The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that early attempts at poetry are often unrefined, much like a phase of exploration, and that good poets eventually recognize the need to discard their earlier work.
Umberto Eco uses a provocative analogy to describe the process of growing as a poet. At a youthful age, creating poetry may feel self-indulgent and exploratory, akin to masturbation. As one matures, the understanding of quality and significance in art develops, leading to the realization that much of one's early work may not hold value, prompting good poets to discard it while bad poets, lacking this insight, may choose to publish their inferior works instead. Eco implies a sense of relief in having recognized this early on and moved past it.
Themes
PoetrySelf-DiscoveryArtistic GrowthMaturityWriting
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the evolution of an artist's work during a workshop.
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
Umberto EcoRead
You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
Umberto EcoRead
"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
Umberto EcoRead
The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
The thought that all experience will be lost at the moment of my death makes me feel pain and fear... What a waste, decades spent building up experience, only to throw it all away... We remedy this sadness by working. For example, by writing, painting, or building cities.
Umberto EcoRead
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