- description
- # ART
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
This is a chapter titled "ART," a poem extracted from the text file [john_marr_and_other_poems.txt](arke:01KG89J19Y3FNVN5KWASY78BP4). The chapter was extracted on January 30, 2026, and is part of the [John Marr and Other Poems](arke:01KG8AJ5CWVMSM9AY2938E996H) poetry collection. It is part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
The chapter "ART" is part of a larger collection of poems. The text was extracted from a file named "john_marr_and_other_poems.txt" which was uploaded to the "Melville Complete Works" collection. The chapter is preceded by "THE BENCH OF BOORS" and followed by "THE ENTHUSIAST."
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The poem "ART" explores the nature of art, describing it as a product of contrasting elements that must "meet and mate." The poem lists several pairs of opposing forces, such as "a flame to melt—a wind to freeze" and "Humility—yet pride and scorn," suggesting that art arises from the fusion of such contradictions. The poem concludes by stating that these elements must "fuse with Jacob’s mystic heart, / To wrestle with the angel—Art."
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:11.416Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- ART
- end_line
- 1724
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:32.310Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 1707
- text
- ART
In placid hours well-pleased we dream
Of many a brave unbodied scheme.
But form to lend, pulsed life create,
What unlike things must meet and mate:
A flame to melt—a wind to freeze;
Sad patience—joyous energies;
Humility—yet pride and scorn;
Instinct and study; love and hate;
Audacity—reverence. These must mate,
And fuse with Jacob’s mystic heart,
To wrestle with the angel—Art.
- title
- ART