“Mutability” and “A Defence of Poetry” by Percy Bysshe Shelley Answers

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What is the central idea in this passage?

Language, unlike other forms of expression, comes from the imagination.

Language is very similar to other forms of art.

Other art forms are more closely linked to the human imagination.

Other art forms come from the same creative process as poems.

Which detail further explains Shelley’s idea that language, unlike other forms of artistic expression, comes directly from the imagination?

“For language is arbitrarily produced by the imagination”

“The former is as a mirror which reflects, the latter as a cloud which enfeebles”

“and has relation to thoughts alone”

“both are mediums of communication”

What is the central idea in this part of the essay?

Poetry is the best way to spread news to people who would not otherwise hear it.

Poetry is useful for communicating religious ideas.

Poetry makes time appear to move more slowly than it does.

Poetry can preserve life’s brief moments of beauty.

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