Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
The words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the interpretations of the deceased's words are shaped by the perceptions and experiences of the living.
W. H. Auden's quote highlights the dynamic relationship between the past and the present, illustrating how the thoughts and expressions of those who have passed away are not static but are continually reinterpreted and reshaped by the living. It underscores the idea that language, literature, and ideas evolve as they are embraced by new generations, reflecting contemporary understandings, emotions, and contexts.
Themes
InterpretationWordsLegacyLivingModification
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a literary discussion about the evolution of classic texts.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes βThat the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
W. H. AudenRead
Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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Not keep a journal! How are your absent cousins to understand the tenor of your life in Bath without one? How are the civilities and compliments of every day to be related as they ought to be, unless noted down every evening in a journal? How are your various dresses to be remembered, and the particular state of your complexion, and curl of your hair to be described in all their diversities, without having constant recourse to a journal?
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