There, by the starlit fences The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
A. E. HousmanRead
Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking_x000D_ _x000D_ Spins the heavy world around.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that humor and lighthearted activities can help lift the burdens of life.
A. E. Housman's quote reflects the idea that engaging in joyful activities such as jesting, dancing, and drinking serves as a counterbalance to the serious and heavy aspects of the world. It implies that these light-hearted pursuits can make life's burdens feel lighter and more manageable, promoting a sense of liveliness and joy amidst our daily struggles.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of finding joy in everyday life.
There, by the starlit fences The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell. My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, I never soiled with such a deed.
I am not a pessimist but a pejorist (as George Eliot said she was not an optimist but a meliorist); and that philosophy is founded on my observation of the world, not on anything so trivial and irrelevant as personal history.
Lovers lying two and two Ask not whom they sleep beside, And the bridegroom all night through Never turns him to the bride.
And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.
Wanderers eastward, wanderers west, Know you why you cannot rest? 'Tis that every mother's son Travails with a skeleton. Lie down in the bed of dust; Bear the fruit that bear you must; Bring the eternal seed to light, And morn is all the same as night.
Many years ago I chased a woman for almost two years, only to discover that her tastes were exactly like mine: we both were crazy about girls.
No-one is exempt from speaking nonsense β the only misfortune is to do it solemnly.
HUSBAND, n. One who, having dined, is charged with the care of the plate.
Our comedies are not to be laughed at.
Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn. "Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods.
If there's anything I hate more than a stupid action comedy, it's an incompetent stupid action comedy. It's not so bad it's good. It's so bad it's nothing else but bad.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.