We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.
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Just as it is true that a stream cannot rise above its source, so it is true that a national read more
Just as it is true that a stream cannot rise above its source, so it is true that a national literature cannot rise above the moral level of the social conditions of the people from whom it derives its inspiration.
I am grieved that it should be said he is my brother, and take these courses. Well, as he brews, read more
I am grieved that it should be said he is my brother, and take these courses. Well, as he brews, so shall he drink, for George again. Yet he shall hear on't, and tightly, too, an' I live, i'faith. - Every Man In His Humor.
The philosophy exam was a piece of cake -- which was a bit of a surprise, actually, because I was read more
The philosophy exam was a piece of cake -- which was a bit of a surprise, actually, because I was expecting some questions on a sheet of paper.
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself read more
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.
The great Creator to revereMust sure become the creature;But still the preaching cant forbear,And ev'n the rigid feature:Yet ne'er with read more
The great Creator to revereMust sure become the creature;But still the preaching cant forbear,And ev'n the rigid feature:Yet ne'er with wits profane to rangeBe complaisance extended;An atheist laugh's a poor exchangeFor deity offended. - Epistle to a Young Friend, An.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.
Literature is the orchestration of platitudes.
Literature is the orchestration of platitudes.
The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen read more
The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.
To provoke dreams of terror in the slumber of prosperity has become the moral duty of literature.
To provoke dreams of terror in the slumber of prosperity has become the moral duty of literature.
