A vs. The Quote

Elka handed out this quote in class.

“‘A’ inclines toward the unfamiliar… ‘The’ is anchored in the known; ‘a’ sets sail toward horizons unforeseen, undefined, undisclosed. Where ‘the’ entitles, ‘a’ unsettles. Preachers need ‘the’s’; poets need ‘a’s.’ ‘The’ meets its (already made) match, ‘a’ meets its (unmatched) maker.

‘The,’ by its very nature, is famous; ‘a,’ by all that is holy, is not.

From: A Genuine Article, in H. McHugh, “Broken English,” Lesleyan University Press, 1993.