I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all like an opera.
William Butler YeatsRead
You love all your characters, even the ridiculous ones. You have to on some level; they're your weird creations in some kind of way. I don't even know how you approach the process of conceiving the characters if in a sense you hated them. It's just absurd.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the necessity of affection for one's creative work, including the unconventional aspects.
Joel Coen reflects on the relationship between a creator and their characters, suggesting that to truly engage in the creative process, one must have an appreciation for all aspects of their creations, even those that seem absurd or ridiculous. He implies that feelings of love or fondness for these characters are integral to the authenticity and richness of storytelling.
In practice
An author might reference this quote during a writing workshop to encourage budding writers to embrace all parts of their characters.
I wonder anybody does anything at Oxford but dream and remember, the place is so beautiful. One almost expects the people to sing instead of speaking. It is all like an opera.
Where there is no style, there is in effect no point of view. There is, essentially, no anger, no conviction, no self. Style is opinion, hung washing, the caliber of a bullet, teething beads.
If a man devotes himself to art, much evil is avoided that happens otherwise if one is idle.
I have never heard a dancer asking for advice about how to stay focused on her footwork, or a painter complaining about the dull day-to-day task of painting. What task worth doing isn't worth daily effort? Do you think Michelangelo was having fun the whole time he was on his back painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling?
After all perhaps the greatness of art lies in the perpetual tension between beauty and pain, the love of men and the madness of creation, unbearable solitude and the exhausting crowd, rejection and consent.
A good picture book can almost be whistled. ... All have their own melodies behind the storytelling.
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