Wen Fu Part 5

5. On Form

The forms of things differ in a myriad ways,
For them there is no common measure.
Jumbled and jostled in a ceaseless flux,
Living shapes to all their imitations bid defiance.

Words, each with inherent limitations, do only partial service. Meaning harmonizes and integrates them.

The poet's mind toils between substance and the void.
Every detail in high and low relief he seeks to perfect, so
that the form, although it may transcend the dictates of compasses and ruler, shall be
the paragon of resemblance to all shapes and features imitated.

To ravish the eye, rich ornaments may be prized,
so that it appears to the heart as true.

Words may in time be exhausted, but not so that their sense is buried. A far-reaching thought attains its object only in the realm of the infinite.

The lyric, born of pure emotion, is gossamer fiber woven into the finest fabric;

The exhibitory essay, being true to the objects, is vividness incarnate;

In monumental inscriptions rhetoric must be a fail to facts;

The elegy tenderly spins out ceaseless heartfelt grief.

The mnemonic is a smooth flow of genial phrases, succinct but pregnant;

The staccato cadences of the epigram are all transparent force.

While the eulogy enjoys the full abandon of grand style,

The expository must in exactitude and clarity excel.

The memorial, balanced and lucid, must be worthy of the dignity of its royal audience,

Rhetoric with glowing words and cunning parables persuades.

These classifications are meticulous,
Lost passion and thought, given free rein, may wantonly go astray. The maxim: Let truth be expressed is the most appropriate terms, while of verbage beware.

I think this section has impacted me greatly in my own writing and what I try to achieve.