaged sound of the roar of the ocean overpowered the echo. In several cases, throughout the reading, even the voice of the reader was so overpowered and an immediate translation of the fragment into concrete auditory imagery occurred. In five cases, B repeated, in his own voice, portions of the fragments read. Such repetition on B's part seemed to be an attempt to enforce the rhythm or to maintain sounds that were particularly pleasing. D, also, during visual reading of poetry finds the inner speech strikingly auditory. * For D, however, the voice heard is always her own and the motor quality is frequently pronounced. D, as B, often dramatizes the selection "but with this difference, she herself is the reader and makes the gestures that B sees the visualized reader make. Pitch and voice-inflection are important for D. A strong rhythm effects a striking organic reaction ; it may modify respiration and be felt beating in the hand. D, on occasion, finds it quite possible to enjoy poetry as pure auditory-motor content with little question as to meaning. Of all the reagents, D laid greatest emphasis upon onomatopoeia, which played a very important part in conveying the auditory quality intended. Thus, while the ringing auditory quality of the lines heard often inhibited a more concrete objective image, the word suggesting such auditory imagery would echo, as it were, throughout the entire line. The following example illustrates this. The fragment ( 1 1 ) reads : "And the mystic wind went by, "Murmuring in melody." In this case the word "murmur" echoes in consciousness to the end of the line. The word itself as a delicate auditory after-image constitutes the accompaniment to the reading. The same effect was noticed with such words as groan, moan, wind, laughing, rustling, music. Another form of onomatopoeia, which may be called visual onomato- poeia, was reported by D. D does very little visual reading, reading, that is, without the mediation of inner speech. What she describes as- visual onoma- topoeia is not merely where the word looks its meaning but when it looks the concrete visual image of that for which it stands. Thus the word "laugh" appears to grin, the word "light" dazzles and the word "bowers" looks round. 24 THE IMACINAL REACTION TO POETRY. While listening to the fragments read aloud, D noticed little inner speech except where she echoed in her own voice pleasing words or phrases of which she did not catch the meaning or those for which the reader's voice did not give the correct inflection. Often her attention was obsi by the sheer auditory quality of the reader's voice. E's introspections on the inner speech give little detail, except that in visual reading she hears each fragment read in her own voice. When the fragments were read aloud to her, she showed considerable tendency to echo the words in auditory-kinaesthetic inner speech. Such repetition which was noted eighteen times in the forty trials was particularly evident when the meaning of a passage was not at once evident. G also failed to give detailed observations. Her inner speech is, at times, vocal-motor; at other times auditory-vocal-motor. Sometimes G hears her own voice ; at other times a voice other than her own. In listening to the fragments read, there appeared to be very little echoing or repetition of the reader's voice. During silent reading, C frequently failed to notice any inner speech whatever. When noticed, such inner speech appeared to be kinaesthetic, usually without auditory accompaniment. In the reading of occasional fragments, a word or phrase would flash out auditorially. This auditory imagery appeared to be a method of emphasis. In listening to the frag- ments read aloud, C showed a varying tendency to focus on the sound of the reader's voice or on the visual images aroused by the words. There was very little tendency to repeat the words heard, although occasionally such repetition occurred when there was difficulty in getting the meaning or when there was a desire to emphasize a particular line. Such repetition was, however, reported only six times during the forty tests. The inner speech for F is purely vocal-motor, with, usually, very little consciousness even of its motor quality. Sometimes during silent reading actual lip-movement is evident. This occurs when the meaning of a fragment is not at once evident or where the wording of a fragment is particularly pleasant. In the latter case F often vocalizes the fragment several times, "half-audibly." Highly agreeable rhythms F finds herself emphasizing by pointing to the words with a rhythmic movement. Although there was no auditory quality to inner speech, F sometimes put the words into the mouths of characters described in the fragments. This she did visually ; she knew that a character was speaking by the movements of the lips although she heard no words. Again, she was in one fragment aware that cheering was in progress by noting visually the waving of hats, handkerchiefs, etc. In general, F gets little meaning from hearing anything read aloud. So little is auditory attention developed that in order to understand she must read to herself. Auditory rhythm is, too, less appreciated than motor rhythm. In listening to the fragments read aloud, F showed considerable tendency to repeat in inner speech the words of the reader. She found difficulty in determining whether this inner speech was due to her under- standing of the words read or whether the fragment had meaning because of the vocal repetition. Apparently, F repeated by lines when the meaning was clear, skimming these lines in inner speech ; but when the meaning was not at once evident, she distinctly articulated separate words. Probably motor inner speech is always present under these conditions, but at times is so automatip as to escape detection. When there was particular difficulty in getting the meaning, F sometimes reported visual verbal imagery. The inner speech for A during silent reading was kinaesthetic, probably purely vocal-motor. She delights in pleasant combinations of vocal move- ments and is especially pleased with Swinburne's rhythms. Much concrete THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 25 auditory imagery was aroused by the words read but there was no auditory consciousness of the words themselves. A reports that she cannot call up the sound of her own voice, to which she has probably given little auditory attention, as her description of it is very different from that given by other persons. The sounds imaged by her are, chiefly, natural sounds. One peculiarity noted during silent reading emphasized the importance of visual verbal imagery for A, a most noticeable form of imagery when A heard the fragments read aloud. Large letters occurring in the text were found to magnify the visual images which they aroused. Thus in her report on a particular fragment, A wrote, "Visual image of a gigantic sun- flower," this is due to the capital S (for sunflower) ; large letters always magnify the picture given by the word, unless it is a word that is often capitalized. In listening to the fragments read aloud, A's visual verbal imagery became very pronounced. Besides such visual translation of the words heard, as though she were actually reading them, A repeated the words in kinaesthetic inner speech. This double verbal accompaniment was reported in almost every trial. It became more pronounced when the meaning of a fragment was not at once evident or when the concrete visual imagery was less distinct than was usually the case. Sometimes words not pro- nounced by the reader flashed out before the mind's eye as if in explanation or emendation of a passage. This visual inner speech, although with subjects in general a very uncommon form, is an every day matter with A. Certain fragments were noted as giving charming visual verbal effects. A curious example of a visual verbal translation of a synaesthetic fragment came in connection with Swinburne's phrase "Sounds that shine." This phrase immediately appeared to A printed in visual form but in char- acters of LIGHT. A's visualized letters are at about reading distance, whence come some peculiar adjustments of the eyes when the visual imagery of a concrete scene lies at a greater distance. The