The plan of this study 1 was to give a series of tests to two groups of subjects, the one possessing and the other decidedly lacking in poetic talent. It was hoped, first, that the results would throw light upon the nature of poetic talent; and, secondly, that some of the tests used might be found to be sufficiently distinguishing for use in the teaching of literature.Just what the factors are which make up poetic talent it is at present difficult to say. A survey of the literature discloses the fact that many writers refuse to attempt a definition of poetry and disagree in their analysis of the essential elements either in poetry or in poetic talent. Imagination, imagery, emotion, rhythmical form and trope have all been mentioned as essential features. It seemed wise, therefore, in this study to attempt no definition at the outset but rather to design a series of tests in the hope that some of them would differentiate between the two groups of subjects; the results might, then, whether positive or negative, throw light upon the nature of poetic talent, since we know that to be the outstanding feature in which the two groups differ; and, if positive, might be so developed as to enable young writers to compare their records with others in the same field.The subjects in this experiment may be divided into two main classes; A is composed of twenty-eight individuals who have poetic talent and B of twenty-eight who, according to their own statements, do not try to write poetry and have little or no interest in reading it. Each clas6 may be subdivided into three groups representing progressive degrees of maturity and attainment: Group I, high school students; Group II, college undergraduates and two graduate students; Group III, more mature persons with some definitely developed interest.The criterion of poetic talent necessarily varied with the three groups. Group \A 1 The study was made under the direction of Dr. L. L. Thuratone. 219 22O DORRITT STUMBERG 42 11.50TABLE II UPPER AND LOWER CRITICAL SCORES (p = poets, n-p = non-poets) Rhymes Above no up 0 n-p Above ioo 15 P 1 n-p Below 60 IP 14 n-p Below 45 op 9 n-p C. Ass'n (No. Words) Above 162 7P o n-p Above 130 12 p 4 n-p Below 90 2p 11 n-p Below 68 op 3 n-p C Ass'n Imagery Rhythm Completion (No. Figur-(No. Images) Percentile £ ative Words) Ranks Above 10 15 P o n-p Above 5 24 p 7 n-p Below 6 4P 21 n-p Above 13 17 p 5 n-p Below 11 op 25 n-p Above 75 14 p 9 n-p Below 25 2p 4 n-p Above 20 SP 0 n-p Above 15 8p 1 n-p Below 5 8p 16 n-p Rorschach Similes
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.