An "Image" is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex
in an instant of time. I use the term "complex" rather in the technical
sense employed by the newer psychologists, such as Hart, though we might
not agree absolutely in our application.
It is the presentation of such a "complex" instantaneously which gives
that sense of sudden liberation; that sense of freedom from time limits
and space limits; that sense of sudden growth, which we experience in
the presence of the greatest works of art.
It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce
voluminous works.
All this, however, some may consider open to debate. The immediate
necessity is to tabulate A LIST OF DONT'S for those beginning to write
verses. But I can not put all of them into Mosaic negative.
To begin with, consider the three rules recorded by Mr. Flint, not as
dogma--never consider anything as dogma--but as the result of long
contemplation, which, even if it is some one else's contemplation, may
be worth consideration.
Pay no attention to the criticism of men who have never themselves
written a notable work. Consider the discrepancies between the actual
writing of the Greek poets and dramatists, and the theories of the
Graeco-Roman grammarians, concocted to explain their metres.