It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
Interpretation
A poet's interpretation of their own work can restrict its broader meanings and interpretations.
William Butler Yeats suggests that when a poet explains their own poem, they confine its potential meanings and the myriad interpretations that readers might find. Poetry is meant to evoke personal responses; by providing a definitive interpretation, the poet inadvertently limits the poem's suggestibility and the diverse understanding it could inspire in different individuals.
In practice
In a literature class, when discussing the importance of open interpretation, one might use this quote to emphasize the personal nature of poetry.
It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
I believe when I am in the mood that all nature is full of people whom we cannot see, and that some of these are ugly or grotesque, and some wicked or foolish, but very many beautiful beyond any one we have ever seen, and that these are not far away... and the simple of all times and the wise men of ancient times have seen them and even spoken to them.
You cut up a thing that's alive and beautiful to find out how it's alive and why it's beautiful, and before you know it, it's neither of those things, and you're standing there with blood on your face and tears in your sight and only the terrible ache of guilt to show for it.
What I do believe is theatre is a medium with a peculiar ability to air vital issues.
A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself. It's sort of like a prism, which you can see from each facet a single totality.
The cannabis experience has greatly improved my appreciation for art, a subject which I had never much appreciated before.
You cannot be an actor like I am and not have been in some of the worst movies like I have. But I stand before you deeply honored, mighty grateful and just plain gobsmacked.
I see no reason for calling my work poetry except that there is no other category in which to put it.
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