words are visualized in dark print a word or phrase at a time. The background on which the words appear, A is unable to describe. It seems dark as do the letters, but separated from the latter by a space-interval. Of the second group of subjects, the inner speech was noted for J, I, L and M. For J the inner speech was auditory; many different voices were distinguished. For I it was auditory-kinaesthetic. For M the kin- aesthetic side of inner speech was prominent ; he showed a strong tendency to read aloud in order to enforce the auditory content. For L the inner speech was kinaesthetic-auditory. II. DEPENDENCE OF REACTION UPON MATERIAL. I. LITERARY SUGGESTION. The images reported in this experiment depend not only upon the individual reactions of the subjects but also upon the suggestions conveyed in the lines read. According to such writers upon aesthetics as Souriau (14), the images aroused by poetry should be much more vivid than the images of common- place thought, both on account of the skill with which the suggestion is given and its enforcement by such a semi-hypnotic device as that of rhythm. The breaking up of the poems into fragments as was done in the test under consideration prevented the cumulative effects of absorption in the poetic suggestion. The skill with which suggestions were given remained, however, operative. 26 THK IMAGINAL RI:UTIU\ TO POETRY. Table IV represents an attempt to summarize the number of each kin-1 of suggestion, except the visual and kinaesthetic, contained in the series of fragments that were read, silently (See appendix), and to determine the percentage of successful suggestions in each instance. In every case the words of the fragments are taken at their face value, but, even so, there is chance for error in classifying the suggestions. Such chance for error is greater in the case of cutaneous and organic suggestion than in the case of auditory and olfactory, while it seemed impossible to classify the kin- aesthetic suggestions so as to distinguish between the suggestion of optical and that of felt kinaesthesis. TAItl ! PER CENT SUCCESSFUL SUGGESTION. DIRKCT YKRSl'S IM>IKKT AROUSAL. Kind of Softest Ion No. of Possible Image* Through Direct Arousal Per rent. Si:i .-. -f ,1 Suggestion Total of Images Per Cent. Directly Aroused Indirectly Aroused Auditory : ' 40.8 486 88 11.1 Olfactory S.S 130 70.2 23.8 Gustatory 127 14. S 22 81.8 18.2 Cutaneous 300 85.5 M 47.0 62.4 Organic and pain \r, 30.7 240 53.2 40.8 The table makes it at once evident that auditory suggestion was more frequently successful than any other form given in the table, while gustatory suggestion was least successful. In the case of every form of suggestion, certain fragments were par- ticularly effective. Thus eleven subjects reacted with auditory imagery to 87. which describes the noise of a waterfall, while ten subjects gave auditory imagery for fragments 11 and 33, both of which are descriptive of the wind. The reports made it very evident that certain auditory images are particularly easy to arouse. The sound of rain and of the bugle-note, the sighing of the wind and the rush of wings, the noise of the surf, the tolling of a bell are imaged without difficulty. For arousal of olfactory images, vague allusions were found to be less effective than were specific suggestions. Thus, if the odor of the violet or 'hyacinth be suggested, it is more apt to be successful than the vague suggestion contained in the words "field smells known in infancy," (Frag- ment 107). Yet Swinburne's phrase, "perfume of songs" (Fragment 53) \vn< effective for six of the twelve reagents. Fragment 46 was the most successful in suggesting olfactory imagery, a reaction reported by nine sub- jects. Fragment 6 was effective in only two cases. The smell of the rain, of wet grass, and of damp earth and the fragrance of flowers were reported very often. Sometimes the images of flower-odors were reported as specific, such as the image of the fragrance of the hyacinth, of the rose or of the poppy. Certain odor images were, however, describable only in vaguer terms, as "funeral flower" odor, "heavy flower" odor or faint sweet odor. Such odor-images recall the generic images so familiar to us in visual imagery. Gustatory images were not a frequent form of reaction. The more definite the reference, the more likely it was to succeed. Fragment 109 \\.IN the most successful in producing gustatory experience. Eight subjects reported such reaction. Fragment 109 represents a device, frequently em- ployed by Keats, namely, the repetition of a suggestion of a particular kind. The mention of wind or rain is very effective in the arousal of cutan- eous imagery. Some forty tactual images of the wind were reported and some twenty tactual images of rain. The suggestion of warm rain, soft breezes, sodden ground, cold, bare shoulders were highly successful. Frag- ments 8, 32, 51, and 29 were very effective in the arousal of cutaneous reactions. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 27 Of the fragments containing organic suggestion, 65 is most successful, since nine subjects responded with some form of organic reaction, while eight gave an organic reaction to 17 and seven to 113. Fragment 65 is of particular interest since it embodies a semi-hypnotic suggestion, a device used, it is claimed, by poets, in order to put their readers in susceptible non- critical mood. Judging from the effect on the present subjects, we must concede that these lines, the opening ones of Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale," have exactly the drowsy-trance effect held to be desirable. Relative to the relation between images aroused directly by suggestion or indirectly through connotation, it should be noted that in this respect the auditory images excel in percentage of direct arousal and the cutaneous in percentage of images aroused indirectly. Most of the fifty odd auditory images aroused indirectly can be at- tributed to individual predisposition on the part of the reagent. A few fragments, however, show the capacity for indirect arousal apart from sug- gestion. Thus fragment 14 conveys an auditory reaction to four reagents although the words do not suggest auditory content. Fragment 55 gives auditory content to two reagents, although the words do not suggest such content directly. The thirty-one olfactory images aroused without direct suggestion are to be attributed largely to the individual peculiarities of A and L, who fur- nish 24 of these images. Fragments 2, 49, and 89 convey, however, the olfactory content indirectly and are effective each for three subjects. The percentage of cutaneous images without direct suggestion is very high; 141 images of this kind are reported. L reacted with cutaneous imagery whenever an out-of-doors suggestion was given. Other reagents also showed a susceptibility to such indirect arousal. Fragments descriptive of either wind or rain were particularly apt to call out such images, even though the wording did not suggest them. Thus 2 (rain) and n (wind) give a number of cutaneous images, although by no means as large a number as 8 and 33, where the cutaneous reference is definitely made. A large percentage of the organic and pain images were also aroused indirectly. In this latter class are included those organic images or sen- sations which represent the emotional reaction to the fragment as a whole. The organic thrill or repulsion is a form of such reaction. Such reactions were, of course, largely an individual matter. Yet such fragments as 98 and 94 called them out in a number of reagents. 