There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that our thoughts and perceptions can act as limitations that confine us.
T. S. Eliot's quote highlights the idea that the key to understanding or escaping one's situation also reveals the existence of confinement—a metaphorical prison shaped by our own thoughts and beliefs. It implies that recognition of these limitations is a crucial step in the journey toward freedom or enlightenment.
Themes
ThoughtsPrisonLimitationsFreedomPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health, one might use this quote to illustrate how negative thoughts can constrain individuals.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
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I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
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If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
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For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
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In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
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