Analysis of Ars Poetica part 24

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Horace in the final lines of ‘Ars Poetica’ has mentioned the qualities of a rapt poet in a very amusing manner. He says that a fascinated poet goes on writing and reciting verses without thinking about the others. Horace says that it may happen that the poet while reciting the poetry is so much lost in his thoughts that he might fall into an open well. If this happens then the poet will ask his fellow men to get him out of the well. However no one would be interested in doing so. If one or two people do try to bring him out of the well then Horace says that he will ask them whether they are sure that the poet’s falling into the well is an accident or a deliberate effort. Horace says that such men are very crazy and they just want to get hold of someone to read out their work. They are similar to a leech who sticks to the body of a person and only leaves it after the skin is gorged with blood.

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