2. THE METHOD OF STYLE. The attempt to determine the imaginal type of a poet's mind from his literary imagery "has proved more or less open to criticism. Lay (9) at- tempted to deduce the imagery of an author from the imagery aroused in his own mind as reader of the author. But as Colvin has pointed out (5:232), the individual difference in imaginal reaction is so great that the same passage may be interpreted in different terms by different readers ; what is translated into kinaesthetic imagery by one person may take visual form for another. Angell is also skeptical as to any extensive application of the method. He writes: (i:66f.) "The method may often give correct results within the narrow field to which it applies, but it is never possible to be sure of these and the outcome is certainly misleading in its indications in many instances." Such limitations of the method are beyond question. Nevertheless, on general grounds, one would expect an author's style to be so greatly influ- enced by the kind of imagery, both concrete and verbal, for which he has 28 Tin: IMAGINAL REACTION TO POKTRY. the greatest predisposition and by the abstract or specific character of tliU imagery that such influence would react on the reader. The more we recognize the disposition of the average man for every sort of imagery while recognizing his predisposition for one or more par- ticular kinds, the more emphasis we are led to assign to material as influencing the kind of imagery aroused. That in poetry the form of sug- gestion contained in the words is influential is shown by the summary in the preceding section. Evidence as to the effect of the author's imagery upon the reader would be cumulative. While, that is, it would be illegitimate to draw conclusions from the reports of one reader on a few passages of a given author, conclusions might well be drawn from the reports of many reagents differing in imagery predisposition. Certain similarities in reaction must be attributed to the imagery-arousing material and, hence, to the M nory preoccupations, perceptual or imaginal, of the author. A complete test of the method of style would involve, first, consider- ation of the extent to which the inner speech of a given reagent is modified by the style of a particular author, and, second, the variations in his imaginal reactions due to the literary imagery of the author. Relative to the second point the following observations are in order. The one hundred fragments utilized in the test were taken from the fol- lowing authors: Blake, thirteen (57 lines); Poe, twenty-six (80 lines); Shelley, twenty-five (97 lines) ; Keats, twenty-three (78 lines), and Swin- burne, thirteen (59 lines). In addition, the seven reagents of the first group reported on four additional fragments for Poe (11 lines), four for Keats (13 lines), and two for Swinburne (13 lines). The fragments were, of course, not marked with the name of the poet and with a few exceptions were unrecognized by any of the reagents except D. Tables V, VI, VII and VIII contain the summary of the following points relative to the imaginal reactions to each poet. ( i ) The number of each kind of sense suggestion given, omitting the visual and the kinaesthetic ; (2) The percentage of successful suggestions; (3) The percentage of images of each kind aroused directly, and (4) The percentage of each kind aroused indirectly. Table IX gives the total number of kin- aesthetic and visual images for each poet. A study ol/hese tables brings out some interesting points. It should be noticed that^oe gives the highest number of successful auditory sug- gestions ; Shelley the highest number of successful olfactory suggestions ; Keats the largest number of successful cutaneous images, and Poe the greatest number of successful organic suggestions, with Shelley but slightly behind.^Literary critics have often commented on Shelley's preoccupation with o 89 4.8 .08 78 4.0 1.68 n 4.9 .6 81 5.5 .9 M 6.4 2.32 91 ao l.T .14) " i i '^ .88 4g 3.0 i.a 40 THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 39 TABLE XV Continued. First Trial Second Trial Third Trial Number Average M. V. Position Average M. V. Position Averrge M. V. Position yi 3.7 2.44 54 3.8 1.84 51 3.7 1.62 51 32 4.1 2.08 68 4.1 1.12 61 3 1 29 33 3.4 2.08 47 3.8 1.8 50 3 1.6 32 34 3.9 2.08 60 3.3 1.98 39 3.7 1.76 52 36 5.6 1.88 91 5.2 2 89 5 2.2 85 37 3 3 1.42 40 4.1 1.7 63 4 2.2 56 38 3.5 1.8 49 3.3 1.36 38 3.5 1 40 39 3.8 1.24 56 4.5 .8 72 3.9 .76 56 40 4 1.8 63 4.9 1.72 81 4.6 2 73 41 3 2 1 35 3.4 1.32 40 3.5 1 41 42 4^2 1.96 71 3.7 1.7 47 4.3 1.9 64 43 6.7 1.42 99 6.5 .8 99 6.4 1.32 99 ^4 5.9 1.72 95 5.1 1.88 87 5.2 2 89 45 5.4 1.84 88 4.9 1.92 82 5 2 84 46 1.8 .96 4 1.8 .8 5 1.8 .8 3 47 6.2 .88 97 5.4 1.28 90 5.5 1 92 48 5.7 1.44 94 4.7 1.24 75 6 1.2 80 49 3.3 2.22 43 2.2 1.24 14 2.2 1.24 12 50 3.6 1.88 51 3.9 1.14 53 3.6 1.4 47 51 4.8 1.48 80 4.5 1.2 73 4.7 1.5 75 52 2.9 1.28 30 2.6 1.2 24 3.1 1.56 34 63 2.4 1.76 18 1.8 .96 8 2.2 1.08 11 54 3.6 1.08 50 3.8 1.28 49 3.7 1.16 49 55 3.4 2.08 48 2.9 1.48 30 2.7 1.38 21 56 2.3 .96 14 2.7 .9 26 2.5 .9 19 57 3.3 1.22 39 4.9 1.32 80 4.6 1.68 72 58 4 1 62 4.4 1.12 71 4.9 1.12 7 59 3.9 2.5 61 3.9 1.72 54 3.3 1.9 38 60 5.2 1.6 84 5.3 1.16 89 5.5 1.2 93 61 3.6 1.92 52 3.8 1.04 48 3.3 1.56 37 62 5.6 1.36 90 5.8 1.08 96 6 1 95 63 4.3 1.36 74 4.8 1.2 77 4.8 1.4 78 64 3.8 1.6 68 3.2 1.44 35 3.3 .76 36 65 5.6 1.96 92 5 2.4 84 5.05 1.75 86 66 4.9 1.52 81 5.5 1.6 92 5 1.4 81 67 2.2 1.08 12 1.8 .8 6 1.7 .84 1 68 3.2 1.44 37 4.3 1.1 66 4.6 .8 6 69 3.9 1.34 59 3.7 1.16 45 4.7 1.16 74 70 1.6 .72 2 1.8 .96 7 2.3 1.36 16 71 2.7 1.58 25 1.9 .72 9 2 1.2 7 72 3.4 1.2 44 4.7 1.56 76 3.6 1.2 45 73 4.3 1.84 75 4.9 1.14 79 4.4 1.24 65 74 1.8 .96 5 2.3 1.42 16 2.8 1.4 24 75 2.8 1.04 28 3.5 1.3 42 3.4 1.2 3 77 4.1 1.72 66 4.3 1.1 67 4.7 1.56 7 78 3.1 1.72 34 3.2 1.88 36 2.9 1.46 27 79 2.3 1.16 15 2.1 .94 11 1.9 .9 6 81 3.1 1.54 33 4 1.4 56 4.8 1.08 77 82 1.7 .84 3 2.2 1.24 13 2.1 1.16 9 83 3.2 1.04 36 3.1 1.68 34 3 1.2 30 84 2.7 1.1 23 2.65 .75 25 3.8 1.4 54 85 3 1.6 32 4.1 .74 59 3.8 1.04 53 86 3.2 1.64 38 4 1.6 58 3.7 1.3 50 87 4.5 1.9 76 5.6 2.08 05 5 1.8 82 89 2 1 11 2.1 .96 12 2.8 1.76 26 91 3.8 1.56 57 4.3 1.90 69 6.1 1.32 87 92 2 .8 9 2.9 1.12 29 1.9 .72 5 93 5.4 1.44 87 5.1 .36 85 4.6 1.16 70 94 3.7 1.76 55 2.8 1.6 28 2.9 1.68 28 95 4.2 1.64 70 4.3 2.1 70 4.5 1.8 68 96 5.2 1.84 85 5.6 1.28 94 6.7 1.16 100 97 2.3 1.22 16 2.5 .9 21 2.8 1.2 2S 98 2.2 1.52 13 4.1 2.1 64 3.6 1.8 48 99 3.4 1.6 46 4.1 1.5 62 4.4 1.44 66 100 3.3 1.5 41 3.3 1.1 37 3.5 1.6 42 104 4.5 2.4 77 5 2 83 5.3 2.1 90 105 1.6 .48 1 1.8 .4G 4 2.3 .76 14 107 2.8 1.76 29 2.3 1.42 17 2.5 1.3 20 106 7.3 .7 100 7 1.2 100 6.2 1.2 98 109 6.1 1.3 98 5.5 1.1 91 6 1.2 96 111 3.4 1.2 45 3 1.4 33 4 1.4 67 113 2.5 1.4 20 2.4 1.28 18 2.2 1.24 13 1.46 1.29 1.33 spectively 1.61 and 1.66. Such a lowering of the value of the mean variation, noticeable particularly in the second arrangement, is undoubtedly due to the waning of the positive affective tone of the series as a whole, a waning which in the method used resulted in a shifting of the fragments towards 40 THE IMACINAL REACTION TO POETRY. the fourth and fifth positions, equivalent in its effect to reducing the number of possible positions. Such a reduction in the value of the M. V. might indeed be expected in the group-method of arrangement where a transition from positive pleasure to positive unpleasantness occurs through an indif- ference point. In the case of waning value evident by a general reduction along a scale in one direction only such a lowering of the M. V. might not occur. In this connection, it is interesting to compare the average mean varia- tion of the ten fragments that in the final order of pleasantness-unpleasant- ness were found to be most pleasant with those that were found to be most unpleasant. Table XVI shows that the M. V. of the most pleasant group is lower than that of the most unpleasant group. The same statement is true if the first twenty fragments in the table be compared with the last twenty. Hollingsworth (7:141), in commenting on the lower M. V. at the top of a series as compared with the M. V. at the bottom, cites it as a usual occurrence in subjective judgments and interprets it as evidence, possibly, for the fact that "a group of individuals will resemble each other more in their prefer- ences than in their aversions." This seems, indeed, the most probable inter- TABLE rvi. AVERAGE M. V.'i. 10 SUBJECTS. Position Trial 1 Trial 8 Trial 3 I... .48 .M .84 t .72 .70 .48 s .84 .84 .80 4 .98 .48 .72 5 .98 .80 .72 .72 .80 .90 7 .60 .98 .20 8.... .80 .98 .16 9 .80 .72 .92 10 1.00 .90 .04 J>1 1.88 1.10 .32 92 1.98 1.00 .00 93 1.10 1.90 .20 94 1.44 1.28 .08 95 i.n 2.08 .00 98 1.30 1.08 .20 97 .88 1.06 32 98 1.04 1.85 .20 99 1.42 .80 .32 100 .70 1.20 10 pretation in the present instance, although every reagent but one gave, also, a lower M. V. in the upper than in the lower range, an observation that might incline one to think that the objective differences in the upper range were greater than those in the lower. The difference between the M. V. of the first and last ten fragments became smaller for the second and third trials, falling from .56 in the first arrangement to .48 in the second and to .50 in the third arrangement. Or, taking the first and last twenty fragments, the difference fell from .55 in the first arrangement to .48 in the second, but rose to .61 in the third. This fall in consecutive trials in the difference between the M. V.'s at the top and bottom of a series, Hollingsworth finds difficulty in explaining. In the pres- ent test the progressive fall was much less than he found to be true in judg- ments on comic situations and seems to be due to the fact that the very and moderately unpleasant fragments waned in value to a greater degree than did the very or moderately pleasant fragments. That is to say, un- pleasant fragments with repetition became neutral while pleasant fragments did not lose their affective tone to the same extent. Table XIII shows, in- deed, that, proportionally, a greater number of unpleasant fragments waned in value with repetition than did pleasant fragments. