It is difficult to write a paradiso when all the superficial indications are that you ought to write an apocalypse.
Ezra PoundRead
No man understands a deep book until he has seen and lived at least part of its contents.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding complex ideas requires personal experience.
This quote by Ezra Pound emphasizes that true comprehension of profound literature or complex ideas cannot be achieved without firsthand experience of the themes and concepts discussed. It suggests that one must engage with life and gain experiences to fully appreciate and understand the depth of a work, highlighting the interplay between life and literature.
Themes
UnderstandingExperienceLiteratureEducationDepth
In practice
Example use cases
During a book club discussion, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of personal interpretation.
More from Ezra Pound
All quotes βThe ant's a centaur in his dragon world. Pull down thy vanity, it is not man Made courage, or made order, or made grace, Pull down thy vanity, I say pull down. Learn of the green world what can be thy place In scaled invention or true artistry, Pull down thy vanity, Paquin pull down! The green casque has outdone your elegance.
Ezra PoundRead
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours Forever and forever and forever.
Ezra PoundRead
Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is their main use.
Ezra PoundRead
In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
Ezra PoundRead
The modern artist must live by craft and violence. His gods are violent gods. Those artists, so called, whose work does not show this strife, are uninteresting.
Ezra PoundRead
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