I must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
John MasefieldRead
Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the amusement and delight of the few.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The introduction of the printing press changed poetry from a communal art form to one that is appreciated by a select few.
John Masefield's quote highlights the transformative impact of the printing press on poetry. Originally, poetry was a shared experience that brought joy to the entire community; however, with its widespread production and accessibility, it became more of an individual pursuit, enjoyed primarily by those who actively seek it out, relegating it to a niche audience rather than a collective cultural experience.
Themes
PoetryPrinting PressCommunityArtCulture
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about how technology affects literature, this quote illustrates the historical shift in audience engagement.
More from John Masefield
All quotes βCommonplace people dislike tragedy because they dare not suffer and cannot exult.
John MasefieldRead
What am I, Life? A thing of watery salt Held in cohesion by unresting cells, Which work they know not why, which never halt, Myself unwitting where their Master dwells?
John MasefieldRead
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
John MasefieldRead
Poetry is a mixture of common sense, which not all have, with an uncommon sense, which very few have.
John MasefieldRead
Once in a century a man may be ruined or made insufferable by praise. But surely once in a minute something generous dies for want of it.
John MasefieldRead
Similar quotes
The creative act is not hanging on, but yielding to a new creative movement. Awe is what moves us forward.
Joseph CampbellRead
I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear.
Freddie MercuryRead
Boredom is not an end-product, is comparatively rather an early stage in life and art. You've got to go by or past or through boredom, as through a filter, before the clear product emerges.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, 'You've been drunk on money,' they're not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they'd be willing to. People will need an explanation of where we are and where we've been, and 'The Great Gatsby' can provide that explanation.
Baz LuhrmannRead
The oldest, truest, most beautiful organ of music, the origin to which alone our music owes its being, is the human voice.
Richard WagnerRead
Through the ingenuousness of her age beamed an ardent mind, a mind not of the women but of the poet; she did not please, she intoxicated.
Alexandre DumasRead