Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.
Soren KierkegaardRead
What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when the sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music.... And people flock around the poet and say: 'Sing again soon' - that is, 'May new sufferings torment your soul but your lips be fashioned as before, for the cry would only frighten us, but the music, that is blissful.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A poet expresses profound inner pain through beautiful words, making their anguish appear enchanting to others.
In this quote, Kierkegaard reflects on the paradox of the poet's existence, suggesting that while a poet suffers deeply, it is this very suffering that allows them to produce art that resonates with joy and beauty. Society is drawn to the poet's work, seemingly indifferent to the source of the beauty, instead encouraging the poet to continue producing art that stems from their sorrow, as it brings pleasure to others while masking their profound unhappiness.
Themes
PoetAnguishMusicSufferingArtBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
In a poetic reading, the speaker introduced a collection of verses on the theme of sorrow, paralleling Kierkegaard's view of the poet's hidden anguish.
More from Soren Kierkegaard
All quotes →Men think that it is impossible for a human being to love his enemies, for enemies are hardly able to endure the sight of one another. Well, then, shut your eyes--and your enemy looks just like your neighbor.
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How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?
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A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.
Soren KierkegaardRead
And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not.
Soren KierkegaardRead
I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my stupidity. These antitheses are mediated in a higher unity; in our common stupidity.
Soren KierkegaardRead
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