The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
My heart born naked was swaddled in lullabies. Later alone it wore poems for clothes. Like a shirt I carried on my back the poetry I had read. So I lived for half a century until wordlessly we met. From my shirt on the back of the chair I learn tonight how many years of learning by heart I waited for you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the deep connection between the speaker's emotional experiences and their lifelong journey of learning and self-discovery through literature.
In this quote, John Berger reflects on the intimacy of his relationship with poetry and how it has dressed his heart throughout his life. The use of metaphors like 'naked heart' and 'wearing poems for clothes' illustrates how literature has been a form of emotional protection and expression, culminating in a profound personal connection that he ultimately recognizes as love. It highlights both the vulnerability of human emotions and the significance of art in shaping our experiences and relationships.
Themes
LovePoetryLearningEmotionSelf-Discovery
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the impact of literature on personal development, this quote beautifully illustrates how poetry can shape our understanding of love and relationships.
More from John Berger
All quotes →Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
John BergerRead
We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
John BergerRead
The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
John BergerRead
Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
Similar quotes
It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.
Jane AustenRead
Having achieved and accomplished love... man... has become himself, his tale is told.
D. H. LawrenceRead
Football is a great love because I was born into a family of players and therefore born into football. I'm fortunate to have a style of play that a lot of people like. It's a privilege to be able to do what I like best and in my own way, but I'm fortunate that people like it, and that motivates me even more.
RonaldinhoRead
Love has to be…flowering like the stars, and measureless as a kiss.
Pablo NerudaRead
I am bewildered by the death of love. And my responsibility for it.
Arthur MillerRead
God does not look at your outer forms, _x000D_ but at the love within your love.
RumiRead