專八閱讀訓練：Creative Process of Works
The great question that this paper will, but feebly, attempt to answer is , what is the creative process?
Though much theory has accumulated, little is really known about the power that lies at the bottom of poetic creation. It is true that great poets and artists produce beauty by employing all the powers of personality and by fusing emotions, reason, and intuitions. But what is the magical synthesis that joins and arranges these complex parts into poetic unity?
John L.Lowes, in his justly famous “The Road to Xanadu,” developed one of the earliest and still generally acceptable answers to this tantalizing question. Imaginative creation, he concludes, is a complex process in which the conscious and unconscious minds jointly operate. “There is…the deep well with its chaos of fortuitously blending images; but there is likewise the Vision which sees shining in and through the chaos of the potential lines of Form, and with the Vision, the controlling Will. Which gives to that potential beauty actuality.”
The Deep Well is the unconscious mind that is peopled with the facts, ideas, feelings of the conscious activity. The imaginative vision, an unconscious activity, shines through the land of chaos, of lights and shadows, silently seeking pattern and form. Finally, the conscious mind again, through Will, captures and embodies the idea in the final work of art. In this way is unity born out of chaos.
Though there can be no absolute certainty, there is general agreement that the periods in the development of a creative work parallel, to some extent, Lowes’ theory of Well, Vision, Form, and Will. There are at least three stages in the creative process: preparation, inspiration, work.
In a sense, the period of preparation is all of the writer’s life. It is the Deep Well. It is the Deep Well. It is especially a period of concentration which gives the unconscious mind an opportunity to communicate with the conscious mind. When remembrance of things past reach the conscious level of the writer’s mind, he is ready to go on with the process. Part of this preparation involves learning a medium—learning a language, learning how to write, learning literary forms. It is important to mot here that form cannot be imposed upon the idea. Evidence, though sparse, shows that the idea gives birth to the form that can best convey it. It is the Vision, according to Lowes, ” which sees shining in and through the chaws of the potential lines of from … ”
1. When remembrance of things past reach the conscious level, the post has reached the stage called
[A] Well. [B] Vision. [C] Form. [D] Will.
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
[A] The form determines the subject matter.
[B] The idea determines the form.
[C] Vision makes beauty an actuality.
[D] A writer is unconscious when he prepares his work.
3. The word “fortuitously” in the third paragraph means
[A] accidentally. [B] luckily. [C] thoroughly. [D] potentially.
4. The remembrance of things past is carried on in the
[A] Deep Well. [B] Vision.
[C] Chaotic lights and shadows. [D] Conscious mind.
答案祥解：
1. D. 意志。第三段倒數第二句“最終又是意識的思維，通過意志，在其最終的藝術作品中捕捉和體現了這種思想觀念”。第五段第三句：“當作者回溯以往事情達到了有意識的水平時，他就具備(準備)了繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作進程的條件。這種準備工作中有一部分涉及學習媒介——學習一種語言，學習如何寫，學習文學形式。”第二段都體現了意志是有意識思維的集中表現。
A. 源泉，來源，顧名思義，也是最初的東西。 B. 洞察力，視覺。 C.形式。這三項選擇在第二，三段集中說明，見難句譯注3及第四題答案。
2. B. 思想觀念決定形式。這在最后一段倒數第四句：部分準備工作涉及學習媒介——學習語言，學習如何寫，學習文學形式之后“這里要注意文學形式不能強加于思想觀念。有證據，雖然很少，表明思想觀念產生適合傳遞它的文學形式。
A. 形式決定主題。 C. 形象使美變得真實。 D. 作者在準備寫作時處于無意識狀態(tài)。難句譯注3和第四題答案都說明了這三項選擇是不對的。
3. A. 偶然的。
B. 幸運的，fortuitously一詞確實有幸運的之義。但這里上下文含義是A，見難句譯注3。
C. 徹底的，透徹的。 D. 潛在的，可能的。
4. A. 深井(深層的源泉)。見難句譯注3和第三句“深層的源泉是無意識思維，內中塞滿了各種事實，觀點，意識活動的情感。富有想象力的洞察力是一種無意識的活動，在雜亂的土壤中閃爍光輝，忽明忽暗，默默的探索模式和形式。最后，又是有意識的思維，通過意志……。”這里說明回溯過去是在深井階段進行。
B. 視覺，是在探索表現形式。 C. 雜亂的光亮和陰影，明面和暗面。 D. 有意識思維
詞匯：
1. fuse 融化，結合
2. intuition 直覺
3. Xanadu 是一個非常美的，田園詩般的地方。美國詩人Sanul T Coleridge還根據這地方寫了一首詩，“Kubla Khan” 忽必烈汗(即元世祖)
4. John L. Lowes 1876——1945年美國學者，批評家及教師
5. tantalizing 引起好奇心的，可望不可及的，逗人得
6. fortuitous 偶然的，幸運的
7. parallel 相應于
8. sparse 稀少，稀疏
9. synthesis 綜合，綜合法
難句譯注：
1. …by employing all the powers of personality and by fusing emotions, reason, and intuitions.
[參考譯文] 運用個人(品格)的全部力量，把情感，理智和直覺融會貫通結合在一起。
2. …still generally acceptable answers to this tantalizing question.
[參考譯文] 現在仍然是眾所接受對這些可望不可及問題的答案。
3. There is…the deep well with its chaos of fortuitously blending images; but there is likewise the Vision which sees shining in and through the chaos of the potential lines of Form, and with the Vision, the controlling Will. Which gives to that potential beauty actuality.
[結構簡析] 注意介詞短語和定從。With its chaos…, 是修飾deep well. Which sees shinning 定語從句修飾Vision. And 后的with the vision, 卻是狀語。Which gives 又是定從，修飾Will.
[參考譯文] 有……那充滿了混亂的偶然交織在一起的形象的深靜;但同樣也有那洞察力，看到在混亂中熠熠生輝的潛在的形式線索，由于有這樣的洞察力便有那控制一切的意志把潛在的美變成真實的(詩歌)篇章。
4. lights and shadows 藝術上有 light and shade 明和暗。這里也是指明和暗。
寫作方法與文章大意：
文章論述“創(chuàng)作過程”。開門見山就提出“什么是創(chuàng)作”。主要是引用了羅斯的Road to Xanadu 一書來說明創(chuàng)作過程。首先是創(chuàng)作的源泉，洞察分辨，最后意志賦予寫作。
