Romance, N. Fiction That Owes No Allegiance To The God Of Things As They Are. In The Novel The Writer'S Thought Is Tethered To Probability, As A Domestic Horse To The Hitching-Post, But In Romance It Ranges At Will Over The Entire Region Of The Imagination – Free, Lawless, Immune To Bit And Rein. —The Devil'S Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce In This Quote, Bierce Compares Authors’ Thoughts To Horses. He Says That Some Authors’ Thoughts Are Like A Horse That Is Tied Up, While Others’ Thoughts Are Like A Horse That Is Free. According To The Passage, Which Horse Represents An Author'S Thoughts In A Romance?

2025-06-10 10:00:18 130

3 Answers

Adam
Adam
2025-06-15 04:01:50
I adore how Ambrose Bierce uses the horse metaphor to describe the wild, untamed nature of romance in fiction. In this quote, he clearly paints the image of an author's thoughts in romance as the horse that 'ranges at will over the entire region of the imagination.' It’s not tied down like the 'domestic horse' tethered to probability in novels. Romance lets creativity gallop freely—no hitching-post, no bit or rein. That’s why I love the genre; it’s where magic, grand adventures, and impossible loves thrive without being shackled by realism. This freedom is what makes stories like 'The Night Circus' or 'Howl’s Moving Castle' so enchanting—they’re pure, unrestrained imagination.
Zoe
Zoe
2025-06-13 23:58:34
Bierce’s comparison is brilliant because it captures the essence of what separates romance from conventional fiction. The 'free, lawless' horse represents romance, where the writer’s imagination isn’t bound by the rules of reality. Unlike novels, which he likens to a horse tied to a hitching-post, romance lets ideas run wild—think of epic tales like 'The Lord of the Rings' or whimsical love stories like 'Stardust.' These worlds don’t just bend rules; they create their own.

I’ve always been drawn to this untamed side of storytelling. Romance isn’t about mundane probabilities; it’s about soaring beyond them. When I read something like 'Outlander,' where time travel and historical passion collide, or 'The Starless Sea,' with its labyrinth of myths, I feel that freedom Bierce describes. The 'immune to bit and rein' horse is the one I want to ride—no limits, just endless possibilities.
Madison
Madison
2025-06-11 05:18:50
Bierce’s metaphor resonates with me because I’ve always seen romance as the wild stallion of literature—untamed and breathtaking. The horse that 'ranges at will' embodies romance’s spirit: unshackled from realism, diving into fantastical realms. This is why I love works like 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' or 'The Ten Thousand Doors of January.' They don’t just flirt with the extraordinary; they embrace it wholeheartedly.

Novels, in contrast, are the 'domestic horse'—steady, predictable, tied to what’s probable. But romance? It’s the horse that leaps into thunderclouds or races across dreamscapes. It’s the genre where a wizard can fall in love with a fire demon, or a circus can appear out of thin air. That’s the magic Bierce celebrates—the freedom to imagine without fences.
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