Q. It has often been said that poetry must decrease as science and civilization advance. Each is necessary in any complete, interpretation of life and its mystery .There is a world of poetry, and it is a real one. There is a world of science, and it is a real one. Science classifies and coordinates laws and objects, seeking for a principle of unity in the universe. Poetry, however, neglects mere definition, mere catalogue, and seizes eagerly upon that mysterious something that constitutes the deep individuality of things.
Science proceeds by the plodding steps of the understanding.
Poetry sweeps onward by the swift flight of the imagination. To the scientist a tree has a trunk to be measured, has leaves to be classified, has sap to be analyzed. To the poet, the tree becomes the symbol of his joy and his grief, a medium of his sentiments, his emotions. It is true that the poetic imagination needs mystery for a background, but mystery will always remain. The unknown will surround us, however deep we may delve into the universe.