If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
William Butler YeatsRead
We have lit upon the gentle, sensitive mind And lost the old nonchalance of the hand; Whether we have chosen chisel, pen or brush, We are but critics, or but half create.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the transition from a carefree creativity to a deeper, more sensitive artistic expression.
William Butler Yeats reflects on the evolution of the artist's mindset, suggesting that while we may use various tools like chisel, pen, or brush to create, we are often no longer fully free in our artistic expression. Instead, we find ourselves analyzing and critiquing our work rather than allowing the joyous, nonchalant creativity of the past to flow uninhibitedly.
Themes
ArtCreativityExpressionSensitivityCritique
In practice
Example use cases
A discussion on the challenges artists face in maintaining their originality.
More from William Butler Yeats
All quotes →It was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
William Butler YeatsRead
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
William Butler YeatsRead
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
William Butler YeatsRead
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
William Butler YeatsRead
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
William Butler YeatsRead
Similar quotes
Black writers, of whatever quality, who step outside the pale of what black writers are supposed to write about, or who black writers are supposed to be, are condemned to silences in black literary circles that are as total and as destructive as any imposed by racism.
Audre LordeRead
My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it.
Saul BassRead
Making a movie where the central character is a horse was a challenge. Because I'm scared of riding. I was thrown as a kid. One of my daughters is a competitive jumper, we live with horses, we have stables on our property. But I don't ride. I observe, and I worry.
Steven SpielbergRead
Books arrive in my head all at once, and then it becomes an 18-month process of getting it all down on paper.
Douglas CouplandRead
People think that digital language is a fixed language, but it's not: it's very fluid. It's like I'm doing a painting where the paint refuses to dry.
Neville BrodyRead
The possibility of being as free with the camera as we are with the pen is a fantastic prospect for the creative life of the 21st century.
Carlos FuentesRead