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 41 On account of discrepancies in the method, no further manipulation of results, except along the line of individual variation, will be attempted. It is evident, however, that the order of merit method offers great oppor- tunity for the study of the affective and the aesthetic judgment. The variability of each individual from his own average for the three trials was calculated and the reagents arranged in order of individual con- sistency as follows: (i) D, .43; (2) L, 47; (3) J> 495 (4) M, .59; (5) N, .64; (6) I, .64; (7) A, .71 ; (8) C, .79; (9) E, .86; (10) K, .99. The average M. V. of the first twenty and last twenty fragments reveals, however, certain individual characteristics. D and N, with high consistency for the pleasant fragments, show great variability in judgment on the un- pleasant fragments. I, also, is much more consistent in judgment on the pleasant fragments. M's variability on the unpleasant fragments is very high, while for J, L, and A it is relatively lower than in the case of the other subjects. J alone of the subjects showed an absolutely greater consistency on the unpleasant than on the pleasant judgments. The average variability of each reagent from the average of the ten reagents for the three trials resulted in the following order: (i) L, 1.07; (2) J, 1.09; (3) M, 1.09; (4) N, 1.29; (5) C, 1.31; (6) E, 1.38; (7) I, 1.42; (8) A, 1.49; (9) D, i .60; (10) K, 1.80. Or, calculated on the basis of the first trial alone, in which the "waning" effects are not present, (i) J, 1.05; (2) M, 1.24; (3) L, 1.26; (4) N, 1.26; (5) A, 1.4; (6) C, 1.44; (7) I, 1-54; (8) D, 1.58; (9) E, 1.63; (10) K, 2.06. Relative to the variability of the judgment upon different poets, a cal- culation on the basis of the first arrangement shows that the judgments on the Blake fragments were most constant for the group, with a slightly higher variability on the Shelley fragments. The greatest variability was found for the Keats fragments, with the Swinburne fragments next in order. If the variability of the individual from his own average be taken and the average of the group calculated, the Shelley fragments give the lowest aver- age, with the Blake fragments closely approximating this average. Swin- burne gives the highest variation, with Keats a few points lower. Thus, the '- group as a whole are seen to agree best on the Blake and Shelley frag- ments and to disagree most on the Swinburne and Keats fragments, while the individual reagents are most constant in their judgments on Shelley and Blake and least constant in their judgments on Keats and Swinburne. 3. THE AESTHETIC AND THE AFFECTIVE JUDGMENT. Miss Martin, it would seem, considered that the arrangement of pictures on the basis of their pleasantness-unpleasantness determined also their aesthetic value. Consideration whether or not such a conclusion is justified raises the question of the relation of the agreeable to the aesthetic experience. A theoretical discussion of the point has no place here. But as a prac- tical consideration, it seemed worth while comparing an arrangement of the fragments on the aesthetic basis with one made on the basis of their pleas- antness-unpleasantness. The writer had hoped to get this second arrange- ment, after a sufficiently long time interval, from each of the ten reagents who had served as subjects in the preceding test. It happened, however, that judgments could be obtained from only six of them. These reagents, A, C, D, N, I, and L, were instructed to classify the fragments into eight groups on the basis of their aesthetic value, the highest aesthetic value being designated by i, the lowest by 8. A statement of what in his opinion con- stituted the aesthetic value was also asked from each reagent. The order of aesthetic value of the fragments was then determined by calculating the average position and mean variation on each fragment. In order to compare this grouping with one made on the pleasantness-unpleasantness basis, the 42 THK IMACINAL REACTION TO POETRY. affective judgments of these six reagents (first trial) were averaged and the final position and mean variation of each fragment determined. The instructions for the aesthetic arrangement were purposely made general in order to determine whether or not the aesthetic distinction is a clear-cut one for subjects who have had no training in theoretical aesthetics. A shift in the subject's attitude from that evklent in making the affect- ive judgment was clearly manifest. In general, the aesthetic judgment was given much more slowly than the affective, partly because the reagents felt at a loss in formulating a basis for this judgment. Usually, a critical atti- tude was adopted, an objection which Bullough (4) has with reason urged against the use in experimental aesthetics of methods involving comparison. The word aesthetic was often interpreted as equivalent to artistic. The artistic fragments, in turn, were held to be those that exhibit literary skill. For instance, in giving the affective judgment, several reagents had com- mented on fragment 108 to the effect that although the sensuous reaction 10 it was strikingly disagreeable, the appropriateness of its phrasing was extra- ordinary. This introduction of the critical attitude, with, however, as will appear, little objective basis for estimation, might have been avoided by asking for an arrangement of the fragments on a basis of their beauty, an arrangement which should indeed be tried. The presence of the critical attitude is shown by the smaller number of fragments judged to be of the highest aesthetic value in comparison with the number judged to be very pleasant. There are only 117 fragments in the combined table for the six subjects judged to be of highest aesthetic worth ; there are 155 fragments grouped under the head of very pleasant. Every subject, except C, gave an excess of very pleasant over very aesthetic frag- ments. The number of moderately pleasant and slightly pleasant fragments corresponded closely with those placed in the second and third aesthetic groups. The aesthetic fragments in the eighth group exceeded in number those in the very unpleasant group, there being 54 of the lowest aesthetic value and only 28 very unpleasant fragments. This observation points in the same direction as the excess of very pleasant judgments, to the presence, namely, of a critical attitude in making the aesthetic arrangement. Comparing the results for the two arrangements as shown by a tabula- tion of the average position, the final position, and the mean variation for affective series is from 1.33 (M. V., .44) to 7.17 (M. V., .83). The average MV mean variation was 1.32 The -was 1.65. The range of positions in P the aesthetic series was from 1.67 (M. V., .67) to 6.5 (M. V., 2), with an MV average M. V. of 1.57 or was .196. A comparison of these figures P shows that the affective judgment was less subjective than the aesthetic in the sense that the arrangement on the affective basis afforded a much more definite point