Is there a kind of writing that is more suitable than others for expressing the truth? Wordsworth probably would have said poetry meets that standard. In his 'Preface to Lyrical Ballads', he wrote:
The Man of science seeks truth as a remote and unknown benefactor; he cherishes and loves it in his solitude: the Poet, singing a song in which all human beings join with him, rejoices in the presence of truth as our visible friend and hourly companion. Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all Science.
I wonder if anyone still thinks like that. I think a more modern view would be that the novel is the best way to express the truth, or maybe creative non-fiction.
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