of the relation in his mind of certain hitherto
inharmonious interests, you may call them his
sub-personalities or other selves. And for the
reader, Poetry is a means of similarly informing
himself of the relation of analogous interests
hitherto inharmonious on these same various
planes. For the poet, the writing of poetry
accomplishes a certain end, irrespective of
whether the poem ever finds another reader
but himself; it enables him to be rid of these
conflicts between his sub-personalities. And for
the reader, without necessarily any direct
detailed regard to the history of the poet, the
reading of poetry performs a similar service;
it acts for him as a physician of his mental
disorders. I have said that a well-chosen
anthology should be a medicine-chest against
all ordinary mental disorders, but I should
have added that no medicine and no poetry
can ever be effective without the consent and
co-operation of the patient. Poetry may take
the form of merely stating the nature of the
conflict between these interests, a diagnosing
of the ailment, in the form of pity, doubt,
resentment, or merely a cry of pain; it may be
a temporary relief, a narcotic or counter-
irritant, which I call poetry of escape; or it
may take the completer form of prescribing
for the cure of the ailment, suggesting how a
new common life can be formed between these
conflicting interests by the intervention of
some mediating influence.

The appreciation of Poetry presupposes a
common interest or group of interests between

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