of departure, one that was common to the subjects. In both cases the M. V. for the superior group is lower than that for the inferior group, that is, the subjects agree better on the fragments that are pleasant and aesthetic than on those that are unpleasant and not aes- thetic. This difference between the M. V.'s at the top and at the bottom of the series is, however, greater in the case of the affective than in the case of the aesthetic series. The average M. V. of the first twenty of the affective series is .66; of the last twenty 1.57: the difference is .91. The average M. V. of the first twenty fragments in the aesthetic series is 1.07; the M. V. of each fragment of the two series, we find that the range of positions in the THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 43 the last twenty is 1.79; the difference is .72. Comparatively, the M. V. of the superior aesthetic fragments is greater than that of the inferior aesthetic fragments. A detailed comparison of the fragments which occupy the first and last twenty position on each scale is of interest. The following fragments main- tain their position among the first twenty of each group: 26, 38, 82, 2, n, 53, 89, 105, 67, 92, 71. Fragments that are high on the aesthetic scale but low on the affective are 98, which is first on the aesthetic rating but only twenty-first on the affective ; 95, which falls from fourth position in aesthetic to seventy-sixth in the affective series ; 29, which is eighth in the aesthetic scale, sixty-seventh in the affective; 34, which is eleventh on the aesthetic, fifty-second on the affective rating; 36, which falls from twelve in the aesthetic to ninety-six on the affective scale. 6, 49, and 33 also show a fall in the change from the aesthetic to the affective position, but a fall less pronounced than in the preceding cases. A study of these fragments that are not as pleasant to the group as a whole as they are aesthetic shows that 98, 29, 34, 36, and, perhaps, 95 would be classed as mood-fragments. They are fragments whose sentiment is tinged with melancholy. The fragments that ranked much lower on the aesthetic than on the affective scale are 8, which falls from first place affectively to forty-ninth aesthetically; 113, which is lowered from twelfth place on the affective scale to forty-seventh on the aesthetic ; 70, which is reduced from thirteenth place to fifty-sixth ; 52, which falls from twenty-sixth position to the forty- first ; 19, which is reduced from the seventeenth position to the" fifty-second ; and 3, which falls from the ninth to the thirty-fifth position. Other frag- ments that ranked higher on the affective than on the aesthetic scale are 74, 56, and 1 6. A study of these fragments shows that they possess a rich sensuous content which is pleasant rather than beautiful. The fragments which are held to be both unpleasant and of little aes- thetic worth are 43, 13, 51, 62, 4, 63, 109, and 96. These fragments have a painful sensuous content largely due to their organic toning, which is at once unpleasant and not aesthetic. The fragments which are held to be non- aesthetic but not strongly unpleasant are 40, which occupies the last position in the aesthetic rating but only the sixty-seventh in the affective ; 72, which is the ninety-ninth fragment for aesthetic value but the fifty-ninth for af- fective; 61, which shifts from ninety-seventh, aesthetic, to thirty-ninth, affective ; 84, which is ninety-first on the aesthetic scale and forty-third on the affective; in, which is raised from a position of ninety on the aes- thetic rating to sixty-five on the affective ; 9, which is raised from the eighty-eighth to the sixty-second; 41, raised from eighty-sixth to forty- ninth position; and 77, raised to sixty-third from eighty-third position. A study of these fragments shows that verbal or logical incongruity is able to lower the aesthetic worth more than it affects the quality of jDleasantness. Very unpleasant fragments which have a higher aesthetic valuation are 108, which although the most unpleasant fragment is only sixty-second in the aesthetic ranking, a fragment which the reagents frequently cited as marking the difference between an aesthetic and a pleasant fragment; 47, the ninety-ninth on the affective, the sixty-seventh on the aesthetic scale; 44, raised from ninety-sixth on the affective to sixty-first on the aesthetic scale; 36, raised from ninety- fourth, affective, to twelve, aesthetic; 28, raised from eighty-eight, affective, to thirty, aesthetic; 65, raised from ninetieth, affective, to forty-ninth, aesthetic. The increased aesthetic value for such unpleasant fragments as 25, 48, 25, 59, and 87 is also evident. These fragments, which are usually sensuously unpleasant, are given a higher aesthetic rating because of the aptness of expression, the kinship between the sentiment and the phrasing. 44 THK I M. \r.ix.\i. RK.UTION T> I'KTRY. The results suggest a method of instituting a comparison between judgments on various qualities of poetry. It is quite evident that although the very pleasant fragment may be aesthetic, or the aesthetic pleasant, there is no necessary relation of the sort. One of the greatest individual differences in the reaction was appar- ently the degree to which the aesthetic reaction determined the judgment of pleasantness. This determination is very evident in the judgments of D, who reported that a fragment possessing the aesthetic quality was always pleasant, although there might be a few very pleasant fragments which were not aesthetic. As a matter of fact the fragments in which D's affective judgment varied most widely from the group-average are those fragments that the group finds unpleasant but which on the aesthetic basis are given higher value, namely such mood fragments as 34, 29, 28, and 98. One would expect to find D's variation from the group average 'less for the aesthetic judgment than it is for the affective, and such is found to be the case. Her average M. V. from the average affective judgment of the group i- 1.36: her average M. V. from the average aesthetic judgment of the group is 1.32. As regards the basis for the aesthetic judgment, D reported that she appeared to use the word "aesthetic" in a double sense, "(i) I under- stand by an aesthetic fragment one that arouses the mystic feeling of beauty, such as fragments 28, 37, and, to a high degree, fragments 98, 34, and 94. These fragments are the ones that I mark i on the aesthetic scale. "It is very difficult to define what I mean by the 'mystic feeling of beauty'. There is a definite suspension of the critical judgment, together with a feeling of complete self -absorption accompanied either by the trance feeling (diverged eyes) or that of suspended breathing. There is also an illusion of a long lapse of time, during the reading. Apparently, the mood- tone of the fragment and the music of the words are more influential in producing this effect of beauty than is the sensuous content or imagery aroused. In connection with several fragments, however, the visual images aroused are of great beauty and increase the effect of the words themselves. Such images are those aroused by 94, 34, and 95. "(2) I also apply the word aesthetic to those fragments that, intel- lectually, I judge to be artistic, to exhibit literary taste. These fragments are graded down from the first column, that of highest aesthetic value. I believe that these fragments are much more apt to 'wane' for me in their affective aspect than are the fragments of highest aesthetic value." N, with a different attitude than D, who found the aesthetic pleasant, reported that she found difficulty in finding the disagreeable aesthetic. Her standard for the fragments of highest aesthetic value is what she calls the possession of a spiritual or ethereal quality. One word was found suffi- cient to give such a tone, such words as winged, soul, spirit, being partic- ularly effective. X's mean variation from the affective average is much less than that from the aesthetic average, being only 1.15 in the latter case, but i .81 in the former, an observation which points the subjective standard in her aesthetic grouping. A and L were able to cite no new basis for the aesthetic judgment other than that utilized in the affective grouping. For both the sensuous content is of chief importance in both series. A adds that, for some reason, the "windy" fragments are felt to be particularly aesthetic. For both of these subjects the mean variation from the average judgment is higher in the case of the aesthetic than in the case of the affective series. For A, the M. V. in the affective series is 1.30, for the aesthetic, 1.67; for L. the M. V.. affective series, is 1.23, for the aesthetic, 1.36. