As a metaphor, a touchstone refers to any physical or intellectual measure by which the validity or merit of a concept can be tested. It is similar in use to an acid test, litmus test in politics, and a shibboleth.
Touchstone in literature
An example in literature is the character of Touchstone in Shakespeare's As You Like It, described as "a wise fool who acts as a kind of guide or point of reference throughout the play, putting everyone, including himself, to the comic test".[1]
A touchstone can be a short passage from recognized masters’ works used in assaying the relative merit of poetry and literature. This sense was coined by Matthew Arnold in his essay “The Study of Poetry”, where he gives Hamlet’s dying words to Horatio as an example of a touchstone.[2]
Notes
- ^ John Palmer
- ^ Arnold, Matthew. “The Study of Poetry.” Essays: English and American. Ed. Charles W. Eliot. 1909–14. Published April 11, 2001 by Bartleby.com[1].
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