Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the amusement and delight of the few.
John MasefieldRead
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses a deep longing for adventure and the simplicity of life at sea.
John Masefield's quote reflects the wanderlust and desire for freedom that comes from being at sea. It captures the essence of living a carefree life, embracing both the beauty and the challenges of nature, while also yearning for companionship and a peaceful end to one’s adventures.
Themes
SeaAdventureFreedomNatureDreams
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a speech about the importance of adventure in our lives.
More from John Masefield
All quotes →I must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
John MasefieldRead
Commonplace people dislike tragedy because they dare not suffer and cannot exult.
John MasefieldRead
What am I, Life? A thing of watery salt Held in cohesion by unresting cells, Which work they know not why, which never halt, Myself unwitting where their Master dwells?
John MasefieldRead
Poetry is a mixture of common sense, which not all have, with an uncommon sense, which very few have.
John MasefieldRead
Once in a century a man may be ruined or made insufferable by praise. But surely once in a minute something generous dies for want of it.
John MasefieldRead
Similar quotes
You can only get really unpopular decisions through if the electorate is convinced of the value of the environment. That's what natural history programmes should be for.
David AttenboroughRead
Down the hill I went, and then, I forgot the ways of men, For night-scents, heady and damp and cool Wakened ecstasy
Sara TeasdaleRead
There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
Kenneth GrahameRead
Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals. Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms — if all solid materials except nematode worms were to be eliminated, you could still see the ghostly outline of most of it in nematode worms.
E. O. WilsonRead
Pay attention to the beauty surrounding you.
Anne LamottRead
If you look on the fungal genome as being soldier candidates protecting the U.S. as our host defense, not only for the ecosystem but for our population... we should be saving our old-growth forests as a matter of national defense.
Paul StametsRead