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 45 The critical attitude would appear to be very pronounced for I, in passing the aesthetic judgment. I found no fragment very unpleasant, but found twenty-five of them of the lowest aesthetic worth. C, on the con- trary, placed only one fragment in the lowest aesthetic group, although he had found eight fragments very unpleasant. Both these subjects, how- ever, gave a lower M. V. for the affective series than for the aesthetic. For I, the M. V., affective series, is 1.43; the M. V., aesthetic series, is 1.86; for C, the M. V., affective series, is 1.31; the M. V., aesthetic series, 1.44. I volunteered no statement of the basis for the aesthetic judgment. C reported that the basis for the judgment was two-fold: "(O The 'absorptive' quality of the fragment; and (2) the skill shown in expression. There were fragments the reaction to which was unpleasant yet whose phrasing was felt to be very appropriate, an exact expression of the mean* ing intended." In case of such fragments as the latter, C had difficulty in deciding upon the proper placement. They included fragments 13, 25, 45. 34- The six subjects of th'e present group, if ranked in order of least varia- tion from the group-average for the affective series, would be placed as follows: (i) N; (2) L; (3) A; (4) C; (5) I; (6) D. A ranking on the basis of the M. V. for the aesthetic series gives (i) D; (2) L; (3) C; (4) A; (5) N; (6) I. D is the only reagent who gives a lower M. V. from the aesthetic than from the affective group-average, a lowering of the M. V. in the former case, which, although it appears slight, is very significant when taken in connection with the high average M. V. for the group as a whole. Moreover, D's M. V. in the aesthetic arrangement is much lower than the affective M. V. for every poet but Shelley, in which case the M. V. is much lower for the affective series, and thus reduces the average. This noticeably lower M. V. for Shelley in the affective ar- rangement as against the aesthetic is also true for the four other subjects. Poe and Swinburne show, on the other hand, a lower aesthetic than affective M. V. for three of the six subjects. Swinburne gives the lowest M. V. for the aesthetic arrangement of the five poets. The comparison of the results from the. two series of judgments sug- gests many interesting details. Irregularities in the experiment prohibit a further use of the figures. Certain indications are, however, significant and point the course of further investigation. It is, for instance, probable that the fragments of high aesthetic value are much less apt to wane af- fectively than are the pleasant but not aesthetic fragments. The tabula- tion of the averages for each of the three affective arrangements (ten reagents) shows that eight of the eleven fragments that were both very pleasant and very aesthetic either remained constant in affective value, as shown by a comparison of the average for the first and third trial, or else increased in value; three only (82, 105, and 89) fell slightly in affective . value. Of the nine fragments that were aesthetic but not highly pleasant, I six increased in affective value, three decreased slightly. On the other hand, of the nine pleasant but not highly aesthetic fragments, eight waned in af- fective value. Such indications are of interest since they suggest as char- acteristic of the aesthetic reaction the maintenance of the affective tone at a high level or the increase in this pleasantness with repetition, while the merely pleasant reaction wanes with repetition. In this connection it is interesting to note that Strong in testing the effect of repetition upon the "pulling power" of advertisements, found some evidence of the waxing-value of "artistic" advertisements. (15:65). 46 THI-: I M Af.ixM. REACTION TO POETRY. IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 1. Individual differences in the reaction to poetic fragments were clearly brought out by the test just reported. The kind of sense-reaction was less significant than the general characteristics of such reaction, as, for instance, its spontaneity, its imaginative or memorial qualities. The vague but charming images of the "diffluente" were in contrast to the precise images of the "plastique" type. In the case of the first, emotional coloration and kinaesthetic reactions were pronounced'; in the case of the second, richness of imagery and definiteness of spatial relationships were empha- sized. Felt kinaesthetic reactions appeared more intimate than optical- kinaesthetic reactions, just as a kinaesthetic self-projection appeared to hold greater aesthetic possibilities than a mere visual self -projection. Absorption in the inner speech was shown to exist to various degrees, the kind of absorption being determined by the predominance of visual. motor, or auditory elements. A motor predominance caused preoccupation with the rhythmic structure of the verse; an auditory favored absorption in the onomatopoetic effects, if the interest was sensorial, or issued in sur- render to the dramatic possibilities of impersonation, if the imaginative in- terest was dominant. 2. The results of the experiment furnish some evidence of the possi- bility of utilizing the method of style in determination of an author's type- reactions. 3. Vividness of imagery, particularly of visual and olfactory im- agery, was shown to contribute to the affective reaction to poetry. In gen- eral, the arousal of a predispositional form of imagery increased the pleas- antness of the reaction. Apart from the imagery, individual differences in emotional preferences were significant in determining the affective reaction. The demands of logic and an heightened interest in the novel, on the one hand, or in the familiar, on the other, were also determinants of the judgment. So many divergencies between the affective and the aesthetic judgment were shown to exist, that it is impossible, without further experiments, to apply to the aesthetic reaction the conclusions reached relative to the affec- tive. In the case of the former, richness of imagery appeared to decrease in importance while mood-tone grew in value. Individual differences, how- ever, in the degree to which the aesthetic was pleasant, were very evident. Apparently, the fragments affectively pleasant but not aesthetic waned in value with re-reading more than did fragments that were both aesthetic and pleasant. In general, the results of the test show that application of the order of merit method to the problems of aesthetics offers a tempting field for work. THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 47 REFERENCES. 1. Angell, J. R. Methods for the Determination of Mental Imagery. Psychol. Rev. Monog. No. 53, (1910). 2. Betts, G. H. The Distribution and Functions of Mental Imagery. Columbia University Contributions to Education, No. 26, (1909). 3. Binet, A. L'Etude Experimental de L/Intelligence, (1903). 4. Bullough, E. The "Perceptive Problem" in the Aesthetic Apprecia- tion of Single Colours, British Jour, of Psychol, Vol. II, (1906- 1908). 5. Colvin, S. S. Methods of Determining Ideational Types, Psychol. Bulletin, VI, (1909). 6. Downey, J. E. A Case of Colored Gustation, American Jour, of Psy- chol., XXII, (1911). 7. Rollings worth, H. L. Experimental Studies in Judgments (Judg- ments of the Comic), Psychol. Rev., XVIII, (1911). 8. Kakise, H. A Preliminary Experimental Study of the Conscious Con- comitants of Understanding, American Jour, of Psychol., XXII, (1911). 9. Lay, W. Mental Imagery, Psychol. Rev. Monog., No. 7, (1898). 10. Martin, L. J. Ueber aesthetische Synaesthesie, Ztschft. fur Psychol., 53, (1909)- 11. Mueller-Freienfels, R. Individuelle Verschiedenheiten in der Kunst. Ztschft. fiir Psychol., 50, (1909). 