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When I read Shakespeare I am struck with wonder that such trivial people should muse and thunder in such lovely language.
D. H. Lawrence
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the irony of talented writers expressing profound thoughts despite being seemingly ordinary individuals.

D. H. Lawrence's quote highlights the remarkable ability of writers, particularly Shakespeare, to create beautiful and impactful language while often being inspired by everyday, seemingly trivial people and experiences. It suggests that great artistry can emerge from ordinary lives, inviting us to appreciate the complexity and depth behind the words of literature.

Themes

ShakespeareLanguageArtistryIronyExistence

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the beauty of literature at a book club.

More from D. H. Lawrence

God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
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A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
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And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
D. H. LawrenceRead
... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead

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