None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Poetry is the only life got, the only work done, the only pure product and free labor of man, performed only when he has put all the world under his feet, and conquered the last of his foes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Poetry represents the ultimate expression of human experience and creativity, achieved once one has overcome life's challenges.
In this quote, Thoreau emphasizes the profound significance of poetry as a vital aspect of human existence. He suggests that poetry emerges as the purest form of expression and creation once a person has triumphed over their struggles and fully embraced their life, symbolizing a state of mastery and transcendence over worldly challenges. It highlights the idea that true creativity is born out of overcoming adversity and that poetry, as an art form, serves as a testament to the human spirit's resilience and capacity for beauty.
Themes
PoetryLifeCreativityExpressionArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a poetry reading event to emphasize the power of artistic expression.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
Henry David ThoreauRead
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
Henry David ThoreauRead
As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
Henry David ThoreauRead
That grand old poem called Winter
Henry David ThoreauRead
Similar quotes
I'm a much better filmmaker than painter. But studying it did make me visually acute and taught me lessons like being economic: Say something once and you don't have to say it again.
Jane CampionRead
My whole theory about art is the disparity that exists between form, masses and movement.
Alexander CalderRead
A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators may divert or anger, but it cannot enlighten.
David MametRead
Certainly, I was typed. But what is typing? It is a trademark, a means by which the public recognizes you. Actors work all their lives to achieve that. I got mine with just one picture. It was a blessing.
Boris KarloffRead
I try all night to play a pretty note.
Jimi HendrixRead
All great chefs have two things in common. First, they respect nature as the true artist, and they are just cooks. Second, everything that they do is an extension of them as a person.
Marco Pierre WhiteRead