12. Perky, C. W. An experimental study of Imagination, American Jour. of Psychol., XXI, (1910). 13. Ribot, Th. Essai sur L'Imagination Cr^atrice, (1900). 14. Souriau, P. La Suggestion Dans L'Art, (1909). 15. Strong, E. K. The Relative Merit of Advertisements, Archives of Psychology, 17, (1911). 16. Town, C. H. The Kinaesthetic Element in Endophasia and Auditory Hallucination, American Jour, of Psychol., XVII, (1906). APPENDIX. FRAGMENTS. 2. The sound of the rain Which leaps down to the flower, And dances again In the rhythm of the shower The murmur that springs From the growing of grass Are the music of things. (Poe). 3. When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by ; When the air does laugh with our merry wit. And the green hill laughs with the noise of it ; When the meadows laugh with lively green, And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene. (Blake). 4. I heard thy sighs, And all thy moans flew o'er my roof but I have called them down. (Blake). 5. Alas ! that all we loved of him should be, But for our grief, as if it had not been, And grief itself be mortal! Woe is me! (Shelley). 6. On he flared From stately nave to nave, from vault to vault, Through bowers of fragrant and enwreath^d light. (Keats). 7. And the song softened, even as Heaven by night Softens, from sunnier down to starrier light, And with its moonbright breath Blessed life for death's sake, and for life's sake death. (Swinburne). 8. The snow-drop, and then the violet, Arose from the ground with the warm rain wet, And their breath was mixed with fresh odor, sent From the turf, like the voice and the instrument. (Shelley). 9. But the words she spake Came, as through bubbling honey, for Love's sake. (Keats). 10. Lost in pleasure at her feet he sinks. Touching with dazzled lips her starlight hand. (Keats). n. And the mystic wind went by Murmuring in melody. (Poe). 12 She Only saw the beautiful lips and fingers Full of songs and kisses and little whispers, Full of music ; only beheld among them Soar, as a bird soars. Newly fledged, her visible song, a marvel, Made of perfect sound, exceeding passion, Sweetly shapen, terrible, full of thunders, Clothed with the wind's wings. (Swinburne). 50 Tin: IM A. IN A i. K i: ACTION TO POETRY. 13. Iron tears and groans of lead Thou bind'st round my aching head. (Blake). 14. Banners yellow, glorious, golden, On its roof did float and flow. (Poe). 15. Here where the dames of Rome their gilded hair Waved to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle! (Poe). 16. Her voice came to me through the whispering woods, And from the fountains, and the odors deep Of flowers, which, like lips murmuring in their sleep Of the sweet kisses which had lulled them there, Breathed but of her to the enamoured air. (Shelley). 17. Tis scarce like sound, it tingled through the frame As lightning tingles. (Shelley). 18. For to bear all naked truths. And to envisage circumstance, all calm. That is the top of sovereignty. (Keats). 19. The quiet maid Held her in peace: so that a whispering blade Of grass, a wailful gnat, a bee bustling Down in the blue-bells, or a wren light rustling Among seer leaves and twigs, might all be heard. (Keats). 20. And all the drops in all his veins were wine, And all the pulses music. (Swinburne.) 22. Memory, hither come, And tune your merry notes; And while upon the wind Your music floats, I'll pore upon the stream Where signing lovers dream And fish for fancies as they pass Within the watery glass. (Blake). 23. Sweet moans, dovelike sighs, Chase not slumber from thine eyes! (Blake). 24. All Nature speaks, and ev'n ideal things Flap shadowy sounds from visionary wings. (Poe). 25. O, the heavy light ! How drowsily it weighed them into night! (Poe). 26. This is the mystic shell; See the pale azure fading into silver, Lining it with a soft yet glowing light; Looks it not like lulled music sleeping there? (Shelley). 27. She met me, robed in such exceeding glory, That I beheld her not. (Shelley). 28. Strange ministrant of undescribed sounds, That come aswooning over hollow grounds, And wither drearily on barren moors. (Keats). THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 51 29. Upon the sodden ground His old right hand lay nerveless, listless, dead, Unsceptred; and his realmless eyes were closed; While his bowed head seem'd list'ning to the Earth, His ancient mother, for some comfort yet. (Keats). 30. O light of song, whose fire is perfect light! (Swinburne). 31. I have put my days and dreams out of mind, Days that are over, dreams that are done. Though we seek life through, we shall surely find There is none of them clear to us now, not one. (Swinburne). 32. But clear are these things ; the grass and the sand, Where, sure as the eyes reach, ever at hand, With lips wide open and face burnt blind, The strong sea-daisies feast on the sun. (Swinburne). 33. He listened to the wind that now did stir About the crisped oaks full drearily, Yet with as sweet a softness as might be Remembered from its velvet summer song. (Keats). 34. Resignedly beneath the sky The melancholy waters lie. So blend the turrets and shadows there That all seem pendulous in air, While from a proud tower in the town Death looks gigantically down. (Poe). 36. And swordlike was the sound of the iron wind. (Swinburne). 37. Ah Sunflower, weary of time, Who countest the steps of the sun; Seeking after that sweet golden clime Where the traveler's journey is done ; Where the Youth pined away with desire, And the pale virgin shrouded in snow, Arise from their graves and aspire Where my Sunflower wishes to go. (Blake). 38. Thine old wild songs which in the air Like homeless odours floated. (Shelley). 39. Nought loves another as itself, Nor venerates another so, Nor is it possible to thought A greater than itself to know. (Blake). 40. And music from her respiration spread Like light. (Shelley). 41. A multitude that rear'd their voices to the clouds. (Keats). 42. The pulse of war and passion of wonder, The heavens that murmur, the sounds that shine, The stars that sing and the leaves that thunder, The music burning at heart like wine, An arm^d archangel whose hands raise up All senses mixed in the spirit's cup Till flesh and spirit are molten in sunder These things are over, and no more mine. (Swinburne). 52 Tin- IMAI-.INM. KKUTION T PIIKTKY. 4^. And the hapless soldier's sigh Runs in blood down palace-walls. (Blake). 44. And the red winds are withering in the sky. (Poe). 45. The curtain a funeral pall, Comes down with the rush of a storm. (Poe). 46. And the hyacinth purple, and white, and blue, Which flung from its bells a sweet peal anew ( )f music so delicate, soft, and intense, It was felt like an odour within the sense. (Shelley). 47. The leprous corpse touched by this spirit tender Exhale- itself in flowers of gentle breath; Like incarnations of the stars, when splendour U changed to fragrance, they illumine death. (Shelley). 48. In each human heart terror survives The ruin it has gorged : the loftiest fear All that they would disdain to think were true; HyjKxrrisy and custom make their minds The fanes of many a worship now outworn. (Shelley). 49. A light of laughing flowers along the grass is spread. (Shelley). 50. And soon his eyes had drunk her beauty up, Leaving no drop in that bewildering cup, And still the cup was full. (Keats). 51. Let thy white shoulders silvery and bare Shew cold through watery pinions. (Keats). 52. Voices of soft proclaim, and silver stir Of strings in hollow shells. (Keats). 53. Hesperia Out of the golden remote wild west where the sea without shore is. Full of the sunset, and sad, if at all. with the fullness of joy. A- a wind sets in with the autumn that blows from the regions of stories, Blows with a perfume of songs and of memories beloved from a boy, Blows from the capes of the past over sea to the bays of the present, Filled as with shadow of sound with the pulse of invisible feet, (Swinburne). 54. Light heard as music, music seen as light. (Swinburne). 55. There shot a golden splendour far and wide, Spangling those million poutings of the brine With quivering ore. (Keats). 56. And slumber in the arms of melody. (Keats). 