The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.
Rabindranath TagoreRead
Melody and harmony are like lines and colors in pictures. A simple linear picture may be completely beautiful; the introduction of color may make it vague and insignificant. Yet color may, by combination with lines, create great pictures, so long as it does not smother and destroy their value.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The balance of elements in art determines its beauty and significance.
Rabindranath Tagore's quote highlights the intricate relationship between melody and harmony in music, and lines and colors in visual art. He suggests that while a simple and linear composition can be beautiful on its own, the addition of color should enhance rather than overwhelm the foundational elements, illustrating the importance of balance and interplay in artistic creation.
Themes
ArtBalanceMelodyHarmonyBeautyCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop discussing art composition, one might say, 'As Tagore noted, melody and harmony are essential to creating beauty in art.'
More from Rabindranath Tagore
All quotes →Music fills the infinite between two souls. This has been muffled by the mist of our daily habits.
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True deliverance of man is the deliverance from Avidya i.e. ignorance. It is not in destroying anything that is positive and real, for that cannot be possible, but that which is negative, which obstructs our vision of truth.
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The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
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If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.
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To be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
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