But poets were not considered dangerous and they were advised to exercise self-censorship. At most, poets were requested not to write at all. I took advantage of this negative liberty.
Eugenio MontaleRead
Mass communication, radio, and especially television, have attempted, not without success, to annihilate every possibility of solitude and reflection.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mass media can disrupt our ability to have solitude and reflect deeply.
Eugenio Montale's quote suggests that mass communication tools, such as radio and television, have successfully encroached upon personal solitude and reflective thought. In an age where constant information and entertainment are readily available, the opportunity for individuals to engage in introspection and deep contemplation is significantly diminished, leading to a more superficial existence.
Themes
Mass CommunicationSolitudeReflectionTelevisionMediaIntrospection
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the effects of media on modern society.
More from Eugenio Montale
All quotes βThere is poetry even in prose, in all the great prose which is not merely utilitarian or didactic: there exist poets who write in prose or at least in more or less apparent prose; millions of poets write verses which have no connection with poetry.
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It has often been observed that the repercussion of poetic language on prose language can be considered a decisive cut of a whip.
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I have always knocked at the door of that wonderful and terrible enigma which is life.
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For my part, if I consider poetry as an object, I maintain that it is born of the necessity of adding a vocal sound (speech) to the hammering of the first tribal music.
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Man cannot produce a single work without the assistance of the slow, assiduous, corrosive worm of thought.
Eugenio MontaleRead
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