They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.
Boris PasternakRead
No bad man can be a good poet.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A good poet must possess moral depth and integrity, as true artistry reflects one's character.
Boris Pasternak's quote suggests that the essence of poetry is intertwined with the poet's moral compass; a poet who lacks goodness cannot create genuine art that resonates with truth and beauty. This implies that artistic expression is not merely a matter of skill or technique, but is profoundly connected to the ethical and emotional state of the creator, emphasizing the necessity of a virtuous heart in producing meaningful work.
Themes
PoetryArtMoralityCreativityCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the moral responsibilities of artists, this quote can highlight the importance of integrity in poetry.
More from Boris Pasternak
All quotes βEven so, one step from my grave, I believe that cruelty, spite, The powers of darkness will in time, Be crushed by the spirit of light.
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He is her glory. Any woman could say it. For every one of them, God is in her child. Mothers of great men must have been familiar with this feeling, but then, all women are mothers of great men -- it isn't their fault if life disappoints them later.
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Our evenings are farewells. Our parties are testaments. So that the secret stream of suffering. May warm the cold of life.
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The most extraordinary discoveries are made when the artist is overwhelmed by what he has to say.
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Oh, how one wishes sometimes to escape from the meaningless dullness of human eloquence, from all those sublime phrases, to take refuge in nature, apparently so inarticulate, or in the wordlessness of long, grinding labor, of sound sleep, of true music, or of a human understanding rendered speechless by emotion!
Boris PasternakRead
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