Read the excerpt from "A Defence of Poetry.”There is this difference between a story and a poem, that a story is a catalogue of detached facts, which have no other connexion than time, place, circumstance, cause and effect; the other is the creation of actions according to the unchangeable forms of human nature, as existing in the mind of the Creator, which is itself the image of all other minds. The one is partial, and applies only to a definite period of time, and a certain combination of even
Answer
e
exists only in one’s mind.
c
contains a wealth of facts.
e
expresses a universal truth.
d
describes a specific event.
Explanation
The excerpt contrasts a story, which is tied to a particular time and set of circumstances, with a poem, which presents actions shaped by the unchangeable forms of human nature. Because human nature is shared across people and times, the poem expresses a universal truth. Choice C, “expresses a universal truth,” best captures that idea.
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