Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?
John KeatsRead
it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, especially in Literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously - I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Negative Capability refers to the ability to accept uncertainty and ambiguity without the urge to seek immediate answers.
In this quote, Keats emphasizes that true genius, particularly in literature, involves the capacity to embrace uncertainties and mysteries rather than seeking to rationalize them prematurely. Shakespeare exemplified this trait, demonstrating that a great mind can thrive in doubt and complexity, producing profound works that resonate with the human experience.
Themes
Negative CapabilityUncertaintyLiteratureAchievementShakespeare
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about Shakespeare's works, this quote can highlight the value of embracing ambiguity.
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All quotes →Are there not thousands in the world who love their fellows even to the death, who feel the giant agony of the world, and more, like slaves to poor humanity, labor for mortal good?
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Ask yourself my love whether you are not very cruel to have so entrammelled me, so destroyed my freedom. Will you confess this in the Letter you must write immediately, and do all you can to console me in it — make it rich as a draught of poppies to intoxicate me —write the softest words and kiss them that I may at least touch my lips where yours have been. For myself I know not how to express my devotion to so fair a form: I want a brighter word than bright, a fairer word than fair.
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I think we may class the lawyer in the natural history of monsters.
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...I leaped headlong into the Sea, and thereby have become more acquainted with the Soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice.
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