57. And towards the loadstar of my one desire, I flitted, like a dizzy moth, whose flight \- as a dead leaf's in the owlet light, When it would seek in Hesper's setting sphere A radiant death, a fiery sepulchre, \> if it were a lamp of earthly flame. (Shelley). THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 58. And odours warm and fresh fell from her hair Dissolving the dull cold in the frore air. (Shelley). 59. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before ; So that now to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating " 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door ; This it is and nothing more." (Poe). 60. And the rush The torrent of the chilly air Gurgled within my ear the crush Of empires. (Poe). Oh, from out the sounding cells What a gush of euphony voluminously wells. (Poe). 62. For light doth seize my brain With frantic pain. (Blake). 63. For a tear is an intellectual thing, And a sigh is the sword of an angel king; And the bitter groan of a martyr's woe Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow. (Blake). 64. And from his grave glad lips the boy would gather Fine honey of song-notes goldener than gold, More sweet than bees make of the breathing heather, That he, as glad and bold, Might drink as they, and keep his spirit from cold. (Swinburne), 65. My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk. (Keats). 66. But to her heart, her heart was voluble. Paining with eloquence her balmy side. (Keats). 67. The point of one white star is quivering still Deep in the orange light of widening morn Beyond the purple mountains ; through a chasm Of wind-divided mist the darker lake Reflects it. (Shelley). 68. Who sees the darkness coming as a cloud Is not its form its voice most palpable and loud? (Poe). 69. For Heaven no grace imparts To those who hear not for their beating hearts. (Poe). 70. Fountains were gushing music as they fell In many a star-lit grove, or moon-light dell. (Poe). 71. Wheeled clouds, which as they roll Over the grass, and flowers, and waves, wake sounds, Sweet as a singing rain of silver dew. (Shelley). 72. O, turn thee to the very tale, And taste the music of that vision pale. (Keats). 54 TIIK IMAC.INAL REACTION TO I'OKTRY. 7V A hunting music, sole perhaps and lone Supportn-xs of the faery-roof, made moan Throughout. (Keats). 74. To Autumn. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep, Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook ; Or by a cider-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozingc hours by hours. (Keats). 75. Song visible, whence all men's eyes were lit With love and loving wonder ; song that glowed Through cloud and change on souls that knew not it And hearts that wist not whence their comfort flowed. (Swinburne). 77. Let no bell toll ! lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth, Should catch the note, as it doth float up from the damned Earth. (Poe). 78. Warm fragrance seems to fall from her light dress And her loose hair; and where some heavy tress The air of her own speed has disentwined, The sweetness seems to satiate the faint wind. And in the soul a wild odour is felt, Beyond the sense, like fiery dews that melt Into the bosom of a frozen bud. (Shelley). 79. And through yon peaks of cloudlike snow The roseate sunlight quivers; Hear I not The Aeolian music of her sea-green plumes Winnowing the crimson dawn? 81. Hear the voice of the Bard, Who present, past, and future sees ; Whose ears have heard The Holy Word That walked among the ancient trees ; Calling the lapsed soul And weeping in the evening dew. (Blake). 82. To the Evening Star. Let thy west wind sleep on The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver. (Blake). 83. And all my days are trances, And all my nightly dreams Are where thy dark eye glances, And where thy footstep gleams In what ethereal dances. By what eternal streams I (Poe). 84. Fair flowers, and fairy ! to whose care is given To bear the Goddess' song, in odours up to Heaven. ( Poe). THE IMAGINAL REACTION TO POETRY. 55 85. Art thou not void of guile, A lovely soul formed to be blest and bless? A well of sealed and secret happiness, Whose waters like blithe light and music are, . Vanquishing dissonance and gloom? (Shelley). 86. Clear, silver, icy, keen awakening tones. (Shelley). 87. Where their own groans They felt but heard not, for the solid roar Of thunderous waterfalls and torrents hoarse. (Keats). 89. Peace more sweet Than music, light more soft than shadow lay On downs and moorlands wan with day's defeat, That. watched afar above Life's very rose of love Let all its lustrous leaves fall, fade, and fleet, And fill all heaven and earth Full as with fires of birth Whence time should feed his years with light and heat, Nay, not life's but a flower more strong Than life or time or death, love's very rose of song. (Swinburne). 91. No dirge will I upraise, But waft the angel on her flight with a paean of old days. (Poe). 92. Flashed from her motion splendour like the Morn's. (Shelley). 93. And then another, then another strain, Each like a dove leaving its olive perch, With music wing'd instead of silent plumes, To hover round my head, and make me sick Of joy and grief at once. (Keats). 94. Magic casements opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn. (Keats). 95. Glides spectre-like, unto his marble home, Lit by the wan light of the horned moon, The swift and silent lizard of the stones. (Poe). 96. Why cannot the ear be closed to its own destruction? Or the glistening eye to the poison of a smile? Why are the eyelids stored .with arrows ready drawn, Where a thousand fighting-men in ambush lie, Or an eye of gifts and graces showering fruits and coined gold? Why a tongue impressed with honey from every wind? Why an ear, a whirlpool fierce to draw creation in? (Blake). 97. And every gentle air that dallied, In that sweet day, Along the ramparts plumed and pallid A winged odour went away. (Poe). 98. Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven That rustle through the unquiet heaven Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees That palpitate like the chill seas Around the misty Hebrides! (Poe). 56 Till- I. MAC. IN A I. KliAO'loN T. i 1'uKTKY. 99. Ami that aspiring flower that sprang on Karth Ami died, ere scarce cxalti-d into birth, r.ur-ting its odorous heart in -pirit to wing It- way to Heaven, from tin- garden of a king. (Poc). V IOO. \\'hat a liquid ditty float - To the turtle-dove that listens. (Poe). 104. For every sound that floats From the ru-t within their throats Is a groan. (Poe). 105. And all with pearl and ruby glowing Was the fair palace door, Through which came flowing, flowing, flowing, And sparkling evermore, A troop of Echoes, whose sweet duty Was but to sing, In voices of surpassing beauty. The wit and wisdom of their king. (Poe). 107. And soon her strain The nightingale began ; now loud, Climbing in circles the windless sky, Now dying music; suddenly 'Tis scattered in a thousand notes, And now to the hushed ear it floats Like field smells known in infancy. (Shelley). 1 08. One, whose voice was venomed melody, Sate by a well, under blue night-shade bowers ; The breath of her false mouth \vas like faint flowers, Her touch was as electric poison, flame Out of her looks into my vitals came, And from her living cheeks and bosom flew A killing air, which pierced like honey-dew Into the core of my green heart, and lay I'pon its leaves. (Shelley). 109. Also, when he would taste the spicy wreaths Of incense, breath'd from sacred hills, Instead of sweets, his ample palate took Savor of poisonous brass and metal sick. ( Keats ) . in. And odours in a kind of aviary Of ever-blooming Eden-trees she kept, Clipt in a floating net. a lovesick Fairy Had woven from dew-beam- while the moon yet slept. (Shelley). 1 13. And all the place is peopled with sweet air- ; The light clear element which the i-le wear- 1- heavy with the scent of lemon-flowers, Which floats like mi-t laden with unseen shower-. And falls upon the eye-lids like faint sleep; And from the moss violets and jonquils peep And dart their arrowy odor through the brain Till you might faint with that delicious pain. (Shelley). UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL UBRARV FAG JTV A 001 047 323 9 THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. Scries