Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
The sadness of the incomplete, the sadness that is often Life, but should never be Art.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that while life can often be filled with incompleteness and sadness, true art should strive for wholeness and emotional resolution.
E. M. Forster highlights the contrast between the inherent incompleteness of life and the ideal nature of art. Life is frequently marked by unresolved feelings and unfulfilled desires, leading to sadness; however, art should transcend these limitations, capturing a sense of completion and emotional depth that provides solace or understanding to the audience. This distinction emphasizes the transformative power of art, which should uplift and reframe lifeβs complexities rather than mirror them in their raw, unfinished state.
Themes
ArtLifeSadnessIncompletenessExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class, to emphasize the purpose of art, I might say this quote to inspire students.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes βA poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
E. M. ForsterRead
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
E. M. ForsterRead
Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
E. M. ForsterRead
The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
E. M. ForsterRead
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. ForsterRead
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